UCLA upsets USC

Sorry, I shouldn't gloat but I am pretty giddy.  I am not a football fan at all but I am a UCLA fan all the way.  This afternoon, the UCLA Bruins defeated the USC Trojans, 13-9, in a total shocking upset.  Carol Shea-Porter, Paul Hodes, Chris Murphy, Jason Altmire, John Yarmuth, John Hall, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tim Walz, Harry Mitchell, Jerry McNerney, David Loebsack, Nancy Boyda, Jim Webb, and Jon Tester may have all pulled off huge upsets.  But today UCLA, a Democratic school, pulled one off too over USC, a Republican school.  I couldn't be happier.  Well actually I was happier on Election Night this year but that is totally beside the point.  This is especially heartening because USC was all set to go play for another National Championship.  Hallelujah.  And UCLA snapped it's 7 year losing streak against USC.  UCLA is assured to play in the Emerald Bowl which is very exciting.

Now some info on USC.  This year, despite losing Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart and a couple of other key players, USC exceeded expectations and up until now had cruised to a 10-1 record and another Pac-10 title.  They beat their nemesis Notre Dame and were expected to clean up against UCLA before moving on to the National Championship.  I remember the National Championship last year. And those Trojan fans were so smug last year.  They begged us Bruin fans to root for them in the Rose Bowl against Texas which we gladly did (well not so much in favor of USC but more anti Texas) and we withstood their smugness and gloating.  It was all very Republican.  But USC has gone down.  They're still the Pac-10 champs but UCLA fans can take pride.  

Now here's another thing.  I don't like using sports analogies with politics because it can get confusing but I will here.  Most people don't realize this but USC is a Republican bastion (or at least was before Steven Sample began making the school better academically).  USC was long the school for wealthy children who couldn't get in anywhere else but who's parents had enough money and enough blue blood to get them an acceptance to USC.  USC was the recruiting ground for Richard Nixon and the school who's big donors were also the big GOP donors as well.  UCLA has always been the progressive and liberal school.  It is one of the jewels of the nation's greatest public higher education system.  USC was the school of nepotism and Republican money, UCLA is the school of diversity.  USC may have produced conservatives but UCLA has produced great progressive leaders like Earl Warren, Henry Waxman, and Antonio Villaraigosa.  And for that, I will celebrate.