Rooting for the other guys

NEWPORT BEACH — Raul Olivas didn’t just want a University of Michigan victory in the Rose Bowl on Monday. He also wanted to be contrary.

The Long Beach resident, who coaches basketball at Millikan High School, has been a Michigan fan for much of his life. Three years ago, he and his wife even journeyed to the Midwest to watch the Wolverines play a home game. When Michigan went up against USC in the Rose Bowl, though, he opted to watch it in a city that he imagined was a Trojans haven. So he was surprised when, upon entering a packed Rudy’s Pub and Grill on Balboa Boulevard, he found more than a few blue-and-gold jerseys around the room.

“Newport Beach is a big USC contingency,” Olivas said. “That’s why I came here. We’re kind of surprised.”

Southern California may have had a home team in the bowl this year, but the bars and restaurants showing the game on Monday were hardly seas of red and yellow. Mixed in with the die-hard Trojans fans were people who had rooted for Michigan since childhood — as well as the UCLA fans who would take anyone over their historic enemy.

Patrick Ramsey of Long Beach, who watched the game with a group of friends at Hooters in Costa Mesa, counted himself a Notre Dame fan, but said he rooted for the Bruins whenever they went up against their cross-town rivals.

“I don’t care [if Michigan wins],” he said. “I just really hate SC.”

Others, though, came out to cheer on the local boys. Freddie Oporto of Costa Mesa, who watched the game with friends at the Players Club in Costa Mesa, said he had followed the Trojans even before their recent winning streak.

“Most everyone thinks if you’re an SC fan, you just jumped on the bandwagon,” he said. “But I’ve been with them ever since I graduated from high school.”

Unlike some of the matches between UCLA and USC, however, Monday’s game didn’t engender too much animosity. At Rudy’s, friends Bill Perry and Scott Smith, both of Newport Beach, sat the bar together enjoying the game — even though the former was for USC, the latter for Michigan.

Smith was also surprised by the number of Wolverine fans, but said he could understand the appeal.

“You’d think everyone here would be for USC,” he said. “But they’re kind of a victim of their own success. They’ve been dominant for so many years.”