Of superstitions and strange California things on the way to a Big West championship

By Megan Roe

March 20, 2005 | With bungees tied to their waists, one student from Northridge and one from Pacific stood at half court with a basketball. At the sound of a whistle, the two students ran to opposite baskets and, with forces pulling them backward, tried to shoot.

This was at halftime March 11, during one of the semi-final games of the Big West Tournament. Though it was close, Pacific's student won the challenge. Pacific won the game.

Was it a sign? Nahhh. It didn't mean much to me, just a mere coincidence.

Later that night, the Aggies faced Cal State Fullerton. The game was close, the halftime score 34-33, in favor of the Aggies. In the halftime bungee challenge, an Aggie won! The Aggies also won that night. Except for my mother and I, no one seemed to notice this small coincidence.

So at the championship game against Pacific Saturday night, my mom and I felt very anxious when halftime arrived. My anxiety didn't come from Pacific's one-point lead. No, it came as I watched Big Blue and the Pacific "Power Cat," a tiger, step onto the court strapped to giant hair elastics. I felt my stomach flip as I saw the blue bull stumble back after running to his basket.

The tiger had gotten to the basket first and Big Blue could not get closer than the foul line. I heard Pacific fans cheer as Big Blue kept missing shots and the tiger made a lay-up. I turned away, too nervous to watch. All of the sudden Aggie fans gave out a huge cheer, and then another one! Finally the time expired. Big Blue had won! My mother and I looked at each other and smiled. We already knew what the game's outcome would be.

OK, so enough of this superstition. My trip to Anaheim was about more than just basketball. I found out how different Californians are from Utahans.

I'm not saying one is better than the other. They're just different. My Californian cousin, Christina, is a senior in high school and knows all about the movie stars and fashion. She took me to a flea market filled with 70 percent junk, 20 percent really cheap designer knockoffs and 10 percent real, but cheaper stuff.

Christina led me directly to the little booth with Seven jeans. These jeans aren't like your normal pair of jeans. These jeans are hot! But they usually come with a $150 price tag. So, of course, when we saw them for $45, we decided we had to have them. The problem was, I had no cash, only plastic.

So we ran looking for an ATM. I spotted a woman talking on a brick-sized walkie-talkie. She looked as if she worked there.

So I lightly grabbed her arm and politely said, "Excuse me. Do you know where the ATM's are?"

At first she had this shocked look on her face, then it turned to disgust.

As she looked me up and down she said, "Yeah, just over by the fence."

I was kind of weirded out.

Then Christina enlightened me.

"Did you see how shocked she was?" she said. "Uhh, that's because you touched her. Maybe that flies in Utah, but you just don't go around touching complete strangers in California."

I was just trying to politely get her attention.

Speaking of strange, my husband didn't like Disneyland. Who doesn't like Disneyland?!? I absolutely love the place. Yet, after every lovely ride, he would say, "Where are all the fun rides?" He soon found out that Disneyland is not about the highest roller coaster, or the biggest thrill. Disneyland is about the atmosphere. The place where dreams come true was completely spotless. I swear there are over a million employees whose only job is to pick up trash and mop the concrete (yes, I saw someone mopping the sidewalk). It's even rumored that, at night, they vacuum the streets.

One of the best things at Anaheim, was seeing the "SHOW THEM YOUR A," shirts and other Aggie paraphernalia on fans all over the city. At Disneyland, we'd yell "Go Aggies," every time we saw a navy blue shirt. It kept reminding me why I had gone on my trip in the first place, because of our underrated basketball team.

Back to the final game. My stomach gets butterflies when I watch Aggie basketball. It's silly because I don't know half of the rules of basketball, and I never had any real interest in basketball until this year. Watching the Aggies and Pacific battle it out was so exciting The game remained close up until halftime. However, with 3:14 left in the second half, the Aggies went on a 19-2 run.

Even though we were killing Pacific, no Aggie fan dared chant "overrated," afraid they might jinx USU. However, Pacific was not able to come back this time. Utah State won, 65-52.

With about 30 seconds left in the game, Aggie fans streamed into the aisles. At the sound of the game-ending buzzer, the Aggies stormed the court and turned it into a giant mosh pit. Jumping up and down next to the sweaty bodies of strangers had never been so much fun. It was great to end my vacation on a good note, by seeing my favorite team become the best in the Big West.

MS
MS