LOS ANGELES — Roy Nwaisser doesn’t remember exactly where he was when the news broke in June 2022 that USC planned to leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten.
He certainly remembers his reaction.
“There was a point shortly after the announcement where I realized what this was going to do to my desire to (attend) every game,” Nwaisser said, “and my gut just like sank.”
The Trojans’ matchup against Michigan on Saturday will be the first Big Ten road trip for any of the league’s four new West Coast members and it will be the 392nd consecutive USC game that Nwaisser — better known as “USC Psycho” — has attended. He plans to be at every game this season, home and away.
As the Trojans prepare for their first game in a new conference, this week will serve as an introduction to a new way of life for USC fans who travel to every road game — and the challenges and adjustments that come with it.
“It feels like a grind this year,” Nwaisser said. “It’s a lot more of an onerous effort.”
Ted Barber Jr. has been a USC season ticket holder since 2016. He remembers pitching the idea of traveling to every away game to his wife three years ago. There was some hesitation, but she obliged. So the Barbers hit the road in Week 3 of the 2021 season for a trip to Washington State — the first game after Clay Helton was fired — and haven’t missed a game since.
“By the third game, she was loving it,” Barber said. “Then I asked her if she wanted to do it the second year and she was like, ‘Are you crazy? Of course.’ So we’ve been going to every game since.”
OK Tweeps, I need more Michigan help. Where do I go for tailgate supplies like styrofoam coolers? Don’t say Costco, they don’t sell disposable coolers. Any places like Smart & Final out there?
— USC Psycho (@uscpsycho) September 19, 2024
Like Nwaisser, Barber will travel to Michigan for USC’s first-ever Big Ten game. There are reasons for Trojans fans to be excited about the trip. The program’s first game in its new conference is in one of the sport’s most historic venues — The Big House — against the defending national champions. And it’s a program that USC has so much shared history with through eight Rose Bowl meetings.
USC hasn’t played in Ann Arbor since 1958, presenting fans with the rare opportunity to visit a stadium they haven’t been to before. And there are trips down the line to schools such as Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa.
But life as a member of the Big Ten also means some adjustments must be made.
“(I was) looking for flights to Detroit for the longest,” Barber said. “The week USC plays Michigan, the prices are crazy. The week before, reasonable. The week after, reasonable. That weekend? Prices and any area hotel are just crazy. That’s just part of it.”
Gone are the days when USC fans could fly up to the Bay Area on Saturday morning for games at Stanford or Cal and potentially fly back that night. The logistics are much different now.
Flights are longer. Destinations are unfamiliar. Fans have to take more time off from work.
In Nwaisser’s case, the streak is obviously at the top of his mind. In the past, he always knew if the worst-case scenario unfolded and his Friday flight were canceled, he could always pick up a rental car and have a realistic shot at making the game.
That is no longer a possibility.
“All those kind of backup scenarios are gone now in the Big Ten,” he said.
So now, Nwaisser is leaving Los Angeles on Thursdays instead of Fridays to allow for more margin for error. Barber is taking the same approach. This ensures the fans can get the most out of their trips, like attending pep rallies or fan get-togethers the night before the game.
Nwaisser and Barber both estimate they’re spending double — or more — on travel this season.
“I don’t have a number off the top of my head but well over double,” Nwaisser said. “It doesn’t help I’m leaving a day earlier, but it would (still) be double if I wasn’t leaving a day earlier.”
Jackie Williams made sure to soak up the environment and atmosphere inside Allegiant Stadium when USC opened the 2024 season against LSU in Las Vegas.
Williams has been a USC season ticket holder for 15 years, became a donor about 10 years ago and has been traveling to every away game for more than a decade.
That streak will end this season. Other than the UCLA game at the Rose Bowl, she will not attend another away game during the regular season.
“For it to be every away game (with the Big Ten schedule) is hard,” she said. “Hard on the pocket and everything.”
Williams said she’ll miss the yearly weekenders to the Bay Area and the ease of travel to the Arizona schools. Now that USC is in the Big Ten, she’ll decide which games are really worth going to.
Williams planned to go to the Michigan game this weekend but had to miss it to celebrate a close friend’s birthday. USC’s other non-West Coast Big Ten trips are to Minnesota and Maryland next month.
“Like I have no interest in going to Minnesota,” she said. “The only reason I would go to Maryland is because I have nieces in D.C. … Even then, I’m like, ‘Well it’s just a weekend trip’ and it’s not enough time to do anything.”
How much will she miss not being at those games and seeing familiar faces while also meeting new people?
“On a scale of 1-10, a 20,” she said.
After visiting so many of the same stadiums over the years, Nwaisser developed a routine. He knew where to stay in each town, where he wanted to go, where not to go, where to eat, the game-day setup at each venue, how to tailgate, you name it.
“Now I’ve got to kind of learn all those things from scratch,” he said. “And it’s going to be harder to develop routines because we don’t play every school every other year.”
For example, USC won’t play at Michigan again until 2028. It’s not as big as the gap between 1958 and this weekend’s trip, but it’s still quite different than playing at most conference schools every other year like Trojans fans had become accustomed to.
But, as we’ve learned in today’s college athletics landscape, it’s all about adapting. For the teams and their fans.
(Photo: Matthew Visinsky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
