Newport’s USC fans prepare for Texas

Life is rosy for local Trojans fans going to today’s Rose Bowl game versus No. 2-ranked Longhorns.John Sims hasn’t missed a USC football home game in more than 60 years.

He carries in his wallet a gold alumni association card and happily sings the Trojan fight song on command.

Super fan?

“Oh, heck yeah,” Sims said.

So much so, in fact, that Sims often eats on a white USC plastic tablecloth and drinks from a cardinal colored USC glass.

And tonight, when Sims’ beloved Trojans battle the Texas Longhorns in the Rose Bowl -- this year’s college football championship game -- he will be in Gate A, Tunnel 25, Row 341, Seat 111.

He will get to the game via a Trojan Club of Orange County charter bus and will sit with 11 family members in the stands.

Game of a lifetime?

“Oh, heck yeah,” Sims said.

A Balboa Island resident, Sims graduated from the USC School of Dentistry in 1938 and bought season tickets a year later.

Like many USC graduates, Sims clears his schedule on fall Saturday mornings. And like many avid Trojan fans who live in Newport-Mesa, he makes his fandom public by hanging a Trojan flag outside his home.

“We’re that rabid of fans,” he said. “That’s what it amounts to.”

Drive down any street on Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula, in particular, and you’re bound to see cardinal and gold banners. They symbolize the recent power of USC football and the strong alumni presence in Orange County.

“You want to be identified with a winner,” said former USC football player and Newport Beach resident Paul Salata. “Fans around here are some of the most supportive I’ve ever seen.”

Sims went to his first USC football game in 1927. He remembers the drop-kick field goals and the road trips to see his team play in South Bend, Ind., and Columbus, Ohio.

For one year, Sims was a trumpet player in the USC marching band. He still enjoys bringing the instrument to family functions to play “Fight On.”

Supporting USC just runs in the family.

“I didn’t even go there and I’m the biggest fan,” said Crystal Sims, John’s wife.

Salata warns that not all fans are die hards like the Simses, though.

“We need to make a badge for fair-weather Trojan fans and put it on their foreheads so we don’t have to buy them a hot dog at the tailgate,” Salata said.

Five hours of pre-Rose Bowl tailgating is in the plans for Salata, the founder of Newport Beach’s Irrelevant Week. He and his girlfriend are driving to Pasadena and meeting up with friends and relatives at the game.

For those who didn’t get their hands on tickets to one of the most anticipated Rose Bowl games in history, there’s always the big-screen television.

USC fans will begin gathering at Tentation Ultra Lounge, 4647 MacArthur Blvd., in Newport Beach at 4 p.m. for the 5 p.m. kickoff.

Tickets to the event are $30 until 1:30 p.m. and $40 at the door. Money goes toward a scholarship program sponsored by the USC Marshall Alumni Assn. of Orange County.

Tommy Papa, president of the association, said he is expecting more than 250 fans to pack the venue.

“I’ve been there for several events, and it’s an energizing atmosphere,” he said.

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter. He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at elia.powers@latimes.com.

20060104isjua1ncDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)USC graduate John Sims gives the victory sign outside his Balboa Island home. Sims has been a season ticket holder for 55 years.