USC and UCLA share a city, but that's about it. When it comes to athletics, the schools' rivalry is among the most heated in the nation. For proof, look no further than the recent controversy involving a USC billboard.
Earlier this week, a billboard featuring USC quarterback Matt Barkley was placed at the corner of Westwood Boulevard and Lindbrook Drive, which isn't far from the UCLA campus, according to the Los Angeles Times. The billboard, which was part of USC's "WE PLAY" branding and marketing campaign, featured Barkley looking skyward, and was met with disapproval from fans and members of the UCLA football team.
"We need to change that. Oh, we need to change that," UCLA's Darius Bell reportedly said of the billboard. "This is our neighborhood."
Well, Bell and the rest of the UCLA community got its wish. The billboard has since been covered up.
USC athletic department spokesman Tim Tessalone said Monday that the billboard was not meant to be a taunt, a position he maintained Tuesday in the wake of the controversial cover-up. Tessalone reportedly said it was not a USC decision to have the billboard taken down.
It doesn't look like UCLA had anything to do with the billboard being covered, either, as UCLA athletics spokesman Nick Ammazzalorso also noted that his school wasn't involved in the decision.
The billboard site is reportedly owned by Regency Outdoor Advertising, which is a company co-owned by Brian Kennedy. Kennedy, a prominent USC donor, told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday that the company decided to move the billboard to another location.
Don't worry, though. The bad blood will linger.
Check out the before and after photos below.
Photo via Los Angeles Times
Photo via Twitter/@SportsCenter
