Photo Credit: @UCLARivals
No one has to be from Southern California to know the bad blood that has always been boiling between USC and UCLA, especially in the sports department. Their big game is only a little more than a week away and that means both schools have to be on constant watch for pranks.
For as long as anyone could remember, both schools would have to actually assign students the job of guarding the schools’ landmarks. USC got their head start really early by spray painting UCLA’s Bruin bear in their famous school color, “SC runs LA.”
Because UCLA has won the last two games between the teams, USC is on the hunt this year to uphold their reputation. In all reality though, this is not surprising at all coming from both schools. On the news every year is at least something about one of the schools messing with each other and getting everyone more hyped up for the coming game.
The pranks have started since at least 1941 when USC decided to steal UCLA’s 295-pound victory bell. Ever since then, some of the hijinks have included planting 20,000 USC-colored crickets in UCLA’s library, the kidnapping of USC fans and chaining them to fire hydrants, and of course multiple attacks on the statues.
Do not let UCLA fool anyone either. They are just as crazy as USC in the stuff they have pulled over the years. In 1958, some UCLA students took a helicopter just to try to dump manure on Tommy Trojan. Another year, they cut off Tommy’s sword and put it on probably not the best of places.
Funny, crazy, or just plain stupid, they are all part of the over a century old tradition. It just makes college football day that much better for California and the win even sweeter for the schools.
