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Monday, January 2, 2006
Longhorns looking like Trojan horse
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Carson, Calif. — They say they don’t get distracted. They say they focus on the essential, not the peripheral. But when the periphery includes the glitz of Hollywood and the allure of a place in college football history, is it possible to concentrate on Texas and Texas only?
Southern California — publicists for the snooty school ask that it not be called the more plebeian “Southern Cal” — will play for a third consecutive AP national championship Wednesday in a stadium just up the freeway.
On Monday, before a media convocation in a rain-slapped and windblown tent at the Home Depot Center south of Los Angeles, the Trojans said the right things but said them without any lilt in their voices. If anything, they seemed a bit weary.
Matt Leinart, the quarterback, mentioned “the hoopla and the hype,” and those ephemeral commodities have become as much a part of the Trojan scene as the backfield of Bush and White. USA Today ran a cover story last week on the famous hangers-on jostling for sideline passes along the USC bench. Who knew that Henry Winkler, the erstwhile Fonz, cared so much about college football?
Then, courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, came word that a Greek restaurant in San Pedro may have become a recruiting venue for the Trojans, seeing as how the owner, John Papadakis, reportedly entertains prospects with a pro-USC spiel. Southern Cal — sorry, flacks — is looking into the matter.
And then there’s the matter of history. Learned folks are falling all over themselves to declare USC the greatest dynasty of all time, and historians realize that dynasties are never so susceptible as when they’re declared impregnable. The Sports Illustrated jinx was born in 1957 when the magazine ran a cover bearing the words, “Why Oklahoma Is Unbeatable.” The Sooners, who had won 47 consecutive games, were felled by Notre Dame the next week.
Southern Cal has won 34 in a row, the sixth-longest streak in Division I-A annals. A 35th victory has been seen as a fait accompli, the thinking being that Texas is a nice team but not nearly a match for the men of Troy. But the men of Troy aren’t quite as strong as they were a year ago, and this defense wouldn’t seem to be championship-caliber. The Trojans could lose this game, and what would the Fonz say if they do?
“We’re able to have fun with [the L.A. scene and the celebrities and suchlike],” said Leinart, who appeared to be having no fun at all. Just the day before, he’d told another media gathering how frazzled he’d felt at midseason. And the pressure Wednesday night won’t be on Texas. It will be on the matinee idols playing for a place in history.
“It’s flattering to know we can be considered [as perhaps the best team ever],” defensive end Lawrence Jackson said. “But we can’t get caught up in it.”
But how can they not? It’s in every newspaper, on every station and every Web site. The hometown Trojans are the only story in this Rose Bowl, the Trojans and their splendor, the Trojans and their invincibility. (Remember, L.A. has no pro football team to deflect attention, and all NFL discussion here concerns the probable destination of the splendid Reggie Bush.) This is supposed to be their choreographed coronation, but already the plan has sprung a literal leak.
“It’s an advantage to us, the game being here,” safety Darnell Bing said. “We’re used to this weather.”
As he spoke, the rain was cascading and the winds were whistling and the structural security of the interview tent seemed at considerable risk. Rethinking, Bing smiled and said, “Well, not this weather.”
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