Category Archives: Travel Journal

Timeless Tailgaters

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ne of America’s greatest pastimes is the college football tailgate party. It’s a tradition like no other. The atmosphere is rife with school spirit, the savory smell of food on the grill fills the air, and laughter and music can be heard all around. The Rose Bowl Fun Zone in Lot H has become the gathering place for real Bruin fans, where friends become family, and families pass down a time-honored tradition to succeeding generations. This is where the die-hards come to live it up.

Set against the backdrop of a perfect Southern California day, the highly-anticipated Homecoming game against the Colorado Buffaloes and Coach Prime (Deion Sanders) brought Bruin Nation out in full force. For brothers Richard ʼ79 and Gary ʼ81 Bacio, this has been a family affair dating back to 1965 when their father first brought them to UCLA games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, when they were only nine and six years old, respectively. Richard recalled that the tailgates started with their parents and their friends, until he and his brother came of age and kept the tradition going, When the Rose Bowl became the home of UCLA Football in 1982, they were able to secure their prime tailgate location next to the Alumni Band, and they became a staple in this tight-knit community. He said, "To put it in perspective, I have not missed a Bruin home game since October 1978, which was my senior year at UCLA." Regardless of the team’s record in the standings, you can always expect to find the Bacio brothers, along with their wives, friends and children, spending their fall Saturdays at their favorite spot. "What makes tailgating special to me is all the great people I’ve met through the years. Most of those lifelong friends I have tailgated with for over 35 years! In fact, we say that we are all 'family.' What we all share, like a family, is our love of UCLA and, specifically, UCLA Football."

Not too far away, at the other end of the row of blue and gold canopies was a large crowd of mixed-age Bruins at the Kappa Sigma Bruins tailgate. Hosted by the fraternity’s advisor for the L.A. region, Mark Anderson ʼ80, this tent was alive with energy along with food and a beverage offered to Kappa Sigma members and guests free of charge. The tent hosts anywhere from 25 to 75 people each game, which includes Kappa Sigma alumni, current undergrad members, sometimes their parents and occasionally a sorority from UCLA. Anderson has been tailgating for over 43 years. He started with four people, a few lawn chairs, some tables, snacks and coolers, and later added canopies, flagpoles and a barbecue. They originally set up next to the alumni band to support them and enjoy their spirit and music and have stayed next to them the entire time.

Across the way from the Kappa Sigma tailgate was a row of 10 Bruin tents, each with different decorations, food offerings and cultural makeup. According to Desarie Martinez, host for one of the tents, this was a blended family that’s been coming together to tailgate at the same location for over 32 years. They shared food, played games and laughed out loud over drinks. It began with Oscar McCullar and his wife around 35 years ago, and the trail of tailgate tents only grew. Despite many of them not having graduated from UCLA, their love for the school is undeniable. Oscar’s 36-year-old grandson, Rich McCullar Jr., has been tailgating with the family since he was four and even sports an intricate tattoo of his grandfather, Oscar, wearing a Rose Bowl shirt on his left arm. His father Rick McCullar summed up their dedication, “It’s all about love and family. That’s why we come here year after year no matter how the Bruins are doing.” 

Situated next to the Alumni Band, there’s a group of Bruins who specialize in the food served at their tailgates. On this day, they were frying up a pair of steaks on the grill paired with some good wine from Strasburg, France. Other days, depending upon the time of the game, they’ve served paella, gourmet pizza and tamales for breakfast. Ed Alvarez ʼ70, Anna Magini ʼ74, M.N. ʼ77, Gary Phillips, Cert. ʼ91, and his wife Nancy, have been tailgating since 1988, a tradition that began with Danny Gant who was with the Santa Clarita Bruins. They’ve traveled to away games, attended tailgates at other schools, and they’re convinced there’s no better place than the party at the Rose Bowl. Gary said, “You can’t beat the weather, the gorgeous mountains in the background, the grass under your feet and the band playing next to you. What’s not to love?”

The love for UCLA is apparent at every Rose Bowl tailgate. Generations of Bruins, whether by degree or fandom, showcase the rich diversity of the Bruin community, bringing with them the spirit of friendship and sharing of food and drink and good times. With music blaring, drinks flowing, flat screens showing the day’s football highlights, and tailgate games like foosball, cornhole and beer pong underway, these parties are a Bruin tradition like no other.

