Off-track

The UCLA-USC track and field dual meet used to be one of the hottest tickets in town. The two programs have won 42 combined national championships. From what I gather, fans used to be hanging onto fences to watch the sold-out event. Nowadays, the most expensive ticket is less than two gallons of gas. The meet is obviously a better deal.

Last week, I mentioned that the UCLA-USC meet was coming up, but even after it ended Saturday it took me several days to realize what a great event it was for purists.

Sports is as entertaining as ever — if not more so — but it certainly isn't pure. Drug scandals have torn the heart out of baseball, track and field, and cycling. The Olympics, once an adequate reason to halt wars and ignore all differences, are being hijacked by special interests. Even sports journalism is getting uglier with Luddite buffoonery (see: Bissinger, Buzz).

I could go on about the Olympics, in particular the amateur vs. professional issue. I'm not just talking about the obvious things like NBA players. In order to try for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team as a triathlete, a friend of mine had to get his pro card first. Imagine if only pros could compete in all sports. Would we ever have another "Miracle on Ice"? Or Lithuanian hoops?

Collegiate track and field is another story. There aren't major sponsorships deals and it doesn't feel like a farm system for the pros — mitigating suspicion from even the most cynical of fans. Scholarships are limited, and many of the athletes are walk-ons. In fact, USC's policy allows any student to join and compete in local meets. So that's all they do — compete. Throw in the spirit of a cross-town rivalry, and it's the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I asked people at last weekend's meet about their favorite event. I rarely got the same answer. Some liked the intensity of the sprints. Others enjoyed the strategy of distance and relays. There were those who appreciated polar opposites, like the grace of pole vaulting versus the hop-and-skip of the triple jump. Others were awed by the brute strength of the throwers. There was something for everyone.

Another cool thing about the meet was that all fans had something to hang their hat on. Think of "everybody wins" sans the hippie-dippie vibe. This year, UCLA's team won in men's track and USC's team won in women's track. But the UCLA women and the USC men had plenty of individual victories. If you missed it, here's the article from The Times. You also can find the news releases from UCLA and USC.

The talent on hand was incredible, and it went beyond the student-athletes. Some of the coaches were recognizable from Olympics past, winners of medals and holders of world records (UCLA's Mike Powell has held the long-jump record since 1991). The coolest person I met was Lou Zamperini, who competed in the 1936 Olympics in Germany, shook hands with Hitler, and may be the only person captured by both the Nazis and the imperial Japanese forces. Representing his alma mater with a USC jacket and hat, he was actually there to support a Bruin athlete. His story is one of those that transcends everything — and I'll have more about him another day.

From the public address announcer to Zamperini and everybody in between, the consensus around town is that UCLA-USC is the greatest dual meet in the world. The results of this one impressed some people out of town too. I ran into a couple blog posts on thefinalsprint.com talking about the state of dual meets in the country:

Years ago, the dual meet was the cornerstone of the college schedule, with some schools regularly taking part in half a dozen of them per year. Even into the early '80s they were quite common. But when budgets were slashed and team sized plummeted, the dual meet dropped off the radar screen.

The regionals format for outdoor track has taken much of the pressure off in terms of getting an NCAA qualifying mark, and in recent years the meet has seen a bit of a resurgence; a few were even carried on regional cable TV. This past weekend saw the end of the dual-meet season with three rather important match-ups (USC vs. UCLA, Washington vs. Washington State, and Arizona vs. Arizona State vs. Northern Arizona).

Recognizing this fact, I’m going to reinstate something Track & Field News once did: National Dual-Meet Rankings.

They ranked the UCLA men No. 2  in the country and USC women No. 1.

Next spring, I'll know better. Next spring, I'll double circle my calendar.

You should too.