Heritage Hall was busy, even though the football team was in Virginia. The Football Office was closed and the Adminstrative Office closed early for the Labor Day weekend.
Some tours came by, the Dental School had a luncheon on the back patio and some “new” and “old” friends came by. Our good friend Hal Keimi came by to give us a beautiful 2008 Football Team picture that he took. Thank you Hal! Hal volunteers on Wednesdays at Heritage Hall. He’s been doing it for 17 years! He is a retired LAUSD teacher also. Hal and his wife Barbara are ardent fans and boosters of USC athletics. We see them at football games, men’s and women’s basketball games, men’s and women’s volleyball games, baseball games and some team banquets. At each of these events, Hal has his camera. Just like yours truly!
New friends! Jim Koffler came by to pick up some posters. He is Matt Koffler’s dad. Jim told us that Matt was a quarterback at USC in 1994-1996, and that he still has the USC record for the longest pass from scrimmage...a 97 yarder to R.J. Soward in 1996 against Illinois! Now, Matt is a Special Education teacher and the head football coach at Rosemead H.S. He was named San Gabriel Valley Coach of the Year last year. May Matt “Fight On” in his coaching endeavors!
Hal introduced us to Michael Sylvester. Mike works with Athletes in Action on campus. He told us that he mentors 80 athletes to help them grow in “mind, body and spirit.” May Mike “Fight On” in his worthwhile efforts!
Running through the lobby was Charles White, with a quick hello. Then ESPN’s Stuart Scott walked briskly through.
There was so much excitement going on at Heritage Hall today!
The Dance Force practiced on the front patio. Basketball season is three months away and the ladies are already working hard. Practice does make perfect!
The marching band had lunch on the back patio under a large cardinal and gold balloon arch and then had sessions all around the outside of Heritage Hall. It looked like the band members in each session were “hazing” the new band members. Whatever they were doing, all of them looked like they were having a lot of FUN!
Marvin Cobb came by the desk. He was a star on the 1972 National Championship Football team. Marvin told me that after college he played six years on the Cinncinati Bengals and that now he works in L.A. He was at Heritage Hall today because he is on the board of a football alumni group and will be registering the “25 Year” and “50 Year” reunion of football players who will be attending the Salute to Troy. It was a privilege to meet him.
Another gentleman was waiting in Heritage Hall. I went over to meet him. His name is Frank Cushing, and he was waiting for his son Brian. Yes, that Brian Cushing who is on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Frank told me that he is from New Jersey and that he has been staying in LA for a week to attend practices and the Salute to Troy tonight. He told me that Brian is majoring in Sociology and that his roommate is Taylor Mays. I wonder if Taylor’s little finger has healed? Not too much time to wonder.... Brian came into Heritage right then, and I was lucky enough to take a picture with the two of them. In further conversation, Frank told me that Brian has an older sister and brother. Both of them were athletes also. What an athletically gifted famly! His sister played soccer at Providence and his brother played rugby at Rhode Island. They are both much older than Brian. It is hard to imagine Brian being the “baby” of the family. Frank told me that Brian chose USC over 150 other schools! Thank goodness he is a Trojan! May he “Fight On!” all through his Senior year and in the NFL!
I finally got to slow Charles White down enough to get a picture of us. Normally, he is running through Heritage Hall with just a “hello” wave. One day he will take a piece of Trojan candy. When I asked him to pose by his Heisman Trophy, we had to find it! We looked at all seven of them. As we passed Carson Palmer’s he said that it is too new. As you can see, we finally found it!
Gina and Veronica, who work on campus in Financial Aid, came by for the first time. They said that they would come by to visit on Fridays and get a piece of Trojan candy. Two new friends a little too late! I needed to meet them earlier when my daughter Steffany attended the Marshall School of Business at USC. They might have been able to give me a break. Nah, there is not enough Trojan candy to buy me any special favors!
Classes haven’t even started yet, but Heritage Hall is B U S Y!
A close family friend came by the desk first. Her name is Aileen Osato. Aileen earned her MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business. She had just attended a business school luncheon and stopped by to pick up some football posters. We obliged! I have seen Aileen unexpectedly at the Sports Arena, the Coliseum, the Galen Center, the Stanford Stadium, the Notre Dame stadium in South Bend and now Heritage Hall!
All afternoon, the USC Marching Band flag team practiced outside on the Heritage Hall patio. As I said, school hasn’t even started yet but band camp is going strong.
The Women of Troy NCAA Championship Soccer team is also going strong. Ashley Nick and her mother came by the desk. Upon recognizing her, I asked Ashley for her autograph. She smilingly signed one of the posters that we are passing out. Ashley, Amy Rodriquez and Kristen Olsen are featured on the poster. Ashley is a senior this year majoring in General Studies. She wants to be a 1st grade teacher. She trained with the national team in Spain and is now practicing with her fellow soccer Trojans doing two-a-days at 8-10 am and 5-7 pm. Fight On, Ashley!
