Here I am, wondering why I'm at this pig roast, USC about to slaughter the worst team in the nation, and it's not Stanford, so nothing can go wrong.
It's a waste-of-time game, and I'm here only to write about some USC fan who takes delight in being known as "syco." That's when I spot Anthony Davis.
Davis is seated at a small table in the middle of tailgaters about 40 yards from Tommy Trojan. He looks as if he's still wearing his Halloween costume, a black and silver suit with a tie and a No. 28 inside a swoosh across his chest.
He has a stack of photos in front of him, and he's signing autographs: "Best wishes always, Anthony Davis." Now isn't that nice, until the other hand reaches out for the money.
"Ten dollars," he says when I ask. "You want one?"
Tempting as it is, I pass.
A youngster approaches Davis with an open autograph book. Davis turns the kid away because the youngster is penniless. The kid shows the unsigned book to his dad, and his dad asks Davis for an explanation.
Davis finally agrees to give the kid an autograph, so long as his old man drops a five spot into the box.
"Is it really cool to charge for your autograph?" I ask.
"It goes to the Anthony Davis Foundation," says Davis, and while he's none too happy with the question, there isn't any mention of the foundation on the table or the box.
I would think that would make a difference, turning what might appear to be a pathetic-looking situation -- the aged athlete trying to still capitalize on a big day 34 years ago -- instead into a noble effort to raise money for needy kids.
"I put six kids through school who otherwise couldn't afford to go to school," Davis says. "I wouldn't be out here without a reason."
That sounds like a wonderful cause, and what a great picture it would make -- six kids standing arm in arm -- taped to the top of the box.
But later when I ask USC officials about the foundation, everyone remembers the role Davis played in the comeback to beat Notre Dame, but no one knows anything about the foundation.
The computer-savvy kid sitting next to me in the Coliseum who blogs about USC and UCLA for The Times, says he can look up tax returns for nonprofit organizations. These kids today are so bright, and hopefully dedicated to writing for only Page 1 in the sports section.
The kid pulls up a 2006 return for the Davis Foundation. It starts in July and runs through Dec. 31, taking in more than $31,000 -- $13,250 going to scholarships and the rest to expenses.
