Friday, August 18, 2023---USC Football Salute to Troy - Pre-Program
Trojan Candy got in one of the two USC Football Salute to Troy lines at 5:00 pm. My sister Patti, daughter Kelly, son-in-law Gen, and two grandsons Zane and Kane were with me. Then I saw that my brother-in-law Dudley Poon was the first one in line at the other line. Friend Michael Yee was second.
Once inside, we put our stuff down at our Table #5. Then Trojan Candy got in one of the three autograph lines, while Kelly stood in another line, and Gen and the grandsons stood in a third line. Unfortunately, the five of us waited for forty minutes for the USC players to come to the autograph tables. We all were near the front and the three lines got really long. Finally, the players arrived.
I was able to take a picture of three players before they started signing autographs. They were #59 freshman OL Micah Banuelos, #75 freshman OL Amos Talalele, and #88 freshman TE Kade Eldridge.
Freshman OL Tobias Raymond gave me a “Fight On” as well as his autograph.
Then, Kade Eldridge gave me his autograph, his “Fight On” and a big smile.
Amos Talalele smiled as he held up the picture that all of them autographed.
The last player at this table to sign my picture was Micah Banuelos. FIGHT ON! Kade, Amos, and Micha!
Before Trojan Candy left the table, I took pictures of two ladies who had asked me to take their pictures with Tobias Raymond.
At the third table were #95 TE Luke Otte, #37 K/PK Eddie Czaplicki, #53 LS Nathan Wineta, #42 P Aadyn Sleep-Dalton, #48 S Daniel Jimenez-Fulton, and #46 PK Denis Lynch.
Trojan Candy left the autograph tables and looked for my grandsons. Luckily, I found Kane and Zane with freshman quarterback Malachi Nelson.
Trojan Candy tried to take as many pictures that I could take of more USC players.
Here was freshman RUSH Sam Greene who smiled for this picture.
Sophomore cornerback Domani Jackson posed so nicely for my next picture.
Raleek Brown, a sophomore wide receiver, gave me a “Fight On”!
Trojan Candy found my grandson Zane with freshman wide receiver Duce Robinson.
Next, my daughter Kelly got junior inside linebacker Eric Gentry’s autograph for her son Kane.
Then I took this picture of Zane with Eric Gentry.
Somehow, I was able to find Kane with freshman RUSH Braylan Shelby.
Next, Kane and senior tight end Jude Wolfe both gave me a “Fight On”!
Trojan Candy caught senior OL Andres Dewerk for this picture.
Junior wide receiver Corey Nerhus smiled for Trojan Candy.
After signing autographs, these three players gave me a “Fight On”! They were #93 DL senior Sinjun Astani, #51 RUSH senior Solomon Byrd, and #47 DL senior Stanley Ta’ufo’ou.
At the first player table were #84 freshman tight end Carson Tabaracci, Jude Wolfe, and Aadyn Sleep-Dalton.
At the next player table were Miller Moss, #28 sophomore QB Roy Gage, #39 sophomore RUSH Garrett Pomerantz, and #26 sophomore cornerback Fabian Ross.
At another table, #52 senior OL Jarrett Kingston, #17 sophomore QB Jake Jenson, #87 sophomore TE Lake McRee, and #99 senior DL Jack Sullivan posed for me.
At the last player table, my USC TGLA friend Marcia Montez posed with #90 sophomore DL Bear Alexandar, #79 senior DL De'jon Benton, and #37 freshman DL Devan Thompkins.
Next, Trojan Candy walked toward my table #5. On the way, I arrived in time to take this picture of my USC Trojan Guild friends and the USC Spirit Leaders. Standing at the left was Karen Chima and kneeling in the front were Sandy Johnston and Cheryl Schwartz.
As I got closer to my table, Trojan Candy took this picture of the USC Band Silks.
Standing just left of the Silks, were three Trojan Knights, the “Victory Bell” caretakers. They let me ring the bell!
Then Trojan Candy saw my good friend Ray Wong. He was taking pictures of the 2023 USC Beach Volleyball National Championship Team.
I took this picture of the 2023 Beach Volleyball team.
Here was the Spirit of Troy!
And here was twirler Emily Tutnick.
On the right side of the stage, Trojan Candy was able to take close-up pictures of members of the 25th and 50th Anniversary USC Teams.
Here were some of the 25th and 50th Anniversary teams. From left to right were Danny Reece (1973), Eric Williams (1973), Ennis Davis (1998), Zach Wilson (1998), Ken Bowen (1998), Charles Phillips (1973), and Charles Anthony (1973).
Some more 50th Anniversary players posed for my second picture. They were Mike McGirr, Rod McNeill, Jim Obradovich, Mark Spino, and Danny Reece.
And my last picture was of 25th Anniversary players. My friend, USC announcer Leland Waters, gathered several 25th Anniversary players together. Miguel Marco, Adam Abrams, Jahi Johnson, Mike Pollard, Bob Aubrey, and Leland. Leland and Bob Aubrey were fraternity brothers.
Now, it was time for the program to start, and this is where this part of the blog will end. The program will be described in the next blog.
Saturday, July 29, 2023---Trojan Coaches Club 2023 Pre-Season USC Football Talk
Trojan Candy and my husband Jim arrived at the Crest Sports Bar and Grill in Torrance just in time for the start of the Trojan Coaches Club’s “2023 Pre-Season USC Football Talk.” We were able to sit in two adjacent seats right in front of the stage.
I started video recording the start of the program.
[video] The first speaker was the President of the Trojan Coaches Club, MD3 Donovan III, who welcomed everyone. He talked about how the Trojan Coaches Club evolved. KEEP FIGHTING ON, MD3!
[video] Master of Ceremonies Ryan Abraham spoke next. He complimented USC's Heisman quarterback Caleb Williams. Then he introduced his Senior Staff Writer Connor Morrissette. Ryan talked about how USC football transformed with the hiring of Lincoln Riley.
[video] Connor talked more about the new defensive players, and Ryan talked about USC's tough season and how it would bode well for USC to get into the College Playoffs. Connor talked about the additions through the transfer portal.
[video] Then Connor and Ryan took questions from the audience. KEEP FIGHTING ON, Ryan! KEEP FIGHTING ON, Connor!
[video] The next speaker was USC Football Quarterback Shane Foley. Shane played at USC in 1986-1990. He was the starting USC quarterback in 1989 and 1990. Shane also spoke about his impression of Caleb Williams. He said he was impressed with Caleb's athleticism, leadership, and approach to the game.
[video] Shane took more questions. USC must develop toughness to dominate opponents. He answered a question about our defense not adjusting to opponent's audibles.
[video] MC Ryan Abraham then introduced Spencer Harris. Spencer is the Executive Director of the “House of Victory.” He described "House of Victory" and how athletes can be paid for name, image, and likeness (NIL) activities. It is a "must have" for recruiting athletes.
[video] Spencer responded to questions about how each state is handling NIL. House of Victory needs more participants to support our athletic programs. KEEP FIGHTING ON, Spencer!
Trojan Candy got in one of the two USC Football Salute to Troy lines at 5:00 pm. My sister Patti, daughter Kelly, son-in-law Gen, and two grandsons Zane and Kane were with me. Then I saw that my brother-in-law Dudley Poon was the first one in line at the other line. Friend Michael Yee was second.
And my last picture was of 25th Anniversary players. My friend, USC announcer Leland Waters, gathered several 25th Anniversary players together. Miguel Marco, Adam Abrams, Jahi Johnson, Mike Pollard, Bob Aubrey, and Leland. Leland and Bob Aubrey were fraternity brothers.
