the fickle crowds

Thursday, January 15, 2004, at 07:18AM

By Eric Richardson

I'm sitting at the Annenberg patio, just enjoying the weather and getting a little work done. A girl across the way is talking on her cell phone. "Do you want to go to the basketball game? It's the number seven team." She probably hasn't been to another game this year. Maybe she'll come again when we play Stanford, and to the UCLA game. That would probably be about it.

USC is a football school, obviously. You would like to think, though, that a football school would still be able to garner a decent amount of support for its basketball team. That's not the case here. Sure, USC's team has struggled this year and last, and the students I talk to are definitely aware of that. Beyond, though, they know very little. They care very little. We're not good so they're not going.

At the last game before Christmas break someone got pissed at D4 and me for standing during the game. In the student section. That's ridiculous. Show some pride, people. If you're going to go to a game, show some support. Otherwise, don't come, and I won't miss you.