A former USC Football team manager came by for a piece of Trojan candy. His name is Christopher Chacon, and he was taking his friend Tameko on a tour of the campus. Christopher was a manager from 1997 to 2001. He worked with the defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman during Paul Hackett’s tenure. Coach Carroll asked Christopher to stay on with the team, but Christopher decided to start his own construction-real estate business. Fight on, Christopher!
Professor Anne Hill of the Orange County P.M.- M.B.A Program came by for football, women’s volleyball and women’s soccer posters. She is a fellow Texan from Lubbock, Texas. Anne told us that her students go to Shanghai during spring break every year and, lucky her, she gets to accompany them!
Congratulations to all 41 Trojans competing in the Olympics!! May they all FIGHT ON!!
We’re back! My husband Jim and I volunteered at Heritage Hall today. There were many high school students on tour in the lobby. We passed out numerous Women’s Volleyball, Women’s Soccer with Olympian Amy Rodriguez highlighted and Football posters to the students. Jordan H.S. in Compton comprised the majority of the tours.
Several football players walked through the lobby, but none of them wanted any Trojan candy. Next time!
It was so nice to see the USC Women of Troy’s NCAA Golf Championship banner hanging proudly in the lobby! May the Lady Trojans FIGHT ON to another NCAA title in 2009!
Kristy Morrell, RD came out of her nearby office to visit us. She is the Sports Dietitian for all USC athletes. What a big responsibility! She normally doesn’t work on Fridays, so we were lucky to meet her.
Gary Klein stopped by...as always, he was looking for an athlete or coach to interview.
A Texas and Northern Californian resident came by to pick up some football posters, and then he asked if we had a tube to carry the posters in. The visitor was Frankie Narez. Frankie told us that he is the cousin of the late Mike Bastianelli, and that he had postponed his airplane flight back to Addison, Texas, so that he could stop by Heritage Hall. Frankie was able to meet with Coach Pete Carroll. Coach arranged for the equipment manager to give Frankie a souvenir goody package. It turns out that Frankie is originally from the Northern California area. He played high school football against the Ting brothers, knows Dennis Smith and is a good friend of Ronnie Lott and his son Ryan Nece. In fact, Ronnie Lott came to Frankie’s high school graduation. Oh, yes, back to the tube. I walked Frankie to the SID office, and Dave Tuttle gave him an empty tube, plus a football media guide. “USC takes care of its own!” Frankie told me to quote him...he said that “I feel like family here!”
The Trojan Family...lives on!
Our men swimmers are Larsen Jensen, Eric Vendt, Klete Keller and Mark Warkentin. Our women swimmers are Rebecca Soni, Ousmellouli from Tunisia and Jessica Hardy.
Amy Rodriquez is on the women’s soccer team.
Jesse Williams will be in the high jump. Our women track members are Allyson Felix and Torri Edwards.
In men’s water polo is J.W. Krumpholz. Our women’s water polo members will include Kami Craig, Patti Cardenas, Brittany Hayes, Moriah Van Norman and Lauren Wengel.
Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson will be on the women basketball team.
May all of our USC Olympians FIGHT ON in Beijing!
Try to visualize the USC campus as it was when as I was an undergrad in the 60’s.
All my Freshman classes were in Founder’s Hall (Now Taper Hall) and the un-air-conditioned Annex (now the Music Practice & Instructional Center). Birnkrant just opened for only female students in 1964 and there was a 10:00 pm curfew. The doors were locked at 10:00 pm every night. If you came back to the dorm late, you were locked out. You received demerits when the “House Mother” let you in. On each dorm floor there was one pay phone at the end of the hallway. In front of Birnkrant’s west side were tennis courts where, each morning, Stan Smith would wake us up practicing. Yes, Stan Smith, the 1972 Wimbledon Singles Champion!
As for sport facilities...there was no Heritage Hall, no Lyon Center, no Galen Center, no Dedeaux Field, no Loker Track Stadium, no McDonald’s Olympic Swim Stadium, and no Marks Tennis Stadium. The Coliseum football field had an oval track surrounding it. To attend a football game, you had to stand outside the Coliseum gate several hours before game time en masse. Coeds would faint and were lifted out. When the gates finally opened, the students ran in, in a frenzy! Back in the 60’s, the Greek sororities and fraternities could all sit together. In my Junior year I was in the Amazons and helped to set up the card stunts. We, and the Knights, were allowed into the Coliseum two hours before the gates opened so that we could tape a card stunt instructions on the back of each seat. For our efforts, we got to sit down very low in the 50 yard line seats because we had to fill in the aisle during the half-time card stunts. Best of all, we always got a free box lunch for our efforts!
The USC band had only 60 male members. No females were allowed since the uniform had an armor plate in the front. The band did the Sword formation and the Double (back-to-back) E formation. Traveler would run around the entire track that surrounded the football field. There were no Song Girls.
There were no Women of Troy on scholarship. Women athletes had to pay for their own uniforms and equipment and had to drive themselves to any local away games.
