I wrote a while ago:

I didn’t get a real taste of what this university meant until a football game in early September of 1988.

It involved a UCLA team which I think was ranked in the top-10 in the nation taking on a Nebraska team which I also believe was ranked somewhere in the top-5. I remember reading the hype about a UCLA team with its superstar Senior QB (T. Aikman), who was poised to do something special, after getting cheated out of a win against USC Trojans the year before (referring to that “catch” by Eric Asshoflter). 1988 was it. It was going to be UCLA’s year. They were going to bring home a Championship for the first time since 1954 (we tied with ). And Nebraska game was the early game in the season that was going to set the tone. I turned on ABC that Saturday and after what I saw became a Bruin for rest of lime. Saw a Rose Bowl lathered up crowd all clad in blue and gold (ok one End Zone was red) go into total frenzy rolling up bunch of TDs in first half on one of the more dominant programs in the country. Aikman was on fire hitting TE Arbuckle for TDs. UCLA’s WCO was just toying with Osborne’s corn and steak fed Huskers before bogging down Donahue style in the second half. Bruins ended up winning the game 41-28. But the moment of the game came when Matt Darby came flying out of a defensive backfield to lay one of the most bone crushing hits I had ever seen in my life. Rose Bowl was in bedlam. That was it. I felt blood rushing through my head, goose bumps, and I knew right there and then … that?s where I wanted to go to college. I wanted part of that.

Getting goosebumps just thinking about it.