The Greatest Game Ever Played

As requested... It was the fall of 1974. My brother, Jose, was a Sophomore at USC. He had spent his Freshman year at UC San Diego in La Jolla, one of the most beautiful places on the planet. At any rate, after his 1st year in college, he had a change of heart and, most important, he had his big buddy, Andy Katnik (who later would become our brother-in-law after his marriage to our sister, Annie) tugging him towards "The University" as he called it. Jos would visit Andy there and he had the urge to join him in L.A. The inevitable happened and Jos joined Andy at SC. I was just a Junior in high school and, once Jos stepped onto the SC campus, everything changed. We were Notre Dame fans since childhood due to the Catholic upbringing and, since we were raised in the Mid-West, we were inside the "sphere of influence" that a place like ND has/had. We rooted for them, even after we moved to California. We had many friends who were associated with either SC or UCLA; but, we were from Michigan, so we either rooted for the Wolverines (which at that time and place was like rooting for Australia in rugby) or for Notre Dame (which was the dreaded enemy of the Trojans). At any rate, Jos kept telling me about the Trojans and what a great team they had and how he was going to invite me up to a game...but, it had to be the right game. I waited all season long when the call came. Jos said, "I am saving you a ticket for the SC/ND game." He said it was the biggest game of the year and he wanted to invite me up for the game. Well, the occasion came. It was Thanksgiving Weekend. On the even # years, SC hosted the Irish. It was the last game of the year, even scheduled after the cross-town rivalry game against UCLA. I always thought that was amazing that they had to play such difficult games back-to-back every other year. But, what the heck. I went up to the game. Jos, Andy and all their buddies had the routine down pat. They knew exactly where to go and what to do. Regardless of the sea of humanity on the Sc campus, in Exposition Park, or around the Coliseum, they knew where to go and, believe me, for the first time in such a circumstance, it was comforting because at 16 years old, that can be very intimidating. Well, we made our way into the grand Coliseum, where the Olympics were held in 1932 (they were held there again in 1984). SC had been playing there home games there since 1923. The ivy hanging from the walls let everyone know the place had been there for a long, long time. The pageantry was cool, although unknown to me at the time. Jos would give me tidbits every now and they but he pretty much let me soak it in. I still had a liking for ND due to my childhood, but, once I saw Jos and Andy and how intense they were, I realized that the ND collar that I had in my youth was being stripped away. Cardinal and Gold all the way. The student section, which is where we were seated, started to do a chant, which I later came to know as a "So Cal Spellout". The cheer spells out Southern California, letter by letter, then it stops abruptly, and the students yell out the word "Southern" and they delay and crescendo into the "California". It is hard to describe, but, if you are in attendance (or if you know anybody who has attended "The University") no description is necessary. Suffice to say, it is way cool. Much has been written about the game. The Irish racing to a 24-0 lead just before the half. The amazing comeback (final score: 55-24). The magnitude of the inter-sectional rivalry). What I remember most are the following: The SC yell leader (some goofball) kept reminding the students over the loudspeaker that SC had come back before. Not to worry. We can come back. I was worried. But, Jos and Andy stood firm. "Don't worry"..."we can come back". I was worried. I could not believe that SC could come back against such a strong ND team which was loaded with talent and came into the game with only 1 or 2 losses (this was no slouch team). Ara Parsegian, the legendary Irish coach, was roaming the sidelines for goodness sakes!!! He would not allow a comeback from such a lead. Lo and behold, SC scored a touchdown (which seemed meaningless at the time) right before halftime. They went for 2 and missed. Halftime score: Irish 24, SC 6. It was a wipeout in the making. Anthony Davis returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown. We stood and went crazy. I still remember Jos and Andy jumping half-way to the sky. Once he broke containment, we could see he was going to go all the way. We stood and went bananas!!!!! Could it be. Can we come back. History recalls that we went on to stage a miraculous comeback...probably the best in history. But, at the time, SC was still a little bit out of sync. We missed the 2 point try (again), so we were still behind: ND 24, SC 12. Still a large deficit against the powerful ND. On the ensuing kickoff, a reserve linebacker playing on special teams, David Lewis, hurled his body at the ND return man and leveled him with a ferocious hit!! Down he went at the 12 yard-line. Since we were still standing from the excitement of Davis' kick return. We never sat down again! Play after play. Score after score. ND could do nothing right and SC could do nothing wrong. Fumbles and interceptions by ND were converted by scores by SC. The scoreboard could not keep up and broke!! If you count the score just before halftime, the 35 points in the 3rd quarter, and the 14 we tacked on in the first part of the 4th quarter, SC scored an amazing 55 points in 17 and 1/2 minutes!!!!!!! Not against Oregon State. Not against Stanford. This was Notre Dame, the most storied program in history. Sports Illustrated called it the "California Earthquake". Never had a team scored 24 unanswered points to be immediately followed by 55 unanswered points by the opposition. Even Traveler, the SC mascot which is a beautiful white horse with a "Trojan" riding atop the stallion (which appears out of the Coliseum tunnel after every score) could not muster the strength to come out after so many scores in such rapid succession. The aftermath was draining. We were so excited, but, yet drained. It was exhausting. Almost as if we had played in the actual game. We were tired. Horse. Almost unable to walk.... But, we were high as a kite! We had just witnessed a spectacular game. Jos commented to me..."not bad for you first college game". There is so much more; but, time is short. The rest will be served with a cold beer. Jos and Andy in their glory. That is what I love most... Love to all!!!!!! Victor