The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA. Friday night, Dec. 12, 2020. An SOS From Woof Blister for Spoof On Sports.
Never was the parody of the Trojan fight song, "Fight On", more appropriate than on this night, as the USC eleven came back in the final minute to remain undefeated and beat UCLA 42-38. The officials left the field immediately, under plain-clothes police escort. Fortunately, "game attendance was limited," as the pandemic continues, and Bruin fans could not mob the zebras as they fled the stadium.
A series of penalties had kept the initial go-ahead Trojan drive in tact, as the Bruins were called offside on two successive critical plays, in the drive that put SC on top, 36-35, with about two minutes to play in the final quarter. In addition, a Trojan fumble, ruled so on the field, was overturned on review, helping the SC offense to its final, game-winning touchdown, after a Bruin field goal had put UCLA ahead by three.
Where the payoff took place is uncertain, but the Trojans, probably with the help of Hollywood celebrities who want their academically mediocre kids admitted to USC, which is highly regarded socially but not so academically. If you can get a kid into USC with only a half-million dollar "donation", surely some well-heeled alum would put up twice that amount to guarantee a win over crosstown rival UCLA.
Editor's fact-check: The Spoof author is a UCLA graduate, from the Red Sanders era, and had watched Kenny Washington and Jackie Robinson play the Trojans to a 0-0 tie in 1939. He's 90.
