Having grown up in Los Angeles I know a little bit about this USC-UCLA game. It seems to me that it's one of the only rivalry games that doesn't have a nickname. This year's game is the biggest I can ever remember. This article from the L.A. Times tells the story.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-tickets2dec02,0,2395348,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
People around the country say Los Angeles is a bad sports town. I guess it's because it doesn't have an NFL team.

But the Dodgers get 3 million fans whether they are doing well or not. The Lakers are an extremely tough ticket. Now it's probably hard to get Clippers tickets. When Wayne Gretzky came to town the Kings were the hottest ticket in town. It goes on and on.

Yes there are a lot of other options in L.A. so that's why when teams aren't doing well people don't go.

But the traffic in L.A. is such a headache that going to a game is lengthy process. I remember going to Rams games at the Coliseum and my dad and I would leave at 10 AM and we wouldn't get back until dinner time. That's a huge investment in time.

This weekend's USC-UCLA game is more like an event, so when there is a happening in L.A. people want to be there.

Ron Pivo
RPivo@kgw.com