Last week, while covering Cabrillo’s football team’s Thanksgiving banquet, I was approached by Darrell Rideaux, a Poly alum and former USC Trojan who did a brief NFL stint.  Darrell, who’s a reporter with ESPN affiliate We Are SC, offered me a golden opportunity in the world of Southern California sports writing: a visit to the University of Southern California as the guest of a notable alum and former football player.  Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to be brought behind Trojan lines.  So Tuesday morning, I picked Darrell up, and we trekked up the freeways into the heart of Los Angeles. 

The Drive Up

The drive up was relatively uneventful, fortunately.  I missed the first freeway we needed so we had to take the 5 instead, and I realized, after Darrell asked to make sure I had everything, that I forgot my voice recorder.  So, after a twenty-five minute car ride and a quick trip to the Circuit City in University Village we were running a little late.  As we pulled into University Village, Darrell got a phone call from Chris Lewis, former quarterback at Poly while Rideaux was there, about the toy drive they’re holding in the Poly parking lot (the one facing Atlantic) on Monday, December 22nd.  It’s great to see that these guys not only still keep in touch, but that they’re still working to make Long Beach a better community.  We got to ‘SC, parked, and made our way to Heritage Hall, the Mecca for Southern California sports history, to see Pete Carroll’s press conference in regards to their upcoming game against crosstown rivals, UCLA.

Pete Carroll’s Press Conference and ESPN Radio Interview

Let me first start off by saying that I’ve never been to a press conference before.  Truth be told, we don’t have anything like this in Long Beach, which is where I’ve gotten all my experience.  Sure, I’ve interviewed people before, and covered a fair share of events, but none of that prepared me for what I found when I made my way into the Conference Room in Heritage Hall.  Aside from the familiarity of the atmosphere (Pete Carroll: stand up guy if you haven’t heard), I think what struck me most was the number of people there.  It wasn’t a large room, but every seat was filled, and, what impressed me more, every seat was filled with a sports writer.  I know it may seem odd to be impressed by sports writers at an event involving sports, but I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve covered a game in Long Beach where I was the only one there.  Following the press conference, Pete did an interview on ESPN radio, broadcasted from Heritage Hall.  It was incredible.  Walking around that room, checking out Heismans, taking pictures of the Jeweled Shillelagh, the trophy that embodies USC and Notre Dame’s rivalry, a Gaelic war club decorated with four leaf clovers bearing an emerald to represent a victory by the Fighting Irish and a Trojan bearing a ruby to represent a win by Southern Cal.  As a history major that happens to be into sports, I was in heaven, immersed in both.  And that was before I went downstairs and made the All-American Walk, narrated by Darrell Rideaux.  After that we left Heritage (although I went back to check things out every chance I got), and walked around the campus for a little, running into a familiar face.

A Chance Encounter with Bryshon Nellum

Less than a minute after I had asked Darrell about Bryshon Nellum (the two, who collectively own a lot of California’s fastest sprint times, have a close relationship), we actually came across Bryshon, who walked out into the street to meet us halfway.  That’s right, walked.  Bryshon was shot four times in the legs on Halloween night just over a month ago, and while the initial diagnosis was good, little follow up was made in the media as to Bryshon’s well-being.  I am happy to say that he was in high spirits, walking without the aid of crutches, and glad to see fellow ‘Rabbits on campus.  It should be noted that spotting a ‘Rabbit on campus was not hard to do, as I saw a few other Poly alums in transit throughout the day.  It was hard to not feel that in some ways USC was an extension of Poly…or is it vice-versa?  Needless to say, the similarities were everywhere.

Practice

Here’s a fun analogy: USC’s practice is to other college football practices as Poly’s practice is to ____.  If you said other high school football practices, then congratulations, you win.  Both teams’ workouts are harder-hitting, faster-paced, and run on a larger scale than other practices.  Both often feature a who’s who of alums on the sideline watching their teams prepare for the weeks ahead as they attempt to uphold the traditions handed down to them.  After practice I spoke with Luthur Brown, a former linebacker for the Lakewood Lancers, and Jurrell Casey and Travon Patterson, former defensive tackle and receiver at Poly, respectively.  I asked them about the upcoming semi-final game, and on being teammates with former rivals.  I’ll give you the cut-and-dry.  Luthur: “It’s going to be a showdown.”  Jurrell: “Poly always wins.”  Travon: “I just hope we continue to beat ’em like we always do.”  As a side note, we were on our way to the car when Travon called Darrell to let him know he was out of the locker room, and the two of us jogged back to meet up with him.  Despite the fact that I knew he was jogging, Darrell jokingly warned me about keeping up with him.  “I don’t want you to pull a hamstring,” he said.  Still, I came home and told everyone I knew that I kept up with Darrell Rideaux.  I may not have pulled anything, but after the jog I was ready to get home and relax, so Darrell and I headed back to Parking Lot A, climbed in my car and watched USC fade into the Southern California haze behind us as we traversed the streets and freeways of Los Angeles, southbound, headed towards Long Beach.