UCLA may have lost to Washington on Thursday and finished second in the Pac-10, but their 22-9 season and 13-5 conference record was still a welcome surprise for all Bruins fans. Think about it — this team started off the year 3-4 and after the loss to Montana, I began to wonder whether this would be Ben Howland’s last year as head coach. Well UCLA got it together, beat BYU, and ended up as one of the best teams in the Pac-10. The relief and enjoyment fans felt was parallel to Howland’s feelings on the season. After the team beat Washington State to get to 22 wins, Howland ended up kissing Daily News reporter Jon Gold. This video via The Dagger and Sports by Brooks Live explains why:
Jon Gold wrote at length about the kiss from Howland, and what this really shows me is that Howland has changed. Could you imagine Howland doing something like this a few years ago? Or even last year? That sort of emotional exchange with a writer seems outside of his character. Maybe the losing humbled him somewhat and made him change. Whatever it is, I like it.
