We’ve had meet-and-beats with Washington’s Great, Oregon’s Supreme and Southern Cal’s Saint – that is, Osobor, Cook and Thomas, respectively – so some of us plain ol’ John Purdues couldn’t help wondering just what superlative wonder would greet us on a first-name basis from UCLA when we founding fellows wrap up our Big Ten freshman orientations.
Well, the “Hello My Name Is” tags for the Bruins won’t boast like those other toasts of the coast, but they can reach for the Skyy with a Christian from the order of Dominick. They have a Kobe, but not Bryant, and a Jack, but not Nicholson, courtside or hitting the road. Almost music to our ears will be a Dylan, but not Bob, a Sebastian, but not John, a Tyler, but not Stephen, and two Erics, but neither a Clapton. Their coach is Mick, but not Jagger. And they can sing “Let’s go Brandon!”
Long gone is our own John boy, Wooden, the three-time Purdue All-American who put UCLA on the map by winning 10 NCAA championships in 12 years. Coach Wooden came home to help dedicate Mackey Arena on December 2, 1967, bringing his reigning national champs to “The House That Mount Built,” introducing us to Lew Alcindor and coming away with a 73-71 win.
That was just the second of a now eight-game winning streak by UCLA over Purdue, including two Final Four meetings and the Bruins’ return visit to Mackey in 2000, an 87-82 win, yielding a 10-3 series lead. Now, with UCLA having joined the Big Ten, the Bruins are the one and only conference opponent with an all-time winning record over the Boilermakers.
We’ve got our own names for that. Just can’t print ’em. Tag your calendars for Friday, February 28.
Well, the “Hello My Name Is” tags for the Bruins won’t boast like those other toasts of the coast, but they can reach for the Skyy with a Christian from the order of Dominick. They have a Kobe, but not Bryant, and a Jack, but not Nicholson, courtside or hitting the road. Almost music to our ears will be a Dylan, but not Bob, a Sebastian, but not John, a Tyler, but not Stephen, and two Erics, but neither a Clapton. Their coach is Mick, but not Jagger. And they can sing “Let’s go Brandon!”
Long gone is our own John boy, Wooden, the three-time Purdue All-American who put UCLA on the map by winning 10 NCAA championships in 12 years. Coach Wooden came home to help dedicate Mackey Arena on December 2, 1967, bringing his reigning national champs to “The House That Mount Built,” introducing us to Lew Alcindor and coming away with a 73-71 win.
That was just the second of a now eight-game winning streak by UCLA over Purdue, including two Final Four meetings and the Bruins’ return visit to Mackey in 2000, an 87-82 win, yielding a 10-3 series lead. Now, with UCLA having joined the Big Ten, the Bruins are the one and only conference opponent with an all-time winning record over the Boilermakers.
We’ve got our own names for that. Just can’t print ’em. Tag your calendars for Friday, February 28.
