Celebrating USC’s Biggest Fan: Robert Buettell has been attending Trojans games for nearly all of his adult life, and it is something he and his family are proud of

If you think you know the biggest USC Trojan football fan, then either you are kidding yourself or you know Robert Buettell.

From the age of 21 until the age of 86, Robert attended virtually every USC home game, as well as making trips to numerous Rose Bowl games, USC vs. Notre Dame road games and games at Stanford and Cal. He loves his Trojans and has been a diehard fan ever since he first started attending USC on the GI Bill back in the late 40s.

From watching National Championship clinching USC-UCLA games to traveling to South Bend to watch the bitter USC vs. Notre Dame rivalry, Robert’s love of USC football runs deep into his veins. He got hooked when NFL Hall of Famer Frank Gifford was the star of the team, and he has not looked back since. Robert has even attended a USC-Washington game up in Seattle with his son’s high school principal, which is still one of his favorite memories to this day.

Speaking of his son, Robert actually got Bruce to join the USC fanhood at an early age, and that is what makes Robert’s diehard fandom even more worthwhile. Getting to take his late wife, Evelyn, and Bruce to games and making memories with his family while watching his favorite team in the world is truly special.

“The first time Mom and Dad took me to a game was 1967,” Bruce said. “It was the famous USC-UCLA game that gave them a Rose Bowl berth and National Championship. They started taking me with season tickets when I was 10. And then when I got married, my wife embraced the USC cult. We later took over his season tickets. My wife and two boys love going. I went to USC just like my dad, and now three generations have gone to the games.”

Talk about a special bonding experience. Family means everything to Robert, and so does the USC football team, so getting to intertwine the two together has always been so meaningful to him.

And to Bruce, getting to go to games with his parents at such a young age is an irreplaceable memory. He attended many games as a kid, and while with that comes many memories, there is one that sticks out more than others.

The greatest game Bruce ever got to see was the 1974 Notre Dame-USC game. Notre Dame went up 24-0 in the first half, but USC wound up winning the game 55-24, and Bruce distinctly remembers his dad saying after the game, “I hope you appreciate what you saw today. You will never see something like this again.”

And Robert was right. They have never seen a game like that ever since, and it has been almost 50 years since it happened.

One other memory Bruce remembers is his dad bearing a striking resemblance to one of the old USC head coaches, John Robinson, and getting VIP treatment because of it. Plus Bruce has witnessed many national titles in the time of being a USC fan, which certainly helps.

As for Robert, he is now 96-years-old and is unable to regularly attend USC football games anymore, but you can be sure that when they are on, his eyes are glued to the TV for three hours straight.

And while he is unable to attend games in person anymore, his son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons do and are carrying on this tradition, which is one they are proud to carry on.

“It’s such a blessing,” Bruce said. “Every game, you are going down to a game, but I start thinking about the games I went to when I was younger. It’s a big deal.”

To USC’s biggest football fan, thanks for creating a legacy that will last forever.