Four hours before game time, my husband Jim and I walked around USC FAN FEST. We tried to win a t-shirt at the USC Credit Union booth. The t-shirt read, "The Monopoly Continues." It is impossible to throw a football into one net opening, let alone, two. Needless to say, we walked away, shirtless. I was able to get a button for just trying. The button read, "Don't Bruin your Life." Trojan Candy will wear it proudly every time we play the Bruins. There were two new booths in the Fan Fest area. One was Hass Avocado's "Hole-Y Guacamole" booth. Yum! They passed out free samples, and you could win a green backpack or t-shirt if you threw two bean bags in the hole. Needless to say, we walked away, shirtless. The second new booth was Jeep's "Ride a Jeep." There was even an obstacle course. Not being adventurous, we declined to take the test drive.
Trojan Candy was able to visit with an old friend at the Fan Fest. Charles White was signing autographs. He told me that he retired from USC in September 2011 after working on campus for 25 years! Charles was a frequent visitor to the Heritage Hall desk until his office was moved clear across campus. Check out my articles on him on August 22, 2008, and September 10, 2009. Out of sight, but never out of mind. FIGHT ON, Charles!
As we walked to the Coliseum gate, a black car drove by us and parked at the fence. The driver was Magic Johnson! I sure hope that he was rooting for USC!
Senior Salute: Before the game, our 21 Seniors were introduced. Coach Lane Kiffin gave each one of them a big hug as they ran out of the tunnel. They were greeted by their families and then shown on the big screen. Trojan Candy has interviewed 18 of the 21 Seniors! I still hope that Seniors Robbie Boyer, Ross Cumming and Sean Jackson come by the Heritage Hall desk to visit. I will miss every one of my Senior Friends. FIGHT ON, Forever Seniors!
Game Time: We won the toss, chose to receive the kick off, and never looked back! Our Offense and Defense demolished the Bruins. VICTORY! 50-0!
My title is what the USC Credit Union button read. "Don't Bruin your Life!" What good advice for all Trojan Alumni and SCions! As for the UCLA Football Team....Its LIFE is in RUINS!
The walls are coming up on the John McKay Center. Notice the nice arches.
Trojan Candy was hopeful that the football team had not left for Oregon yet. My wish came true! When my husband Jim and I walked into the Heritage Hall lobby, it was quiet. Then we found out that the team would leave campus around 2:00 p.m. Good! There's plenty of time to wish our friends good luck in Eugene.
In the meantime, three new friends came to the Heritage Hall desk for the first time. Kristen Dronberger came to the desk with a big smile on her face. She is a fifth-year Senior majoring in Communications. Kristen, who is from Sacramento, competed as a utility player on the Women of Troy Water Polo Team. At La Canada High School she is the Head Coach of the Girl's Water Polo team as well as the Assistant Coach for the Boy's Water Polo team. Water polo must be her passion! Kristen's other passion is that she loves to sing in the shower. FIGHT ON, Kristen!
The second new friend walked briskly to the desk. Trojan Candy asked him if he was on the track team. Faulty intuition! Senior Eric Wise told me that he is on the USC basketball team. Then I guessed that he is a Forward. Eric said that he was. Good intuition! Eric, who is from Riverside, majored in Sociology. His hobbies are listening to Lil Wayne and Jay-Z music, watching TV programs "The First 48" and ESPN, and hanging out with friends and family. When we left the desk to take his picture, I estimated his height at 6 ft. 5 in. Eric said that is his height. Good intuition! FIGHT ON, Eric!
The third new friend walked up to the desk to get some posters for his co-workers. I asked him if he worked on campus. He said that he works at The Port. Martin Chavez then told me that he is a J.S. Serra High School Board Member. Then he said that he knows our four Serra football players: Da'John Harris, Robert Woods, Marqise Lee and George Farmer. It was so nice to hear from him what good students they are! That makes Trojan Candy even more proud of DaJohn, Robert, Marqise and Robert and Marqise!
