Shortly after winning the national championship on Sunday evening, three players for the UCLA Bruins—Charlisse Leger-Walker, Gabriela Jaquez and Lauren Betts—took to the stage before a huge crowd at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Once on the platform, they did not grab the mic. They did not hold up the trophy or throw their championship hats.
They performed a dance. And to Tate McRae, no less.
touch
Here’s a look at the story behind the number, which is now synonymous with the title-winning team:
What is the story behind the dance?
Back in February, Bruins guard Leger-Walker posted a video to her YouTube channel titled “Can We Make the UCLA Dance Team in 24 Hours?” In the 24-minute vlog, Leger-Walker and teammate Jaquez challenged the Bruins’ dance team to teach them an entire halftime routine in one day’s time. And, if the video got 1,000 likes, Jaquez and Leger-Walker promised to then perform the dance at halftime of a men’s basketball game.
Lo and behold, the like benchmark was eventually reached, which meant that Leger-Walker, Jaquez and center Betts (who was later recruited to join) made good on the deal and danced to Tate McRae’s “Just Keep Watching” during the men’s game on March 3.
The performance soon made a splash online.
said at the time.
“Lauren and I have been wanting to take a dance class in L.A. for a long time,” added Jaquez, speaking to ESPN. “We both grew up dancing, and we love to dance in the locker room and stuff. But this wasn’t just like a TikTok dance, it was the real thing. So when Charlisse came up with this idea, we were all-in.”
The trio also performed the dance throughout the tournament, but gave it one more (and perhaps final?) rendition in front of the trophy on Sunday. It was a fitting way to end things, of course; the best way to celebrate a win in the Big Dance is obviously to bust a move.
More March Madness from Sports Illustrated
- The Loyalists: Alex Karaban and Will Tschetter, Rare One-School Seniors, Face Off in UConn-Michigan Title Clash
- SI:AM | UCLA Leaves No Doubt in National Title Blowout vs. South Carolina
- After a Hard Reset, UCLA Decided to Win a National Championship on Its Own Terms
- ‘We Got Smacked’: South Carolina Couldn’t Do Anything Right in the National Championship
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Three UCLA Players Danced to Tate McRae After Winning National Championship.
