After completing our first year with season tickets for the USC and UCLA women’s basketball teams, I have learned the truth: I bleed blue and gold. The signs were there last year when I was broken-hearted for the Bruins in their double-overtime loss to the Trojans during the semifinals of the Pac-12 Women’s basketball tournament. It was cemented this year as I couldn’t stop myself from rooting on Betts and Rice in their loss at Galen Center and left early to avoid the Trojans’ celebration when they won again at Pauley.

I root for most Los Angeles teams including USC, but my heart is in Westwood when it comes to this head-to-head matchup. Fandom is illogical. I am more impressed by Juju Watkins and Kiki Iriafen of USC. Lindsay Gottlieb is a cooler coach than Cori Close (though I like them both). There are far more LA Sparks fans rooting for USC than UCLA; yet, I know the UCLA fight song by heart and cheer along with pride. You rarely catch me raising my two fingers in a V for victory.

I figured the two teams would meet again in Indianapolis for the BIG10 tournament championship and the game didn’t disappoint. UCLA had their first good start to a game against the Trojans before Juju and the Trojan bigs imposed their will and pushed out to a ten point lead at the half. The Bruins didn’t crumble as they had in the previous two games and fought back. It helped that they had a much easier semifinal game than their opponents, who had to fight with the Michigan Wolverines until late in the fourth quarter the previous day. As the game closed with the Bruins up by five and Betts throwing a “V” down at the Trojans bench—USC did a whole lot of “Fours” down when they won the regular season title on the Bruins home floor just a week prior—I teared up with pride.

I don’t know what to tell you. Most of my friends who went to school locally went to UCLA. I have never attended, but I was once a regular guest/co-host of a late-night radio program on campus when a friend was in graduate school. I have a relationship with one of the graduate analytics programs. I love the Hammer Museum and the CAP UCLA programming. During the Pac-12 tourney last year, I would say to other attendees in Vegas that my allegiance lied with whichever California team playing in a game was closest to my house. 

That’s UCLA. 

Sorry, Trojans, I can’t help it. I’m rooting for y’all to get to the Natty. I’m rooting for the banner to get raised in Pauley.

U-C-L-A, fight, fight, fight!