Beat the Irish! Fight On!

I've never been a football fan -- baseball, NASCAR, and a little basketball are my sports interests -- but since my daughter is a freshman at USC, I've been learning quickly. Last week I learned the mysteries of a "safety." :)

I'm just back from dropping off our daughter, who has been home on Thanksgiving break, on campus for the game. There was a sea of cardinal red and gold swarming towards the Coliseum, with batches of green thrown in.

This blog has video of a neat USC tradition: after the third quarter Traveler, the white horse, appears, and the Trojan riding him points his sword at the Coliseum's Olympic torch, which blazes to life for the final quarter. Although it's hard to make out on the video, my daughter tells me the William Tell Overture is playing when this happens.

Some movie-related USC trivia: The Trojans' famous "Conquest" march was originally written by Alfred Newman for the 20th Century-Fox film CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE (1947). Newman was a USC alum; there is an Alfred Newman Recital Hall on the campus.

Captain Ed is at the big game, but unfortunately he's rooting for the wrong team.

The Irish Trojan is sure to have lots of coverage as the day goes on. He's even got a clock on his blog counting down the minutes until kickoff.

Fight on!

Update: Final score: USC Trojans 44, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 24.

Here's a link to the Conquest march posted by the Irish Trojan. It's a wonderful part of USC football lore, along with their other fight songs.

A photo gallery is here.