Senior Eric Childs was interviewed by Trojan Candy in September 2010. I wasn't able to finish the interview then since Eric had to rush off to class, but I caught him when he came into the lobby today. Since September, Eric has added Pre-Med to his major. Good luck in that pursuit, Eric! He has switched to playing Defensive End now and started rotating into the game ever since the Colorado game. FIGHT ON again, Eric!
Seen at the SCene:
Trojan Candy hasn't seen Robert Woods (8/19/2010) for several weeks, so when he came to the desk, I had to take a picture with him. I wanted to see for myself that he was "ALIVE and WELL!" He looks pretty good to me! Keep mending, Robert!
Coaches: Football: Ted Gilmore, Lenny Vandermade, Lane Kiffin, Monte Kiffin, John Baxter, Sammy Knight; Rowing: Ligita Kaviere; and Women's Tennis: Richard Gallien
Heritage Hall Friends: Joyce, Teresa Verbeck, Dr. Bryce Nelson, R.J. Stowe, Jennifer Noriega, Dave Tuttle, Hervey Malone II, and Markisha Lea
Men's Tennis: Ray Sarmiento
Track: CoCo Ndipagbor, Jessica Davis, and Loudia Laarman
Rowing: Magdalena Janicka, Lisa Kolstad, and Kerstin Fuller
Football: 52 players came to the desk today. Some more than once! Trojan Candy wished them all "Good Luck!" Brice Butler, Marcus Martin, Randall Telfer, D.J. Morgan, Da'John Harris (he told me that he will play against Oregon), Xavier Grimble, Khaled Holmes, Andre Heidari, Tony Burnett, Jawanza Starling, Nick Perry (I told Nick to get 4 sacks), Devon Kennard, Chris Pousson, Kyle Prater, Nickell Robey, John Manoogian, Marqise Lee (I told Marqise to get 9 receptions; my husband added 1 touchdown), Robert Woods, Hayes Pullard, Jesse Scoggins, Craig McMahon, George Uko, Christian Tupou, Max Wittek, Brandon Carswell, Kevin Greene, Zack Kusnir, Dion Bailey, J.R. Tavai, Wes Horton, Cody Kessler, Kyle Negrete, Aundrey Walker, Lamar Dawson, Marshall Jones, Simione Vehikite, Ross Cummings, Marc Tyler, Luke Freeman, Jeremy Galten, Curtis McNeal (who gave me a BIG hug), Emon Saee, Nic Curry, Kevin Graf, Tre' Madden, and Demetrius Wright
As my husband and I walked to the garage, we saw the team bus. In the luggage area we saw Coach John Baxter's Hammer. Who will earn it this week?
Carry On, Mighty Men of Troy, to another VICTORY! Beat the Ducks!
Happy Thanksgiving!
After volunteering at Heritage Hall, my husband Jim and I attended the Women of Troy basketball game versus Fresno State and the Men's game versus Cal State Northridge.
Basketball season is here! The Dance Force is here! The Song Girls are here!
There were many former USC Women of Troy players at the game. Two friends were Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson! FIGHT ON, Lisa! FIGHT ON, Tina!
Our women started slow and were down 11-0. Then we fought back to win! The score was 65-57. After the victory, our Women of Troy always celebrate with the Spirit of Troy.
Our Student Section is here!
The men built up a big lead against Cal State Northridge and then won 66-59. A double-header VICTORY!
There were two former Men's Basketball players at the game. Old friend Taj Gibson and Demar DeRozan were able to came back to support their former team since the NBA season has not started yet. FIGHT ON, Taj! FIGHT ON, Demar!
More friends are here! Trojan Candy saw three football friends in the stands. Anthony Neyer, Taylor Ross, and John Katnik (8/26/2011) came to root on the teams to victory! FIGHT ON, Anthony! FIGHT ON, Taylor! FIGHT ON, John!
