Trojan Candy attended today's USC Associates Pre-Game Picnic before the Stanford football game and took this picture of the banner at the entrance.
As I turned around and walked back to take a picture of the USC Spirit Squad, who greeted us at the entrance, someone called out my name. It was friend Frank Stirling. I know Frank from Monday Morning Quarterback. He told me that his wife was a member of Angel's Flight when she was an undergrad at USC. So was Trojan Candy! I walked with Frank to his table to meet Robin when I saw another familiar face. It was a fellow TGLA member Rita Evans and her husband David. Naturally, I took their picture.
What a picturesque afternoon!
What a thrill it was to watch friend George Farmer "STAR" in the premiere of the second season of NFL Network's "Undrafted" tonight on CBS.
George's story opened up the program. There was a heartwarming segment with his father George Sr., who himself played in the NFL for six years. Then, his segment ended with scenes at USC and the undrafted try-outs.
Trojan Candy first met George in Heritage Hall when he was a Freshman at USC. This is my first picture of him when I interviewed him (7/14/2011). Click on the thumbnail to access the interview.
Then, check out five more pictures I took of George with his USC teammates. Click the thumbnails to check out the stories.
Congratulations, George, on your starring role, and FIGHT ON in the NFL!
Trojan Candy saw many friends in a week's span. Here are their pictures.
On Friday, September 4th, Carley Horan (10/11/2012), Paige Hines (1/31/2014), and Sara Hughes (1/31/2014) were hostesses at a Heritage Hall Reception in the Bashor Lounge. FIGHT ON, Carley! FIGHT ON, Paige! FIGHT ON, Sara!
My husband Jim took this picture of Karen Bowman and yours truly in front of the Tommy Trojan statue in the Heritage Hall lobby. It was Karen's last day as a Director of Development for the Trojan Athletic Fund. She is transferring to the new USC Alzheimer's Research Center in San Diego, where she lives. Congratulations and FIGHT ON, Karen!
Several days later, on Thursday, September 10th, as I was walking from the USC/Radisson Hotel parking structure to the Galen Center for a Women of Troy volleyball match, two familiar faces walked toward me. They were USC Alumnae Basketball players, Markisha Lea (4/15/2010) and Shay Murphy (11/29/2012). Markisha works at USC as an Academic Advisor and Shay plays professional basketball in the WNBA and in Europe. FIGHT ON, Markisha! FIGHT ON, Shay!
On Friday, September 11th, at the Women of Troy Soccer game versus San Diego, Trojan Candy took this picture of friend Eloy Lopez (4/9/2015) with my sister Pat. We three enjoyed much conversation.
At the soccer halftime, Trojan Candy saw friend Elizabeth Eddy (9/8/2011) and her grandfather Jim. Elizabeth told me that she just finished playing professional soccer for the season. Congratulations and FIGHT ON, Elizabeth! Our Women of Troy beat San Diego 2-1! FIGHT ON, Women of Troy Soccer!
My last picture was taken at the Jet Blue tail-gate before the USC-Idaho game on September 12th. This nice family sat at our table. They are Lance, Aiden, Monique, and Addison. Aiden is an All-Star Little League baseball player, and his dad Lance is a coach of the team. Mom Monique told Jim and me that she played soccer in high school at St. John Bosco and in college but had to stop because of injuries. When I told them about my website and mentioned that Mark Sanchez (4/8/2008) was the first football player I had interviewed, Monique said that her father and Mark's father are very good friends. She added that, when Mark was considering going pro, her brothers gave him some advice. Then Monique told us that her brothers played in the "Big Leagues." The MLB! Smiling, she said that her older brother is Nomar Garciaparra! Wow, Jim and I were both surprised! Then I thought that Aiden might be a future Trojan baseball player! What an athletic family!
Trojan Candy heard the Spirit of Troy march from their band practice in the Loker Track Stadium to the west patio of Heritage Hall. I got to the pep rally in time to stand on one of the concrete planters that provided a good vantage point to take videos.
Then, a gentleman came up to me and asked, "Do you remember me?" I remembered his face....then he told me he was V.J., Kris Albarado's grandfather. V.J. [Abate] (11/16/2012) told me that he had looked for me in Heritage Hall. I had to tell him that we are no longer allowed to volunteer at the Heritage Hall desk. Then, V.J. told me that his wife Eva and Kris's mother Alexis were nearby. The two of us walked over to them. Grandma Eva (11/16/2012) told me that she and V.J. flew out from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to see the game. They are also flying to Chicago to see the Notre Dame game. They hope to see even more USC games this season, since their oldest grandson Kris is now a Senior. Then, just as we were talking, friend Kris (9/16/2011) came over to join us. All four of them posed for this picture. FIGHT ON, Kris!
Trojan Candy was certainly "hyped up" by the pep rally.
FIGHT ON, USC Football!
