Greg Schain
Those of you that walked by the northwest gate of Pauley
Pavilion last Tuesday probably noticed sleeping bags, chairs and
even a tent or two.
Then you probably thought to yourself one of three things:
1) These people are nuts.
2) These people have no lives.
3) All of the above.
To a rational, sane person, camping out for two nights in
45-degree weather to get good seats for a midseason Pac-10 matchup
between (at the time) the third place team in the conference and
the team tied for fifth in the conference just doesn’t make
much sense.
Student ticket holders who are in their right mind probably got
a little mad, because these nutty campers ruined the chance for
Bruin fans that have lives to get a decent seat at the game. To
most Bruin fans, Dan Gadzuric looked more like an ant than a
6-foot-11 giant at the game.
Personally, I cringed when I saw the tents go up. I thought
after Sept. 11, society had changed for the better. I thought we
all realized how little sports means.
Apparently, some of us didn’t get the message. Some people
are still as brainwashed as those religious zealots on
Bruinwalk.
I then got to thinking how we can fix the problem. I came up
with a few ideas that I’d like to present, so without further
adieu:
1) I urge Bruin cops to show a little spine, and arrest everyone
that tries to camp out. After all, if a homeless person tried to
sleep in front of Pauley Pavilion, the police would be all over him
faster than Rodney King. But somehow its OK for basketball-crazed
people to do it? Seems like a double standard to me.
2) Instead of giving priority based on order of arrival, a
random number should be selected an hour before the game, and that
number should be given top priority. For example, if 2,000 numbers
are given out, and number 1,243 is selected, then 1,243 should be
the first person allowed in, and then every number up until 2,000
should follow before going back to number 1.
Student ticket holders could then pick up priority numbers the
day before the game to ease congestion around Pauley before
gametime, and allow the lines to form faster and sans
confusion.
3) Give the student section some more seats down front. After
all, this is our school. Don’t we deserve more seats down
front than the measly two we’re given?
It’s a conspiracy by the higher-ups to suppress the youth
of America and assert their power. And it’s about time this
conspiracy ended.
After all, the alumni look deader at games than Bernie in the
movie “Weekend at Bernie’s.”
Making these simple changes can give every Bruin fan a chance to
have a good seat, whether they have lives or not.
I urge the UCLA Athletic Department to show initiative by making
the changes necessary to give all students a chance to enjoy Bruin
games.
Without getting frostbite.