Remember the famous old line from ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”?

“The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.”

Add to that the delight of performance.

From Jordan Chiles’ gymnastic dynamism to basketball stars that can dance as well as hoop, UCLA athletes are making sports fun again.

These are women who command their fields, leave politics on the sidelines, and delight us with their love of craft and performance chops.

For fans, this combination is magic.

This week, to cap off a 28-1 regular season, three UCLA basketball stars caused a sensation by busting moves with the Bruin dance team at halftime of the men’s basketball game against Nebraska.

California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post SportsFacebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!

When Charlisse Leger-Walker, Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez showed off choreography they’d learned in just a day, it was spunky and spirited and sheer, simple fun.

Meanwhile, UCLA’s star-studded gymnastics squad, among the best in the nation, have gone 9-0 this season, led by Olympians and rising stars.

The team is best known for the viral perfect-10 floor routines of Jordan Chiles, who has banished the boring tumbling run in favor of choreography exuding fun, ingenuity, and undiluted passion.

These are athletes who inspire, and whom we can admire.

At a time when many stars choose to lecture the country on politics, the UCLA women have stayed centered on sport, performance, and love of craft.

Cheers to them for that.

Sports should be a refuge from politics, an escape from the red-against-blue strife, a break from the daily onslaught not only of news, but also of chores and traffic and daily irritations.

Sports should be about the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and the delight of performance.

To the UCLA women, thank you.

And to the broader sports world: More of the good stuff, please.