Oskimilo1 said:

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I was Joe Roth's good friend and roommate at CAL. THe fact we are having this discussion...46 years after his passing...is an amazing tribute to Joe being remembered by so many fans and non-fans over the decades! Can you imagine if it was you the Forum was talking about your legacy...this many decades later? A true honor to be remembered!

I have been invited by Coach Tedford and Coach Dykes to speak to the CAL football team several times over the years during the week of Joe Roth Memorial games. I describe Joe as I knew him as: Courage, Attitude and Legacy. What's that spell? CAL!

Coach Wilcox has not extended an invitation to me to speak to the team during his tenure. But, that's okay... Joe's spirit lives on in my heart each and everyday.

Do you realize that had Joe been healthy enough to be drafted in the 1st round of the NFL in 1977, by the Dallas Cowboys who GM Gil Brandt said Joe Roth was the best QB to come out of the college ranks since Joe Namath, he would have had a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season backing up Dallas QB Roger Staubach! Amazing would could have been...

Go BEARS!
John Matlock
(matlock.piano@gmail.com)

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Amazing story, thanks! I didn't become a bear until way after Joe's time. But his story and that of Tuggle (mr irrelevant), and Joe kapp is what makes me love Cal football more than their record would justify. In my opinion if we get left out of b1g time college football, losing this legacy becomes very real. It's bad for college football but mostly a reflection of current and past ADs not understanding the full value of these guys and Cal football.

So you lived in the small apartment building adjacent to the Newman Hall parking lot. I was introduced to Joe by my future brother in law after Sunday Mass at Newman in the spring of 1976, my senior year. I shook his hand and had one minute of conversation. My impression: Gosh this guy is humble and quiet for being the biggest stud on campus. Bartkowski fully embraced that status the year before. Joe was probably embarrassed by it. He seemed special.

BarcaBear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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Strykur said:

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MTbear22 said:

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BearGreg said:

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Sadly, there will not be a Joe Roth game in 2023. In the new deal with Nike, something went awry preventing them from having the uniforms ready in time for the USC game.

I believe the plan is to play one game a year in those uniforms in 2024. Will it be Big Game or a new ACC opponent, that's TBD

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Personal opinion: strong no on making it the Big Game. Traditional uniforms for the traditional rivalry.

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I would not be bothered if the Joe Roth throwbacks were shelved forever.

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Agreed, we need to get our branding tighter and having a second set of jerseys with completely different colors show up in so many recruiting pic is not helping.

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some folks think that fans care, but really, those folks need to differentiate between how they as hardcore fans/donors feel (who are the minority of Cal fans) and everyone else.

Truth is most Cal fans don't care. Most fans get the narrative behind it, but whether it continues or stops will not alter how they feel about Cal football. The reality is that current Cal students and vast majority of alumni have no emotional connection to Joe Roth.

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We had the Joe Roth game for decades without wearing the throwback uniforms. You don't do the Joe Roth game because students "care" about him. You do it because he was inspirational and his strength, leadership and bravery make him deserving. And if 5% of the people who hear of it are inspired by it, that is awesome.

BarcaBear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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Strykur said:

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MTbear22 said:

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BearGreg said:

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Sadly, there will not be a Joe Roth game in 2023. In the new deal with Nike, something went awry preventing them from having the uniforms ready in time for the USC game.

I believe the plan is to play one game a year in those uniforms in 2024. Will it be Big Game or a new ACC opponent, that's TBD

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Personal opinion: strong no on making it the Big Game. Traditional uniforms for the traditional rivalry.

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I would not be bothered if the Joe Roth throwbacks were shelved forever.

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Agreed, we need to get our branding tighter and having a second set of jerseys with completely different colors show up in so many recruiting pic is not helping.

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some folks think that fans care, but really, those folks need to differentiate between how they as hardcore fans/donors feel (who are the minority of Cal fans) and everyone else.

Truth is most Cal fans don't care. Most fans get the narrative behind it, but whether it continues or stops will not alter how they feel about Cal football. The reality is that current Cal students and vast majority of alumni have no emotional connection to Joe Roth.

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The truth is, most Cal fans don't care about Hail to California, so let's stop playing/singing it. The vast majority of Cal alumni have never been up in the Campanile, so let's demolish it and just erect a big digital clock on a pole. Many on this board have opined that traditions are all that differentiates college football from pro football, so why would we eliminate yet another one? How about explaining the tradition to Cal fans - telling them the story? How about a video on the CMS (not so) big screen of Mike White talking about Joe?

Roth's story is about a very talented athlete who met a tragic end, but in spite of his celebrity, he never called attention to his situation. Maybe in this age of social media influencers who broadcast the consistency of their bowel movements, people need to hear about a guy who handled an awful situation with courage and grace.

"The vast majority of Cal alumni have never been up in the Campanile, so let's demolish it.."

I have just reported you to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state wildlife agencies, The Peregrine Fund, Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, and the Midwestern Peregrine Falcon Restoration Project.

New lids this weekend 👀 #GoBears pic.twitter.com/HTiRNXzOK6

— Cal Football (@CalFootball) October 22, 2023

Joe Roth was born and raised in San Diego/El Cajon and went to Grossmount JC. Let's have an annual game against San Diego State be the Joe Roth Game. For games at Snapdragon, invite representatives from Grossmount.

C6Bear said:

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HoopDreams said:

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BearGreg said:

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Let me correct myself. We may well have a Joe Roth Memorial game this year, it simply will not be with the Roth throwback uniforms which BTW are very, very popular with fans, donors and the players

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and me!

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Add me as a fan of the throwbacks. Bet the recruits like them too since they are usually announced on social media wearing them. So much better than the crap unis UnderAmour rolled out the last few years. Adding to another thread, I think the all white road unis look great but they can burn the all blues or yellow home unis. All blue at night is laughable.

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It looks bad but the coaching staff will point out that the ball fakes/handoffs are harder to pick up at night against a dark uniform, and we need every edge we can get.

bencgilmore said:

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calumnus said:

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We should continue the Joe Roth Game by continuing to play USC and UCLA. But leave the 70s uniforms behind.

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eh. i used to be on the play sc/ucla at all costs bandwagon but the calculus has changed, to put it mildly

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Understood. That is why need to play SDSU every year, home and away, so we have games in SoCal for recruits. Since Joe Roth was from San Diego and played JC ball there, it would be even more appropriate as the Joe Roth Game.

BarcaBear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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Strykur said:

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MTbear22 said:

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BearGreg said:

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Sadly, there will not be a Joe Roth game in 2023. In the new deal with Nike, something went awry preventing them from having the uniforms ready in time for the USC game.

I believe the plan is to play one game a year in those uniforms in 2024. Will it be Big Game or a new ACC opponent, that's TBD

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Personal opinion: strong no on making it the Big Game. Traditional uniforms for the traditional rivalry.

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I would not be bothered if the Joe Roth throwbacks were shelved forever.

---

Agreed, we need to get our branding tighter and having a second set of jerseys with completely different colors show up in so many recruiting pic is not helping.

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some folks think that fans care, but really, those folks need to differentiate between how they as hardcore fans/donors feel (who are the minority of Cal fans) and everyone else.

Truth is most Cal fans don't care. Most fans get the narrative behind it, but whether it continues or stops will not alter how they feel about Cal football. The reality is that current Cal students and vast majority of alumni have no emotional connection to Joe Roth.

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If you don't have the connection, then you haven't heard the story...it transcends time, and unless cancer is "cured," it always will.