"Both SC and UCLA were doing well enough to be talking March Madness on February 28, 1985, when they met at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA’s historic gym.In the match-up earlier in the month, SC beat UCLA by a point in two overtimes. This time, they slugged it out in four overtimes before UCLA missed a couple of free throws and lost.
I’ve been to countless basketball games in my life, as a fan, as a player and as a cheerleader, but that was the greatest basketball game I’d ever experienced.
The arena was packed--both bands, both cheerleading squads. Everyone stood for hours, leaning in so intensely, the gym felt like one of those high school barns you see in the movie Hoosiers. And I was right there, knowing it was my last USC-UCLA battle of any kind as a participant.
Even though we lost, it never mattered. I had just witnessed the collective energy of two universities move through my soul, starting with the 13,000 people in the joint that night. Moments like that were why I chose a big-time school. Times like that were why I had been a cheerleader."
—from Walt Loves the Bearcatby Randy Boyd
A Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Best Romance
"Warm-spirited ... resonates with soulful queries into the nature of love and life." Bay Area Reporter
