Evan Yamoto

Tag: USC

  • Enduring Conquest!

    Well, that turned out as well it could have and USC is the 2017 Rose Bowl champion!

    Rose Bowl 2017

    I have to admit that I wasn’t sure if they could come back after a crazy third quarter by Penn State.  It seemed like SC was losing battles to the refs as well as the turf and all of the “bounces” were not going our way.  And when we lost Adoree’ to injury and Cam Smith to a questionable targeting call, things were looking bad.  But we still had Sam Darnold and because of him, we’re always in the fight.

    I know this is a terrible, blurry picture but that’s also why I like it.  When the winning field goal went through, it was incredible.  Fans young and old were jumping in joy and strangers were hugging in the stands.  I couldn’t count how many random people gave me a high five or said “Fight On!” on the way out.

    Rose Bowl 2017

    It was one of the most fun and exciting games I’ve seen in person.  The stadium itself has improved a little, but despite the great game, I still hate this place.

    Lastly, I have to say that the Penn State players, coaches and fans were class acts.  One of the best things I’ve ever read was from this fan and columnist:

    http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2017/01/usc_band_conquest_psu_rose_bow.html

    But you know what the very worst part is? You take in the whole scene in despondence, the USC fans mimicking the trumpet flourishes with their “Oh-oo-oh-ooooo” and the incomparable Song Girls in their white sweaters calmly punching the air with a V for victory in all their confident perfection. And you allow yourself the fleeting thought:

    If you’d been born into their tribe and their golden land, you’d love being one of them.

  • USC and the Rose Bowl

    USC is headed to the Rose Bowl in a few days and I’m anxiously awaiting the game.  I keep thinking I have to wake up early tonight and head up there, but it’s not until the 2nd this year.

    I’ve gone to every Rose Bowl USC has been in since I was a student.  I went my senior year in 1997 and it was such a fun experience.

    USC Rose Bowl

    We went pretty regularly during the Pete Carroll era when we weren’t going to the Orange Bowl.  We went so often that a lot of our fans were complaining about it, but I definitely knew better.

    I hate the stadium, but it’s always a special game.  This was from both the best and worst of them all.

    USC Rose Bowl

    I hope it turns out better in a few days, but truthfully, I’m just so happy we made it this year after a horrendous start.  We haven’t been in what feels like forever (8 years) and that’s when I know we really are spoiled at USC.

  • Garage Space

    When we first moved into our house, I had a huge list of projects to work on but nowhere to do it.  So I claimed this corner of the garage and made it my own.

    This is when I gave in an bought a Makita 10″ mitre saw and started my cordless Makita collection.  I always have a hard time buying tools because I’m worried I won’t use them, but I’ve ended up making really good use of all of these tools and they’re a joy to use.

    My first project was to make this workbench so I had a place to work on the next project.  I tried using the plans found in the Family Handyman Magazine, which is great by the way.  It was the only magazine I subscribed to, but I let it expire because of how many renewal notifications they send.  But anyhow, I had to cut it down half a foot because it was designed for giants, or at least people a lot taller than me.

    Garage Space

     

    This is what the wall looked like before I painted.  It was actually a lot worse before this because there were holes all over the place that I patched up.

    Garage Wall

    Being a dedicated USC alumnus, I had to use the official color for the wall.  Any Trojan knows this is cardinal (not just red) and gold.  Glidden made some officially licensed paints for a lot of schools and professional teams.  However, I know USC retains its own licensing and isn’t part of a lot of these deals, so I had to give in and go with the same but otherwise official colors of Stanford and LSU…

    Garage Wall USC

    I’m also not a very good painter so I used a Fathead for the Trojan logo.  But, I did learn a good technique for painting clean lines with tape from watching the Property Brothers on HGTV.  The tip was to paint the background color again around the tape line first.  This way, there will be some bleeding that you usually get, but it’s the same color as the background.  When it dries, you paint inside the lines like normal and you get a really sharp line.