UCLA-USC Rivalry Week: Bruin Bear Statue Splashed In Paint

by amyellensoden | November 25, 2009 at 04:46 pm

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Rivalry between the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans college football teams got somewhat physical when UCLA students awoke to find their school's Bruin Bear statue splashed in USC's school colours of gold and red paint. This prank is undoubtedly a part of the infamous rivalry week between the two schools that occurs annually before their big football match.

Police are treating this case of vandalism as a felony and are proceeding with further investigations. The paint prank of UCLA's Bruin Bear statue in Bruin Square could have occurred any time between late Tuesday at 10:00pm and Wednesday morning around 6:00am.

The Bruins and Trojans will meet Saturday in the traditional crosstown football game, and UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said it's unclear when the statue, which had been wrapped to protect it from harm, was vandalized. But it could have been between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. today, when the paint-splattered bear was discovered.

Both schools have protected iconic school statues on their respective school grounds in previous years around the time of rivalry week. There is even an established team of students at UCLA called the "Bruin Beat Security Force" that have the sole purpose of protecting the famous Bruin Bear statue during rivalry week.

The Bruin Beat statue was covered by a tarp this week but the vandals cut through it in order to splash the statue in red and gold paint. The Tommy Trojan statue on the USC campus and UCLA's Bruin Bear statue have been covered by tarps in the past during the intense week of competitive rivalry.