What a perfect 11/11/11 day!
My husband Jim and I always walk by the construction site of the John McKay Center on our way to Heritage Hall. There is so much progress every week. The roof is on now!
Today is Veteran's Day and also the day before Homecoming. There were several tours and visitors who came to visit the lobby and view the trophies. Five new friends came up to the desk for the first time.
The first new friend was a Veteran! How ironic is that! U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Chris Johnson walked in the door with his wife Kerstin. Kerstin told Trojan Candy that they will be married twenty years next week. Happy Anniversary, Chris and Kerstin! Chris told me that they flew in from Belton, Texas (just outside of Fort Hood), to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of his graduation. Chris majored in Biological Sciences at USC and graduated in 1986. Now the wonderful explanation about the display case that Chris is standing next to in his picture. Chris wrote in my notebook the following story: "Pete Carroll and Mike Garrett sent us some signed USC football items while I was deployed in Iraq, 2004-2005-including signed game jersey. I returned the favor a few years later-by giving them my game jersey-an impromptu thing in Pete Carroll's office, the day prior to a UCLA game. He said he wanted to put it downstairs and so that's the story." FIGHT ON, Chris! Happy Veteran's Day to all our Armed Services Men and Women!
The next two new friends to walk up to the desk were the sons of two "old" friends. Lin and Rob McDermott first came to the Heritage Hall desk from Salem, Maine, on October 15, 2010. Their children sent the couple to L.A. to see the USC-Cal game. Rob is a big USC fan! (just like yours truly and anyone who is reading this blog now!) Rob and Lin brought two of their sons with them this time. Todd (named after Todd Marinovich) and Curtis (named after Curtis Conway) stayed in the lobby and were able to get many football autographs. Nice to see you again, Rob and Lin! Nice to meet you, Todd and Curtis!
The next new friend walked in with a tour group. He is actually an "old" friend. Alumnus Morris Ying graduated from USC in 1971. He majored in Electrical Engineering. Morris is from Tokyo, Japan. My husband and I know Morris because he volunteers at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts just like we do! We've even encountered him on one of our trips to Las Vegas. Morris nor Trojan Candy knew that we were both Trojans. What a surprise! FIGHT ON, Morris!
The fifth new friend to come to the desk was John Canlas. John, who is from Glendale, is a Sophomore majoring in Kinesiology. He works downstairs with the football and basketball teams. John is also a Referee at the Lyon Center. He works basketball, football and soccer games. John likes to watch television, and his favorite shows are "The Office" and "Community." For hobbies, John likes to play sports and music. Trojan Candy needs to find out what instrument John plays the next time he comes to visit. I also need to take a better picture of him. Sorry, John, my camera messed up! Naturally, it wasn't my fault! FIGHT ON, John!
Seen at the SCene:
Good friend Jawanza Starling came to visit, as he does every week. My husband Jim noticed that he was sporting a beard. Jawanza told us that he is not going to shave off his newly grown beard until he gets an interception! Stay tuned to see when Jawanza is clean shaven again!