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Travel Journal - Egypt & the Eternal Nile

Article and photos by Hon Hoang ʼ14

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his was my first time on the continent of Africa, let alone Egypt. Words could not thoroughly describe how excited I was at the prospect of seeing monuments and world wonders I’d only seen in the media. To step foot onto a land and walk the same paths that so many others have done for millennia; to see cascading waves of sand brush past the horizon as the sun sets ꟷ these were moments that I’ve only imagined and it became a reality. For two weeks, I had the privilege of being part of a tour through Egypt with UCLA Alumni Travel. Going from Cairo to the southern border of Egypt and then back up to Luxor by cruising on riverboats on Lake Nasser and the River Nile, it was an experience that was magical and honest. I saw the country outside its major city limits. I observed villages along the Nile. I visited monuments thousands of years old. And I learned about the people who called Egypt home.

There was a sense of surrealism that enveloped me as I left the confines of the airport. Things felt the same, but were somehow different. As the distance between me and the airport grew, I entered through the city limits to a new reality. It dawned on me that I was a long ways from home. I started noticing the little details: how the air and even the sunshine felt different. This was how I felt when I observed my first sunrise and sunset in Egypt. I wondered if it was the same sun I’ve always known. I wondered if the deep red amber light was a product of the sand and dust while I gazed upon the pyramids of Giza looming in the horizon as the sun said hello and goodbye to the day.

The awe and wonder didn’t strike me all at once as I stood in front of the monuments I’ve only seen in history books and in varying media ever since I was a child. It slowly settled over me like the fine grains of sand on top of surfaces in Egypt. I wondered how much of what I was experiencing was a dream. Then the sights, sounds and sensations reminded me that, for now, this was my reality and that meant I was standing before the Pyramids of Giza, The Temple of Abu Simbel and The Sphinx. As the tour continued on, so did the list of great wonders.

Like any good story, a setting always needs characters to make any tale worth telling. Traveling is nothing without the people who make the destination, with the exception of a few locations. It would be difficult for me to experience a place without learning and immersing myself in the culture my temporary home hoped to provide. Hospitality, especially as it related to tourism, can easily be dismissed as capitalistic opportunity, but this can be said about any tourist destination. Once I began exploring on my own, outside of locations with high tourist traffic, I found that locals had a genuine curiosity and earnestness to interact with travelers. There was reciprocating curiosity as I passed by observing vendors and shopkeepers, exchanging civilities and warm smiles. 

One of the most memorable moments for me did not involve visiting one of the Egypt's ancient structures, but having lunch with a farmer and his family, as our tour group met them at their home. We were granted an opportunity to see how some people in Egypt lived and how they made their living with what the River Nile provided.

I would be remiss not to mention our various modes of transportation as they were experiences unto themselves. It may not seem appealing at first having to take a bus through the deserts of Egypt, but it was during these times that I saw the finer moments that can't be found in guide books or captured on celluloid or printed in the history books. Like seeing the many grains of sand that make up the desert, or observing the grand expanse of what nature has to offer, and realizing how Egyptians have been able to adapt and thrive in such harsh environments. These were the moments that made my trip.

Beyond our bus rides through the cities and deserts, I also found myself on riverboats that transported us from Lake Nasser to the River Nile up to Luxor. These boat rides were exemplary floating hotels that took us from one ancient temple to another. These temples may have been the highlights of the day for some, but for me, it was the moments in between that made it a memorable experience. The early mornings watching the sun rise over the manmade Lake Nasser as we rode motorboats to the shores towards our temple du jour. Observing the crashing waves against the side of the riverboat, still in awe that Egyptians spent 10 years making such a lake. Cruising on the River Nile as the calls to prayer echoed throughout the horizon. As the setting sun reminded the religious to be closer to God, I was reminded where I was in the world. 

Through these words and images, I could only capture so much, but what couldn’t be encapsulated were the sounds and sensations that made up the experience. Depending on the time of year, the time of day and who happens to be present in the moment, popular destinations can be distinctively your own. This trip may have been a shared experience, but it was somehow still distinctively my own. How you travel and what you experience will always be based on how you approach traveling: what you decide to let in and what you decide to leave behind. There’s so much more to be said about this unforgettable trip, so for everything else that was left unsaid, perhaps you’ll have to experience Egypt for yourself. 

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