The Time Is Now, as the billboards around town say – for a college football doubleheader.
asserted
billboards → say → doubleheader
With UCLA’s game scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. at the Rose Bowl and USC’s at 4:30 p.m. at the Coliseum, the clock might become the enemy in trying to see both local teams on the same day.
10:07 a.m. – The GPS says it’s 36 minutes to Rose Bowl Parking Lot K as my car exits the driveway under gloomy skies.
uncertain
car → schedule → skies
A sense of foreboding sets in.
asserted
sense → set → foreboding
The GPS lied.
asserted
GPS → lie → ?
10:43 a.m. – A pack of UCLA students crosses a bridge onto Brookside Golf Course carrying a case of Coors Light.
asserted
pack → cross → Light
You can get into the nation’s top public university but can’t even pick a decent beer?
asserted
You → get → beer
– Bob Chesney Sr., the coach’s father who is every bit as motivational as his son, ambles over to say hello on the field before the Bruins’ game against Nevada.
asserted
who → amble → Nevada
“Isn’t this fun?” he asks amid UCLA’s unbeaten start, unaware of what it’s been like to be around this program for more than a decade.
asserted
it → ask → decade
– Running back Wayne Knight, who left the Bruins’ game against Michigan State last weekend with an abdominal injury, lines up at the goal line in warmups and sprints toward midfield.
asserted
who → leave → midfield
Looks like he’s playing.
asserted
he → look → ?
Nevada has no chance.
asserted
Nevada → have → chance
12:18 p.m. – Honorary captain Josh Kelley, the former UCLA star who once ran for 289 yards against USC, stops to chat outside the press box elevators.
asserted
who → run → elevators
“I think this team can go all the way,” he said, and he wasn’t talking about winning the Big Ten.
asserted
he → think → Ten
1:17: p.m. – Nevada quarterback Luke Duncan – the former Bruin – throws an interception on his first pass in his return to the Rose Bowl.
asserted
Duncan → throw → Bowl
1:40 p.m. – Derrick Barksdale returns Duncan’s third interception for a 26-yard touchdown and the Bruins take a 10-0 lead.
asserted
Bruins → return → lead
3:17 p.m. – The Bruins tack on another touchdown to go up 24-0.
asserted
Bruins → tack → touchdown
Consider it payback for Steve Alford, the failed UCLA basketball coach who never should have gotten a job at Nevada.
asserted
who → consider → Nevada
4:37 p.m. – With UCLA’s 27-0 victory complete, the GPS says it’s 37 minutes to the underground media parking at the Coliseum.
asserted
it → say → Coliseum
If that’s true, we’ll get there well before halftime!
asserted
we → ’ → halftime
– The gates are down at the parking lot and it’s time to pivot.
asserted
it → ’ → lot
Once again, the GPS can’t be trusted.
asserted
GPS → trust → ?
5:13 p.m. – A free parking spot materializes a few blocks away on a side street.
asserted
spot → materialize → street
And they say parking around the Coliseum is an expensive nightmare.
asserted
parking → say → Coliseum
– An attendant at one gate of the Lucas Narrative Museum of Art won’t let a straggler to USC’s game against second-ranked Ohio State cut through a walkway to the Coliseum.
asserted
straggler → let → Coliseum
Tempted to tell him that the last six Star Wars movies stank.
asserted
movies → tempt → him
5:30 p.m. – Settling into my seat in the press box, the Trojans are kicking off with a 17-6 lead early in the second quarter.
asserted
Trojans → settle → quarter
5:42 p.m. – USC running back King Miller fumbles.
asserted
Miller → fumble → ?
5:45 p.m. – Ohio State’s Bo Jackson drops a pass that might have gone for a touchdown.
uncertain
that → drop → touchdown
Maybe the Buckeyes want the Trojans’ Lincoln Riley to keep his job.
asserted
Riley → want → job
6:50 p.m. – USC tight end Mark Bowman makes a catch, hurdles a defender and breaks a few tackles, wriggling free for a spectacular 70-yard gain.
asserted
Bowman → make → gain
Did he learn that move from watching UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson do that to the Trojans on this same field?
asserted
Robinson → learn → field
– Fans storm the wet field after USC closes out the 30-18 upset in a scene reminiscent of a similar mob after the Trojans upset No. 5 Stanford in 2013 under interim coach Ed Orgeron.
asserted
Trojans → storm → Orgeron
Of course, after two more games, Orgeron was gone.
asserted
Orgeron → go → games
8:53 p.m. – In a bizarre ending to his postgame media availability after his most significant victory with the Trojans, Riley reads some prepared notes, reiterating that he’s “the right person for this job.”
asserted
he → read → job
He didn’t think we heard him the first time?
asserted
we → think → him
11:26 p.m. – Final story of the day complete, it’s back to the car with a soaked jacket after another ridiculously long loop around the Lucas museum.
asserted
it → ’ → museum
Who ever liked Jar-Jar Binks, anyway?
asserted
Who → like → Binks
11:27 p.m. – The GPS says it’s 17 minutes home.
asserted
it → say → ?
Will it be possible to stay awake?
asserted
it → stay → ?
The clock didn’t strike midnight on either the Bruins or the Trojans.
asserted
clock → strike → Bruins
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
