Tradition, restored

The sun will shine a little brighter Saturday.

The birds will sing a little sweeter.

When UCLA and USC kickoff at 1:30 p.m. in the Rose Bowl, both will be wearing their home jerseys.

The Trojans and Bruins both used the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as their home field until 1982, and as a result would clash in Cardinal and Powder Blue. That year, UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl and shortly thereafter the NCAA passed a rule requiring visiting teams to wear white.

USC Coach Pete Carroll wanted to bring back the tradition for awhile, but may forfeit one timeout in each half as a punishment for failing to have his team in the proper uniform. He made the announcement Monday afternoon.

At news conference a few hours earlier, UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel indicated that he also wanted to restore the tradition and would have agreed to burn one of his own timeouts in the first half in order to be fair and help make it happen, but that giving up a timeout in the second half was too risky. Negotiations had apparently stalled, and Carroll might have made his decision unilaterally. It's unclear now if Neuheisel will burn a timeout in either half — assuming there's a penalty at all.

Depending on who you talk to, there's still speculation that referees could delay kickoff until USC changes back into white jerseys, or perhaps even that the NCAA could grant a waiver so that the Trojans will not be penalized at all. That ruling could come as soon as Tuesday.

A few months ago, ESPN's Dave Dameshek and this blog were vocal supporters of restoring the tradition, and we put together a petition with 1,292 signatures. This blogger is still confused why the NCAA waiver request wasn't submitted earlier (yes, we reminded the people who needed to make it happen).

Ultimately, it's silly to have so much red tape for a no-brainer policy. The important thing for officials is that the jerseys contrast. That's what the rule is in basketball (where home teams typically wear white), and nobody really knows why the rule was made this way in football. One old wives tale is that when game films were in black and white, a certain coach would have his team play in colors that appeared contrasting in person, but were almost indiscernable on tape. The gimmick would have made sense in the 1960s, but remember that the rule is a product of the 1980s.

—Adam Rose

Photo: USC Athletics

Comments

[VA Blueblood]

Tip o' my cap to Pete Carroll for making this happen. I also think it would be cool for Neuhiesel to grant one of his first half timeouts to Carroll for the 2nd half, if that were allowed.

All told, this is a chance for the NCAA to look magnanimous and with-it, but of course they will probably ___ it up and look foolishly officious.

Anyhow, props to both coaches for seeing how great the restoration of this tradition would be.

[VA Blueblood]

you know, the blank makes it look like I used a worse word than I actually did, but thanks for posting the comment in spite of my thoughtless use of a profanity.

And the way this worked out, well, the coaches and schools look cool, and the NCAA looks needlessly obtuse. Guess we all saw that coming though.

[Bob G]

Just two comments on this matter, and by the same person......?
The NCAA should not legislate, if both schools agree n the uniform matter, I believe...
I liked the home vs home jersey, it brought back some tradition to the rivalry.
Have followed USC UCLA football since the sixties. The home and home look should stay.
It , at least, brought some relevance to the game since UCLA, whom I root for, was clearly outmatched but the defense played with some much heart.....