EASY BEING GREEN FOR EX-TROJANS.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

They have fame, wealth and the chance to live every young football player's dream.

And you know what else Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart have going for them?

They have the sympathy of anybody who watched last week as the Heisman Trophy winners from USC performed their last official acts as Southern California icons.

The occasion was the 27th Sports Collectors Convention, the annual autograph hounds' and card collectors' bazaar that ends today at the Anaheim Convention Center.

There could be no more fitting point of departure from college sports, with its relative innocence and idealism, to the life of pro athletes, in which every move they make will be attributed to mercenary motives and everybody they meet will be assumed to want something.

I was going to ask Leinart and Bush how it feels, but conversation came at a premium Wednesday, the day of their joint appearance in Anaheim. I guess I should have paid the price of an autograph and brief face-to-face encounter.

Leinart signed his name for about an hour, a series of incredibly joyless transactions, the player rarely looking up and the customer rarely saying more than where he'd like his football inscribed. Then the Arizona Cardinals quarterback hustled out a side door to the parking lot.

``Matt, have a minute?'' said one of two writers trailing after him.

``No!'' Leinart said loudly.

Since he didn't turn around to see who was following him, Leinart must have gathered that these were either non-paying autograph seekers or reporters trying to ask about NCAA investigations or NFL contract negotiations. One way or the other, this was human contact best avoided.

A few minutes later, Bush completed his work at the signing table and was led down a hallway to a room full of New Orleans Saints helmets, jerseys and photographs awaiting his Sharpie scrawl. He broke stride momentarily -- Fresno State would recognize this move -- to pose for a snapshot with a young man.

``Reggie, the camera didn't work! Can we take another picture?'' the man pleaded.

``I can't,'' Bush said, apologetically.

The exchange continued, the man more insistent, claiming he'd paid $240 for his access, Bush less apologetic, noting he wasn't suppose to do anything outside the format of the convention. When the man gave up, Bush turned to the writers walking with him.

``That guy's a (memorabilia) dealer,'' Bush said, as opposed to a devoted fan. ``I've seen him before.''

Bush left the building accompanied by his marketing agent and the writers, who sneaked in one question each.

``We're shooting for (negotiations) to be as quick as possible,'' Bush said. ``But, obviously, this is part of the business. ... I can't wait to get on the field. It's another level of challenge. I'm looking forward to winning some games.''

Agent Mike Ornstein jumped in to cut off the chat, saying Bush really wasn't supposed to do interviews Wednesday. Ornstein was worried about speculative reports that Bush might hold out for the entire season, sticking it to the suffering people of New Orleans, which would have been image suicide.

Bush slid behind the tinted windows of his Hummer H2 and drove away.

I called it relative innocence, what Bush and Leinart are telling goodbye, and relative is the word in more ways than one. Bush lost his purity in April when the Pac-10 began to investigate the circumstances of the tailback's parents living in a house owned by a man connected to a sports marketing firm.

Leinart lost his halo in June when the NCAA declared receiver Dwayne Jarrett ineligible because Leinart's father paid most of the rent on the luxury apartment the two players shared.

At least in college football, on matters like that, there are rules to be broken. In the pros the only rule is, everybody make as much money as you can. Bush and Leinart are well on their way, thanks to endorsement deals, even before they sign with their NFL teams.

I was beginning to ask Bush about the price of this loss of innocence when two young women approached him in the parking lot, holding photographs and pens.

``I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to sign outside of this (show),'' Bush said. ``I could get in trouble for that.''

``You're closed!'' one of the women observed, as if he were a merchant, which he is now.

NFL training camps are opening this weekend. The NFL still can't find Southern California on a map, and probably believes the region is named after the university. But college fans here have old favorites to root for -- USC's Troy Polamalu and Carson Palmer, UCLA's DeShaun Foster and Jonathan Ogden.

And, starting soon, USC's Leinart and Bush.

My sympathy is relative, also. They're gifted, they're rich, and they're young.

Still, there are reasons that Leinart put that one-year hold on his move from campus to corporate. We'll see how much fun it turns out to be, leaving Fight On for Old SC, on the way to Anything for a Buck.

heymodesti(AT_SIGN)aol.com

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