Heritage Hall friends: Pat Haden, Luke Stephens, Russ Ramano, Andrew Morcos, J.K. McKay, Chelsea Forte, Odette Overton, Darcy Couch
Coaches: Football: Lane Kiffin, Monte Kiffin, Ed Orgeron, Sammy Knight, Ted Gilmore, Aaron Ausmus, Scott Thompson
Rowing: Ligita Kaviere
Soccer: Ashley Freyer, Carly Butcher
Women's Tennis: Alison Ramos
Rowing: Caroline Trawick
Diving: Tory Ishimatsu
Track and Field: Loudia Laarman, Jessica Davis, Lauren Blackburn, Jenna Puterbaugh, Melia Cox, Coco Ndipagbor, Kathy Chang, Nia Ali, Alitta Boyd, Dalilah Muhammad, Josh Mance
Football Players: Randall Telfer, Marshall Jones, Soma Vainuku, Curtis McNeal, Martin Coleman, Kevin Greene, Xavier Grimble, Dion Bailey (told Trojan Candy that he will play against Washington), Da'John Harris, Emon Saee, Drew McAllister, Brice Butler, Demetrius Wright, Amir Carlisle, Luis Nevarez, Jawanza Starling, Devon Kennard, Boomer Roepke, Cody Gifford (who was limping in the lobby), Nick Perry, Jesse Scroggins, Kyle Prather, Khaled Holmes, George Uko, Tony Burnette, Nathan Guertler, Zack Kusnir, Chris Pousson, Eric Childs, Kyle Negrete, Nickell Robey, T.J. Bryant, Marcus Martin, and Brandon Carswell
Beat the Huskies!
FIGHT ON, until then!
There was a blizzard Tuesday night in Denver and Trojan Candy, her sister Pat, and brother-in-law Dudley flew in Wednesday afternoon. There was snow everywhere! Luckily, the runways and streets were cleared already.
On Thursday we drove to downtown Denver to sightsee. After all, we are tourists! There was a 96 stair ascent to the Golden Dome of the Colorado State Capitol. Naturally, I took lots of pictures.
This was followed by a tour of the Colorado Mint. No pictures were allowed, but my memories will suffice. There was a canvas container full of newly minted quarters. When full, the amount was $100,000! After the Mint tour, we went to tour the Federal Reserve Bank. At the exit, we could take a bag of shredded money as a souvenir. Too bad that the bag is worthless!
In the evening, we attended the USC Alumni Club of Colorado Pep Rally at the Westin. Trojan Candy made some new friends at the pep rally. Manning the check-in desk were new friends Erin Jebay (2008) and Harmony Frederick (2013). The ladies are Associate Directors of Alumni Clubs and Communities. Friend Marianne Hunt's brother Loran sat at our table. Loran played on the USC Football Team in 1965.
Friends Dean Karen Gallagher and Anne Wicks of the Rossier School of Education came by to visit. Then, I interviewed the local USC Alumni Club President. Gary Stone, who attended USC in 1986 to 1990, has been president for four years. A graduate from the School of Accounting, Gary is from Palos Verdes but moved to Denver because of the climate, the lifestyle and the mountains. His Alumni Club has over 800 active members, and they were just chosen as Alumni Club of the Year by the USC Alumni Association. FIGHT ON, USC Alumni Club of Colorado! The menu consisted of prime rib, sushi, various cheese and crackers, and made-to-order pasta dishes. Scrumptious!
Dr. Bartner and the Spirit of Troy marched into the ballroom after dinner. All Trojans in attendance enjoyed and cheered when the band, Spirit Team and Song Girls performed all our favorite songs. Beat the Buffalos! As we left the Pep Rally, there were three more friends in the lobby. Photographer Dan Avila and Roger and Barbara Rossier bid us farewell.
The game is finally here. For some reason it feels like today is Saturday, but it is Friday! The Colorado campus was bustling six hours before game time. Then I realized that today is a school day.
The pre-game picnic was at the Harvest House Millenium. The Spirit of Troy marched in and gave another rousing performance. FIGHT ON, Spirit of Troy!
Luckily, the weather warmed up from Wednesday night. Game time would only dip into the 40's!
Colorado's Folsom Stadium holds about 60,000 people. Trojan Candy saw another friend in the stadium...Luke Stephens!
As Trojan Candy walked through the enclosed Field House to make it to my seat, I saw and heard the Colorado Marching Band's pep rally. Then, the band marched right by me.
There were still traces of snow in the stadium. Let the game begin!
Our Men of Troy played well. Even though Colorado scored the first touchdown, Matt Barkley threw six touchdown passes, a new USC game record! We won 42-17. Carry On, Mighty Men of Troy, to another Victory!