UST 2.0 West Coast

Sept 7 2007: Anaheim, CA. Angel Stadium. Angels vs. Indians. Angels win 3 – 2.

Solid game to start the trip. Angels win on a walk off single by Kendry Morales in the bottom of the tenth inning after Cleveland had tied it on a Ryan Garko solo HR in the top of the ninth. Stadium was average, but it was a decent filler event.

Sept 8 2007: Irvine, CA. Oak Creek Golf Club. First Round in UST History.

Decent course, but way overpriced. Paying for the Tom Fazio name. Course wasn’t in great shape, but it was a perfect fit before driving to the Rose Bowl for a UCLA game. Lost the scorecard, which was probably for the best.

Sept 8 2007: Pasadena, CA. Rose Bowl. BYU vs. UCLA. Bruins win 27 – 17.

The game provided the running joke of the trip – “I need every man, woman and child!” Why does UCLA have two 80 year old male cheerleaders, wearing 60 year old sweaters in 90 degree weather, yelling into a mic with speakers pointed at the alumni section? They must think it’s quaint, but it’s just annoying. Some of their signs to get the crowd fired up included “Rock Concert Level Noise” and “Make Excessive Sound!” High comedy. Every play they yelled “I need every man, woman and child to make noise.” They also moonlighted as 80 year old Stuart Smalley’s – “You’re the greatest crowd in the country”, “You’re the reason we beat USC last year”, “That was the loudest we’ve heard you since USC.” Oh yeah, there was a game. UCLA was ranked #14 at the time, but barley held on to beat unranked BYU. Their defence was crap and QB play was weak. At the end of the day it was great to be at the Rose Bowl and to see the home team win.

Sept 9 2007: La Jolla, CA. Torrey Pines Golf Course. Home of the 2008 US Open.

Got up at 4AM to line up in the parking lot with the other hardcore types (or is that sleep deprived?) to make sure we got an early tee time. Played the South Course and played it poorly. Great views, great course. Red had a crowd pleasing re-enactment.

Sept 9 2007: San Diego, CA. Qualcomm Stadium. Bears vs. Chargers. Chargers win 14 – 3.

Home opener for the Chargers. Led onto the field by LDT with a US flag for the Sept 11^th memorial. Brands is a Bears fan, but couldn’t collect the cajones to wear his Urlacher jersey. Thumbs down. Chargers ended up making a run to the AFC Championship Game this season. Red ended up making a run to the bathroom to avoid heat stroke. Cruised to the airport to make our flight to San Jose.

Sept 10 2007: Pebble Beach, CA. Pebble Beach Golf Links. Home of the 2010 US Open and #1 Public Course in the US.

Lucked our way into a one night required stay and rooms backing onto the 18^th green. Could not have played worse as a group, but the course could not have been better. Sunny, no wind and great conditions. Truba parred the signature par three 7^th and put up a respectable 45 on the front nine, then followed that up with a 60 on the back nine! Fred S actually scored 92, even though his golf swing ends with both feet pointed down the fairway. He was also on a conference call as he walked down the first and second fairways.

Sept 10 2007: San Francisco, CA. Candlestick Park. 49ers vs. Cardinals. 49ers win 20 – 17.

There’s no way we’re calling it Monster Park. Candlestick it is. Fred S and Brands got a little testy on the way to the game about coordinating flight schedules. For an encore Fred S kept needling at our cab driver all the way to the game. Fun times. 49ers had a late comeback to ruin Matt Leinart’s first season opener as a starter. Candlestick is a little run down, but you could still feel the Montana to Rice history. Good finish to the game and a Monday Nighter, as well. For the record, there are a tonne of crazy people in San Francisco. Just sayin.

Sept 11 2007: San Francisco, CA. PacBell. Diamondbacks vs. Giants. Giants win 2 – 1.

There’s no way we’re calling it AT&T Park. PacBell it is. And it’s spectacular! Sat in right field hoping to see a splash down home run, but the baseball Gods were not with us that night. What was with us was the unholy stench of garlic fries from Truba. He’s obsessed with garlic fries. Nearly froze our asses off in right field.

Sept 12 2007: Los Angeles, CA. Dodger Stadium. Padres vs. Dodgers. Dodgers win 6 – 1.

Not an officially sanctioned game of Ultimate Sports Trip, but we’re putting it in anyways. Fred S and Brands left, but Truba and Red returned to LA to have a group family vacation and took their wives and kids to the Dodgers game. Alyssa Milano (top 5 all time) was there a few rows down. Red embarrassed himself trying to meet Esteban Loaiza  and blew $5 on a Sharpie. Not fresh. Top 5 most uncomfortable moments in Truba’s life. Dodger Dogs were abundant, the weather was great, the Dodgers won. A perfect Dodger Stadium experience.

Other Highlights:

Hit up an In-N-Out Burger and an El Pollo Loco before we officially integrated dirty spoons and other specific restaurants into the Ultimate Sports Trip itinerary. Spent the Tuesday on a self guided walking tour of San Francisco to hit up Fisherman’s Wharf and Lombard Street, etc.

Heard at the UCLA game in the alumni section when BYU was pressing hard in the third quarter: “Man, we gotta get going. We need to bring 9 guys.” Someone else in snark mode: “Why don’t we just bring 11?”

Had no idea that they use the adjoining golf course at the Rose Bowl as a parking lot on game days – not the parking lot of the golf course, the actual course itself! We parked on the 8^th fairway. Other than the greens and traps the whole course is covered in cars. By the end of the day the entire course is covered in garbage. Bizarre. No “cart path only” rules.