The Football Blitz

The crosstown rivalry, battle of LA or the crosstown showdown will be played tonight at 8pm between USC and UCLA.  No particular name has stuck with this particular rivalry so it is referred to by several different names.  What makes this in state rivalry so unique is that USC and UCLA are both located in the same city just 12 miles apart.  These two teams first played in 1929 and the rivalry has become more and more heated as the years have progressed.  From 1929-1981 these two schools actually shared the LA Coliseum as their home field but UCLA eventually moved to the Rose Bowl which is now their home field. The Victory Bell is awarded to the winner of the annual football game every year.  The Victory Bell was originally from an old Southern Pacific railroad locomotive and was given to the UCLA student body by the UCLA Alumni Association in 1939.  The bell symbolized victory to UCLA until it was stolen by the Trojan Knights, a USC organization,  in 1941. After being hidden in various locations for over a year before resurfacing in a USC student magazine (known as the Wampus), a prank war between the two universities occurred until 1942, when the two schools student body presidents decided that the bell would be the trophy awarded the winner of the annual UCLA-USC football game.  USC leads the series 42-48-7.