Big Game Press Conference

Then the real work began. But not, as readers might expect, the work of proffering insightful questions to players and coaches to glean inside information about the upcoming Big Game, rather the work of crowding past tables, chairs, media equipment and restaurant booths - to then strain an arm through a dozen people, similarly employed, to get a microphone within audible distance of a football player hoping to record whatever he said for the benefit of football posterity.

Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford agreed. "Can't we all just do this by video teleconference?" he somewhat plaintively asked. "Don't we already have the technology for that?"

I had just asked him about the extent of practice and coaching that could be accomplished during Big Game week - notorious for fan events combining bands and platitudes - while the real work of game preparation suffers.

This is not just a reporter's complaint. It's a request to all parties - Cal and Stanford included - to do some rethinking about the goals of these media events and to develop some creative solutions. It's not about the restaurant or good food for coaches or reporters (with a few notable exceptions on the latter).

Even a high school cafeteria somewhere - or some church's basement - would be much better if the goal is to assist media in producing good copy about the two football teams who will soon engage in a traditional game for players and fans to enjoy.

It was not all bad. Experienced reporters knew to be patient while the initial flurry of questions were asked, and until the crowds diminished enough to allow reporters to sit with a player or coach on a more individual basis - where an actual interview could be conducted. Readers of this website are acquainted with the work of Rusty Simmons, Jonathan Okanes, and Jake Curtis - pros who have learned through long and probably painful experience how to handle these kinds of situations - and to be able to generate interesting copy for their readers in spite of the hurdles.

One more observation: Ninety percent or more of the comments made by coaches never make it to print. Having observed many dozens, perhaps hundreds, of encounters between good media reps and coaches - and to then see in the next day's newspaper what resulted from those conversations - it is both interesting and odd to see the massive filtering process that occurs.

The first cut is of course elimination of the trivial or banal, and there's a lot of that. A lexicographical analysis of coach-speak might find a total vocabulary of less than 200 words. Almost every situation and most questions already have well-tested answers documented in "Coaching 101" - that frequently provide the first response reporters hear - and discard.

A second slice is the adjustment coaches make for a kind of political correctness. There's a broad range of questions about - for example - players and their individual performances - that coaches either won't answer or respond with answers that duck the intent of the question. Good reporters have seen way too much of this, of course, so work at phrasing questions that have a chance of eliciting some real information by coming at the issue sideways. And doing that of course sometimes results in long answers that are not what the reporter is seeking - so those too end up on the cutting room floor.

Enough already.

In spite of the above, a press conference occurred today at Perry's, and some few bits of interesting material could be gleaned, mostly from players (Worrell Williams and Norris Malele) who spoke about their personal experience of Big Games and their appreciation for - and deep sense of brotherhood with - their teammates.

These at least are real, the experiences of college seniors who have put in huge efforts toward physical and mental development and who now approach the end of their college careers - and all too soon face the goodbyes with teammates with whom they have fought so many battles on the gridiron.

There are several short videos attached here, clips of remarks made by Tedford, Malele, and Williams. This reporter hopes that the clips convey both the unreal: the platitudes of coach-speak at these kinds of events - and the real: team members talking about their careers and their brothers in combat.

One last impression: these are fine young men who have grown immensely while at Cal and in the football program - and who we all can look to see in leadership roles in the future.

From Jeff Tedford:

1. Opening remarks to the press. Video.
2. Defense against the big running backs of Stanford: Video.
3. The pain of NOT having the axe in its proper place at Cal: Video.
4. Learning lessons from the loss to Oregon State: Video.

From Norris Malele:

1. The excitement and spirit around the Big Game during his career at Cal: Video.
2. His teammates on the offensive line - and how several have stepped up after injuries: Video.

From Worrell Williams:

1. Big Game excitement: Video.
2. The "mudslide" of unstoppable losses last year, and how this year is different. Video.
3. What he has seen during film review of the Stanford offense: Video.
4. How Cal's defense is "licking their chops" in anticipation of Stanford trying to run on them: Video.
5. On his band of brothers on defense: Video.
6. And his thoughts about facing the final three games (counting a bowl game) of his Cal career: Video.