This is it. This is the Christmas Card picture. Of course The Bird has yet to be consulted on this, so the idea is admittedly not quite fully baked. But if it were solely up to me…

While this may raise a few eyebrows among regular readers, I must admit that I’m not always a purely objective scribe. I’ll wait a moment while the shock wears off.

I do have the ability to write with a total lack of bias regarding my subject matter – I just don’t call upon this ability as often as I probably should. And even on my finest journalist-wannabe days, there are two topics on which I am helpless when attempting to render an impartial opinion: (1) The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; and (2) USC football.

My allegiance to the Angels is common knowledge among virtually everyone who has spent more than 25 minutes with me during baseball season. My passion for the Trojans though can probably best be validated by my buddy Phil, at whose home I watched USC’s infamous “Bush Push” victory against Notre Dame – and who found himself subsequently on the hook for providing the alcohol that got me through that game.

So imagine my reaction when the good folks at my local Borders sent me an email tipping me off to the fact that former (and it really pains me to use that word in this context) USC Trojan football coach Pete Carroll would be dropping by to do a book signing right down the road from “It’s Game Time Somewhere” World Headquarters.

These have been tough times for USC football fans. It all started out last season with a loss to Washington, for God’s sake, that set us on the path to finishing in the middle of the Pac-10 standings – thus missing out on the Rose Bowl. Then Pete Carroll took a job as Head Coach and EVP with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. And more recently, there’s that little NCAA probation thing-y. Which was clearly based upon a bunch of trumped-up charges, and…oops…there’s that little partiality issue creeping up again.

Despite all of that angst, I remain a HUGE fan of Carroll’s and what he did for USC. There’s no disputing the fact that he almost single-handedly restored a moribund USC team and gave all of us Trojan football fans a lot of thrills during his nine seasons with the team. And while many are quick to lay the NCAA probation issues at his feet and accuse him of getting out of town ahead of the sheriff, people need to remember that he did – and continues to do – a tremendous service for the city by founding the “A Better L.A.” program.

A Better L.A. exists solely to help rescue kids from the environment of violence that exists in the inner cities of Los Angeles County. It funds the work of teams of law enforcement, social workers, business leaders and perhaps most importantly, the community outreach workers who have grown up surrounded by gang violence, and who now work on the front lines in mediating gang disputes and reaching kids that have never been reached.

In addition to using his money and his influence in helping to create A Better L.A., Pete Carroll has spent many a night himself in the company of these outreach workers as they patrol the inner city. This is a man who gives back.

Despite his move to Seattle, Carroll remains very involved with A Better L.A. In fact, support of the foundation was a condition of his when negotiating with the Seahawks. Searching for ways to continue raising money for the foundation, he decided to write a book – and contribute every dime of his royalties to A Better L.A. The book could have consisted of 192 pages of “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”, and I would’ve bought it.

And I was for damn sure going to be there to have him sign it, thank him for all that he’s done for the city, and wish him the best in Seattle. Seated together in the quiet intimacy of the local bookstore, I was sure we’d have all kinds of time to swap sentimental stories about what USC football has meant to each of us over the past decade. Just me and the Coach.

And over 400 others, who descended upon the Torrance Boulevard Borders  like it was the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

It was stop #68 on the promotional tour that has accompanied the release of Win Forever, but you would never know it from the enthusiasm with which he greeted the crowd. After a short presentation, mostly about A Better L.A., Carroll sat down to the task of greeting the public one by one, signing autographs and posing for pictures.

When my turn came, I told him of my efforts to fly the USC flag for six years while buried deeply in SEC country. He laughed and asked me where I had lived – and I got the impression that we would have had an actual conversation, had not the assembly line been set on Lucille Ball In The Chocolate Factory speed.

Interestingly, it seemed that it was the Borders staff that was pushing everybody through like cattle. I got the distinct impression that Carroll’s handlers normally allow him a little more time with each guest – and he clearly seemed interested in doing so. Then again, I waited for over an hour for my 23 seconds of quality time, and as I left, I’m guessing that there were still almost 200 people lined up.

Pete Carroll will continue to be an icon in SoCal – as well he should. For even though he doesn’t coach here anymore, his work here carries on.