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Sunday, June 9, 1996

Lesser known athletes provide thrill for writers

I thought of dedicating this column to the continuation of my good friend and former colleague Tim Costner's plea for an on-campus bar. But, since it is obvious the only bar this campus will ever see open is sure to serve lettuce and croutons, I guess I will pursue a more fruitful matter.

With the pounding of Kerckhoff construction painfully present, I sit here, four years, two livers and countless Keystones later, realizing the reason a person would get involved in sports journalism. It's not the sports themselves, it's the people playing them.

Now, I'm not talking about the Albert Belles, the Michael (sniff-sniff) Irvins or any of the numerous other despicable people who happen to be involved in athletics. Those who go out and participate in sports just to be involved are more my concern. And since the majority of athletes at UCLA happen to fit this category, spending two years writing sports at the Daily Bruin has allowed me the luxury of being involved with some of the finest people around.

Take for example, Annette Salmeen, a senior chemistry student who also happens to be an Olympian, and is among the best swimmers in the butterfly stroke in the world. Would her 3.9-plus GPA tell you she spent six hours a day in the pool? Or how about Luisa Portocarrero, a gymnast who travelled from Guatemala to Canada to keep her career alive, and finally ended up a Bruin.

Everyone loves a winner ­ did any of the rest of you upperclassmen get screwed by the Central Ticket Office when you tried to obtain basketball tickets this year? Anyway, at least as interesting as those future millionaires are the many other athletes ever to put on a pair of spikes or a Speedo that bears the name UCLA.

Each and every athlete has a story, and I am just thankful for the few I have been able to relate, whether or not I did them justice.

The hardest part in doing this is the fact that I remain a fan at heart. Just as bad as everyone else, I want UCLA's teams to succeed on the field, and when someone boots an easy grounder to short or drops a wide-open pass in the end zone, often times I am the first to be critical.

Being an armchair quarterback is an easy job though, and if I had the talent to make the play in the first place, wouldn't I be out on the field?

That's why I'm a student-writer, and not a student-athlete. Soon I will no longer be a student, or a writer for that matter. Just as I move on to some inconspicuous work-a-day profession so do the majority of UCLA athletes, who have no recourse upon completion of their studies but to get a job.

Unlike our favorite crosstown institution there are no classes which give athletes As just for signing their names ­ well, almost none. They must study and perform in the classroom just like the rest of us so as to move on with the rest of their lives.

This is what makes most athletes remarkable ­ their remarkable similarity to everyone else when they're not in competition. The differences are obvious, but discovering these similarities has been a pleasure and an experience I will always treasure.

Bersot is an assistant editor this year and is graduating with a degree in economics. If you hear of any job openings, please let him know.

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