St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) quarterback Josh Rosen said he decided to attend UCLA because the Bruins “aren’t used to winning” — USA Today file photo
This surely isn’t the best way to ingratiate oneself to future fans.
In a profile about St. John Bosco senior quarterback Josh Rosen with UCLA site Bruin Report Online, Rosen gave the following rationale as one of the primary reasons why he decided to play for the Bruins:
“The reason I love UCLA so much is because I want to win for a school that isn’t used to winning,” said Rosen. “It’s motivating to want to come back and win out in my senior year. It’s been a privilege to win for St. John Bosco and for this community, and that’s exactly how I feel about the chance to play at UCLA.”
Wait, UCLA isn’t used to winning? OK, maybe it’s not USC, Alabama or Texas (which is certainly in the midst of its own hard times right now), but the Bruins have reached a top-1o ranking at least once in every decade since the 1930s. UCLA has a national championship (from 1954). It also earned Rose Bowl berths in the 1990s. That was not so long ago. And it was home to a Heisman Trophy winner — Gary Beban — and a host of NFL stalwarts and stars. Anthony Barr and Maurice Jones-Drew, anyone? Or Jonathan Ogden. Or Marcedes Lewis. Or Logan Paulsen. We could go on but we won’t.
Perhaps Rosen just needed to provide more context for his comments. Or perhaps he just forgot to check Wikipedia before committing to a college program. Either way, it seems far fetched to think that UCLA fans will be thrilled that their self-styled future savior under center is there because he doesn’t think others who came before him could get the job done.