Traveler’s main man leads charge

LOS ANGELES – A section of USC fans in one corner of the Coliseum once chanted for him during the game. “Horse Boy! Horse Boy!” they shouted.

Scott Biederman, the skinny man in the old Trojans football warmups and cleats trying to outrun the galloping Traveler at USC home games, soaked in every syllable of the sideline glory.

His job – we can’t really call it that since he volunteers for this – has to fall into that quirky-but-undesirable category of sports gigs along with Major League Baseball urine-test collector and Mike Tyson’s sparring partner.

But Biederman has such USC football love that the chore of spending half the game serving as the lead blocker to the team’s Andalusian mascot and the other half scooping up “Free Traveler souvenirs” in the Coliseum tunnel seems more like a privilege than a duty. Or shall we say, doody?

“It’s my passion,” said the Traveler Crew lead runner leaving the field after the Sept. 1 home opener with pooper-scooper in hand. “I haven’t missed a game in 14 years.”

Biederman, 46, of Burbank, Calif., is a painting contractor by day, freeing his Saturdays for Traveler tasks and his Fridays for running the chains for the past 19 seasons of Burbank High football games.

He began watching Trojans football in 1972. His family has had season tickets to the USC games since 1973. He wanted to go to USC like his father but, after two years in a community college, decided to work full time rather than transfer to USC.

In the late 1980s, Biederman joined the Traveler Crew when Pat Saukko, Traveler I’s co-owner and wife of original rider Richard Saukko, needed extra hands during games.

“I was the fastest guy they knew, so I took on the running,” Biederman said. “I’ve got to be on my toes to make sure nobody gets in Traveler’s way on the field.”

He starts his game day by helping groom the white, 16-hand, 1,200-pound equine that arrives by trailer from an undisclosed stable in the San Fernando Valley. (Sorry, that’s the only geographical clue mischievous UCLA fans are going to get.)

After a few hours of meet-and-greets with fans, the Traveler Crew does three walks around the field’s perimeter. Biederman advises cheerleaders, photographers, opposing coaches and security guards that he and the horse – now Traveler VII mounted by Trojans warrior rider Hector Aguilar – will be charging around the field before the game, after every USC touchdown and at the end of the third quarter.

“Some people forget to pay attention, and it can get dangerous if they’re in front of a 1,200-pound animal going full stride,” he said. “I’m there for everyone’s safety, and sometimes, sorry, I’ve had to shove.”

Their first act comes just before kickoff, when the Trojan Marching Band plays “Conquest” and the trumpets in the brass section raise their bells to the heavens.

At the season opener, Biederman had to jump out of the tunnel early, waving his hands in a panic, shouting, “Hold up, Mr. Booty! Traveler’s coming,” when USC quarterback John David Booty and other captains began leading the team onto the field.

Biederman then sprinted, fists pumping, first behind the goal post, then up the sideline in front of the stands, around the back of the far end zone, down the opposing team’s sideline and into the tunnel. It’s a 350-yard round trip that leaves Biederman breathing much harder than the horse he tries to lead by 10 yards.

Sometimes Biederman has to push, clothesline, block and take down pedestrians who wander into Traveler’s course. About a decade ago, when a spectator tossed something at Traveler, the horse reared up its hind legs, whipped around its backside and wiped out a Stanford cheerleader.

“The horse got spooked and took out that girl!” Biederman said. “Two years ago, I tackled the USC president (Steven Sample) when we were running back in the tunnel and he said, ‘You saved my life!’ “

After that opening run, Biederman and Aguilar wait halfway up the tunnel. They groom Traveler, walk the horse in circles, stay loose and keep an eye on the game.

When the Trojans reach the red zone, they inch out and prepare for another run for a Trojans touchdown. They’re also trotting back out at the end of the third quarter when Aguilar makes the traditional ride to the end zone near the peristyle and raises his sword to light the torch.

“The worst day was that game against Arkansas two years ago,” said Biederman, remembering how winded he was when the Trojans scored four of their 10 touchdowns in the first quarter of their 70-17 rout. “I’m still tired.”

The lag time between touchdowns allows Biederman to consider some strange things. For instance, in the past eight seasons, Biederman claims, the Trojans have scored at least 40 points in all but three games when Traveler relieves itself twice in the tunnel.

“I told Coach (Pete) Carroll about this, so I give him the thumbs-up during the game if Traveler makes a second ‘souvenir,’ ” Biederman said. “He looks at me and goes, ‘Cool.’ “

It’s those connections to his favorite team that will keep “Horse Boy” traveling back for this Saturday’s game against Washington State for more.