After days of rumors, it would appear that UCLA will be going with a new uniform for Saturday's game at the Coliseum.
"There have been rampant rumors out there recently that our football team might be sporting a special look when they take the field for the USC game on Saturday evening. I can confirm that those rumors are indeed true. We will be unveiling a uniform that we have been working on with the adidas design team for several months. These new uniforms will provide us with an alternative to our existing road uniforms but will not replace them in perpetuity.
OK.
But why now?
After all the effort that both schools went into to get the teams to wear their home jerseys in 2008, after years of not wearing them, Guerrero now wants to walk away from that tradition?
It really isn't that big a deal to me but it is intriguing.
I remember when Pete Carroll decided to wear the home jerseys in 2008.
Some UCLA fans asked pretty much the same question then.
Let’s make something very clear. In terms of tradition, it is awesome that these teams will get to wear home and home jerseys on Saturday. It was about time. It is something we have supported pretty passionately (laying out our detailed arguments in support of it) previously on Bruins Nation. And no matter how the NCAA had done, it's a pretty good bet Neuheisel would have burned his TOs if Carroll was going to go ahead with this stunt and call on Carroll to the do the same next year.
However, IMHO it was disrespectful and incredibly arrogant on Carroll’s part to make this unilateral decision without conferring with Neuheisel this past Sunday, when there was no prior agreement in place. Yes, Neuheisel and Carroll had agreed on the concept back in February but that idea hit a snag when Pac-10 seem to balk on the agreement from earlier in the year. So with no agreement in place, Carroll uncorked what amounted to a successful PR stunt by paying lip-service to "tradition" and "rivalry" without showing any actual respect for it by working with Neuheisel. Again Carroll made this move only after it became clear to him that the Trojies were overwhelming favorites to clinch the Rose Bowl on our home turf.
Hmmmm.
Anybody on the USC side think its disrespectful or incredibly arrogant for Guerrero to walk away from tradition?
I doubt it...most of us probably couldn't care less, but it does reinforce the opinion that many on the UCLA side have about Dan Guerrero.
And it ain't good.
For me, it simply shows that Guerrero is no different than Slick Rick...anything to grab some form of attention, anything to be seen as relevant.
I guess Guerrero is pulling out all the stops in the hope of winning the Pac-12 South.
Must make UCLA fans proud...