L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.

Byline: -- Scott Wolf 

Comfortable seats. Great sight lines. A loud and enthusiastic student section. A moving halftime ceremony.

So what was missing from the USC-South Carolina game Thursday night? Namely, a crowd. The number of empty seats was stunning for a 35-plus-years-in-the-waiting arena and the number of people who said they couldn't wait to show up for the inaugural contest. The upper decks were not half full and there were a lot of empty seats everywhere else.

One USC official attributed some of it to a problem distributing tickets to fans. ``It was a ticket fiasco,'' the official said.

Former USC coach and player Bob Boyd attended the game and said he was promised a new gym in 1950. ``Bill Sharman was a senior when I was a sophomore and he said, don't worry, you'll get a new building by the time you're a senior,'' Boyd said.