The UCLA women’s gymnastics team has been somewhat phenomenal with the attendance this season. Jordan Chiles made her comeback to college gymnastics, pulling off a perfect 10 in front of the Michigan home crowd of 7,287 on January 18, 2025, at the Xfinity Center; this was three times the previous record of 2,207. Despite this, Jordan Chiles and the UCLA team want just one thing from the fans.
Despite taking victory in front of a crowd of over 11,000 at the Crisler Center on 23rd February, the Bruins are yet to achieve the dream of filling up the arenas, not even at home. Gearing for their final home meet, they are hoping this comes true. The Paris gold medalist needs the fans—in physicality and in attendance at the UCLA home mat. She even took to Instagram to convey this.
She posted a story on the last day of February 2025, saying, “Come join us on March 5th for senior night and our last home meet! Enjoy the best show, one more time, at Pauley Pavilion @5.30pm @uclagymnasticswould love to see you there.” The story had Chiles in the background, dressed in her Bruins gear with her eyes closed. UCLA gymnastics reposted the story, making sure the messages got to every one of their fans. Although this request from the Olympian is not new to the fans,.
Jordan has made a similar request, making her UCLA debut at Pauley Pavilion. She uploaded a preview of her floor routine from the Xfinity Center on her Instagram story and wrote, “Hello everyone, this is a PSA—please come and attend our home meet this Saturday the 25th at Pauley at 2 pm. @uclagymnastics would love all the support and want to give you guys an amazing show!! So come!!!”
Pulling fans into the arena has been one of the major plans of the 7-time NCAA champions and Jordan as the face of the campaign pays off. Fans pulled up to the Pauley Pavilion on the 25th to watch the Bruins take over the Illinois team in front of 7,647 fans. However, the big chunk pulled up on the 1st of February as UCLA triumphed over Michigan.
This meet had an attendance of a whopping 10,681 in the pavilion. The highest recorded attendance at an NCAA gymnastics meet occurred on March 6, 2015, when 16,019 fans filled the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, a record that cannot be broken by the Bruins, as Pauley Pavilion can only hold about 13,800 spectators.
What the Bruins can break is their record of a home crowd of 12,907 on March 10, 2019. This was when the gymnasts from the University of California triumphed over the ones from Stanford. Now, as they gear up to face the Cardinals once again on 9th March, they hope the fans will pull up in numbers. The TIMEs woman of the year is the perfect person to make the request, as she not only gains accolades from the fans but legends of the game as well.
Simone Biles has two words for Jordan Chiles
Back at the 2018 World Championship team trials, Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles were allotted as each other’s teammates; ever since then, the two have had each other’s back. The Oregon native would have quit her gymnastics career if not for the pep talk with the 27-year-old. And what a payback for the 11-time Olympic medalist as the UCLA gymnast becomes Time’s Women of the Year.
“Yaaassssss babe!!!!!!” Biles wrote on an Instagram post by the two-time Olympian in which she shared her excitement over being on the list of TIME’s Women of the Year. Sharing the TIME magazine cover, she said, “Wow, just wow… that’s literally all I can say. Women of the Year is crazy, and for @time, it is even crazier!! All glory to God ”
The UCLA gymnast posed in a black swimsuit, along with another image featuring her in a stylish white crop top and gray slacks adorned with gem designs alongside WNBA star A’ja Wilson, who was also featured in the issue. Breaking the next 6-year-old record remains the next accolade for Biles. The two-time Olympian has been breaking the headlines ever since the infamous happening in Paris.
Be it the perfect 10 on the debut, being named the gymnast of the week, or featuring in TIME’s women of the year list. Filling up the Pauley Pavilion could be the next big thing for the UCLA star. What do you think? Will the fans answer her call? California natives, where are you heading on the 10th of March?
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