Tuesday, April 1, 1997
TOURNAMENT:
Even without Final Four slot, Bruins are still the success story
of the yearBy Crissy Cruz
wish I could have been there. I wish I could have been in that
locker room, that I could’ve been with the team as they cried and
hugged each other, that I could’ve heard Cameron’s words of wisdom.
I wish I could have hugged them and comforted them (because after
all, they are the best looking basketball team in the country),
that I could have showed them how much they accomplished, how much
they achieved, how important they had become to their fans. Because
even though they lost, even though their dreams of returning to
Westwood were cut short, they became something so important that
Saturday afternoon in San Antonio. They became what I believe to be
one of the strongest emotional links that the student body feels
for UCLA.
And how could they not? Who didn’t feel like crying when they
saw Steve Lavin’s face drowning with tears? Who didn’t feel loss
when Charles, Cameron and Bob walked across the floor before their
last game at Pauley Pavilion? Who didn’t get fired up about the
words against USC, and who wasn’t there to back the team up Â
to show Los Angeles and the world who really owns this town?
The truth is that we all became a part of Steve Lavin’s team.
When they were angered with frustration, we were equally angered;
when they rejoiced at victory, we were there with them, admiring
them, smiling and cheering with them. We saw their trials and
tribulations, and we wanted to help keep them on their feet … and
for what? I don’t know what for. But it wasn’t just school spirit.
I didn’t experience the same feelings that I did in Pauley Pavilion
as I did in just walking around campus and feeling the so-called
Bruin pride. There was more to it than that.
I guess, in a way, because so much emphasis, so much media was
put on the Bruin team, that they couldn’t help becoming friends to
us. We saw them nearly every day, staring at us in the paper,
speaking to us on television. And for some reason, we gained
possession of them  that was our Charles making kissy faces
to the camera, and Jelani screaming with enthusiasm at the first
game against Charleston Southern, and Cameron going coast to coast
to save the game. That was good old Bob, and J.R. and Kris. And
that was our fellow Bruin Brandon Loyd, running so hard, and making
those threes. We were there with the rest of the team  on
that bench  even if only in spirit.
Who knows  maybe it’s just because this season is over
that I have become so nostalgic and attached. But nonetheless, the
fact that the Bruin team has held such an emotional bond to us, the
fact that we have watched them with wonder and amazement, cannot be
denied. I don’t think that there is another team in the nation as
loved and as appreciated as ours. And no other deserves it
more.
The basketball team has symbolized what being a Bruin is all
about. They rose against the odds, they held on, and they came out
stronger. They made us laugh, and scream with terror, and yell and
jump in enjoyment. And more than that, more than all the
entertainment they gave us, they gave life back to Pauley Pavilion
… they gave spirit back to the crowd.
For them, this isn’t a championship; I know that and I don’t
expect it to be. If anything, I offer this as a tribute  to
the team and to Steve Lavin. UCLA should have hired Lavin at the
very beginning because they should have seen what he was creating.
And it wasn’t talent because the players had that all on their own.
It was unity, it was friendship … and it wasn’t just with the
players  it was with every UCLA basketball fan out there.
Each and every person on that basketball team won my heart long
before Minnesota came along  and I’m sure every other Bruin
heart in Westwood. And even if that isn’t anything to them, I’ll
remain happy knowing that they let me be a part of it all. They
showed me what being a Bruin was all about.
So maybe they didn’t get to the Final Four.
So what? They still became the most successful team in the
nation.
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin
Toby Bailey and Cameron Dollar played hard, and the Bruins
played as a team in the NCAA tournament, giving Bruin fans a sense
of pride and spirit.
Even though they lost, even though their dreams … were cut
short, they became … what I believe to be one of the strongest
emotional links that the student body feels for UCLA.
The truth is that we all became a part of Steve Lavin’s team.
When they were angered with frustration, we were equally angered;
when they rejoiced at victory, we were there …