For UCLA, this year's road to The Final Four began on Katella Avenue.  The Honda Center in Anaheim hosted the opening round of March Madness and I was there to soak up one of the great rites of spring.

The Bruin cheerleaders liked my UCLA themed shirt so much that they asked for a photo.  I obliged.



Two of the girls are interested in a summer internship with HelloRocky.com, although the front runner for that gig continues to be the mascot.

Thanks to Wes we had great seats just a few rows up from the floor.  We were right behind the robust UCLA band.  They only stood up during timeouts and for most of their songs they faced the floor.  The few times they played towards us it was painfully loud.  Jeff surmised that the big culprits were the french horns. 




Pat arrived late, but since he's Pat he was still in a good mood. 




UCLA won the game, defeating an outmanned Mississippi Valley State by a cajillion points.   Next up for UCLA is a Saturday tussle with Texas A&M, who defeated BYU in the game that preceded UCLA's.

Epiphany - Any baboon with a remote control can watch the tournament on TV, but only by being there in person can you appreciate all the different story lines.   On the lower level there is segregation going on, with four rough quadrants containing UCLA fans, A&M fans, BYU fans and MVS fans (although there were very few MVS fans - Craig surmised that many of them have never flown, while Wes is convinced few have even ridden elevators).  UCLA had the most fans, as is befitting a top seed playing close to home.  Yet despite the varied rooting interests there was love in the air, a coming together of friends, fans and families all celebrating basketball, to be sure, but beyond that we were celebrating youth, that transient mistress who makes you believe all is possible while she holds you, but whose embrace is short lived.  Most of these players are not NBA bound.  For many these are the last few moments of their lives when they will be on stage, cheered on and adored by people they have never met.  Outside of the Honda Center they will get on buses that will carry them to The Rest of Their Lives.  Everybody in the arena is aware of this, so while we cheer our respective teams, there is no booing, there is no hatred for the opposition.  Just let the boys play.  Let the boys play.