LOCAL LONGHORNS FANS ARE LOYAL TEXAS ALUMS GATHER FOR BIG GAME.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne  Staff Writer

PASADENA - Tricia Kennedy doesn't care if she sticks out. She's a graduate student at USC, she bought tickets to Wednesday's national championship game at the Rose Bowl through USC and she sat in the USC section. But in her heart, she bleeds burnt orange.

``During football season, I have a personal rule to wear something burnt orange Wednesday through Saturday during game week,'' said Kennedy, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of Texas Exes alumni group. ``I wear it as much as possible.''

For most of the year, Texas alumni in Los Angeles are a small, but dedicated group. They meet at alumni functions and in sports bars with satellite feeds. If they want news on their alma mater, they have to rely on the internet or wire service reports.

They recognize each other by hand signs, distinctly colored clothing and sometimes, depending on how long they've been in Los Angeles, an accent.

``It's hard to feel like you are truly alone when you can't drive five miles without seeing a Longhorn window sticker,'' said Chance Miller, who will succeed Kennedy as president. ``I was in IKEA once, with a neighbor who grew up in England, and I saw someone wearing Longhorn attire. I flashed them the ``Hook 'Em Horns'' hand sign and they flashed it back. My neighbor asked why our 'cult' has a hand sign?''

This week, any Texas alumni who is anybody has come out of the woodwork, loud and proud in burnt orange, flashing the ``Hook 'Em Horns'' hand sign and fielding calls from college buddies desperate for tickets to the Rose Bowl.

Miller scored his ticket for $525, from a friend whose wife had to stay home in Dallas, because she was having morning sickness. Face value for Rose bowl tickets was $175.

You'd think the president of an alumni group would have an easier time scoring tickets, but the demand for tickets to Wednesday's national championship was so strong, even distinguished Texas alumni like Beverly White, a reporter and anchor for KNBC Channel 4, had trouble coming up with them. White didn't get hers until Tuesday night, the night before the game.

``My wonderful husband (Xavier Higgs) came through at the last minute,'' White said. ``I feel bad, I got three more calls from friends today trying to get tickets and I couldn't help them.''

White and Miller were some of the lucky ones. Many Texas' fans flew in without tickets, hoping to buy them outside the stadium, but found the going rough.

Sherry Rigby flew in from Chicago with a ticket to the game, but spent several hours outside the Rose Bowl before the game trying to buy tickets for her mother, who'd flown in from Utah, but wasn't having much luck.

``Last year, you could buy them a dime a dozen, but not this time,'' she said. ``I came in expecting to pay three figures, but now I'm thinking I might have to go four figures. ... I've offered my mom my ticket a hundred times, but she won't take it.''

Sanger Lee, a Texas alumnus who lives in Los Angeles, also was shut out. Lee and several of his friends who flew into town for the game, showed up early to tailgate and try to find tickets, but weren't willing to pay the $1,000 asking price.

``If we don't end up getting tickets, we'll just go to Hooters in Hollywood to watch the game. Texas Exes is having a party there,'' said Lee, who attended several Texas Exes events during the season. ``I feel bad for my buddies, they flew in from out of town and they can't even go to the game.''

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

These Texas fans live in L.A. but show their true colors.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer