This question/dilemma just occurred to me. It being Big Game today, I'm remembering all the great times Dad would have his trusty cassette recording of "The Play" on hand and ready to deploy. It ALWAYS got replayed at the tailgate in the car ... at full volume! (Even louder at the farm!) Always ran tingles down my spine. "Oh what a bonanza!"

To wit, ponder this question:

If you could choose only ONE to have happened in the recent past/last generation, which would you pick:

1) The Play

or

2) A Rose Bowl appearance

I assume most everyone here would pick #2 without second thought. However, I think of how many times I fondly think of The Play every.single.year. Multiple times a year. Brings a big, fat smile! Heck, the sports media replays it almost every year and it has obviously gained nationwide fame. I don't know if I'd regularly remember a Cal Rose Bowl appearance in the past, especially if they lost in horrible fashion (a la' the '04 Holiday Bowl). And would the media replay a Cal Rose Bowl play every year? Don't think so. So for me, I'm going with #1. But I'm unique in that the '82 Big Game was my first Cal game in person, at Memorial Stadium, with my big sis, all proud & graduated with all her cool friends. We had a great after-party as well.

Go Bears! Beat Stanfurd!!!

PS Thanks. Gotta run. Will check in later...

I'd be remiss if I didn't post ...

....So with 31 seconds to go, they [Stanford]
still have that time out left but still need to get a
little further down field.

Here's Elway, bringing 'em up. Pitch back, breaking to
his left is Doderer. Doderer may go all the way!!! He
is dropped at the 17 yd. line! He swept to his left in
a beautiful play; Anderson and Rogers made the tackle;
but Stanford is now in position to win with a field
goal. Oh my goodness, what a finish!! Clock has 23
seconds remaining. And they still have their time out
left.

Clock begins to run again; it's down to 18. Let's see
what Elway does. Pitch back; gives it to Doderer,
sweeps to his right, he is dropped to the 18 yd. line.
And now with 8 seconds to go...Kevin Moen makes the
tackle, Stanford calls the time out and sets
themselves up to win the game with a field goal - 35
yards....What a finish. I'll tell you this is
something. And for John Elway to pull this out after
being 4th and 17 on his own 13 yard line, with less
than a minute to go is one of the most remarkable
finishes you'll ever see.

Harmon's a great kicker. This is a gimme for Harmon
from the 35. A 35 yard kick, 8 seconds to go. Mark
Harmon, 35 will win it.... Listen to the crowd. Here's
the snap; here's the kick; it is long and up, and it's
GOOD!! Stanford hits it with 4 seconds to go! And
takes the lead 20-19! Only a miracle could save the
Bears as Stanford piles out on the field.

Now there will be a 15 yard penalty against Stanford
on the kick-off for exuberance is about what it comes
down to.

Joe, so this is the Big Game?!

Awesome, flow of emotion back and forth, great
football. Well, this is some show I'll tell you. And
now the Bears in a seemingly impossible situation.
They have only one time-out left. They pretty well
have to run it back... to save the game and boy, talk
about a heartbreaking way to lose....But what a great
way to win if you are a Stanford fan. 8 seconds to go,
35 yard kick by Harmon. [Nauseating Stanford fans and
band heard in the background.] It'll go right up there
with Langford's kick in '74, which was further of
course...a 50 yarder at the buzzer.

The Bears' problem is...that although the kick-off
will now come from the 25 yard line, it's unlikely
that Ford can get the ball and get out of bounds far
enough upfield to set up one try at the field goal.
What a recovery by Stanford; you have to give them all
sorts of credit. 4th and 17 at their own 13 yd. line,
and it beats staring at them in the face, and they
saved it. They pulled it out. What a show.

Alright here we go with the kick-off. Harmon will
probably try to squib it and he does. Ball comes loose
and the Bears have to get out of bounds. Rogers along
the sideline, another one...they're still in deep
trouble at midfield, they tried to do a couple
of....the ball is still loose as they get it to
Rogers. They get it back to the 30, they're down to
the 20...Oh the band is out on the field!! He's gonna
go into the endzone!!! He got into the endzone!!
[voice quite hoarse at this point] Will it count? The
Bears have scored [CANNON GOES OFF] but the bands are
out on the field.

There were flags all over the place. Wait and see what
happens; we don't know who won the game. There are
flags on the field. We have to see whether or not the
flags are against Stanford or Cal. The Bears may have
made some illegal laterals. It could be that it won't
count. The Bears, believe it or not, took it all the
way into the endzone. If the penalty is against
Stanford, California would win the game. If it is not,
the game is over and Stanford has won. We've heard no
decision yet. Everybody is milling around on the
[crowd and Joe getting very, very loud now] FIELD!!!
AND THE BEARS!!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!! THE BEARS HAVE
WON!!! Oh my God, the most amazing, sensational,
dramatic, heart rending... exciting thrilling finish
in the history of college football! California has
won...the Big Game...over Stanford. Oh excuse me for
my voice, but I have never, never seen anything like
it in the history of I have ever seen any game in my
life! The Bears have won it! There will be no extra
point!

(Edited to change "traumatic" to "dramatic." Don't know how I missed that. Thx.)

Wonderful!
(But he said dramatic not traumatic. Ha ha. Nothing traumatic about it.)

The Big Question in my mind is if Wilcox wins does he get another extension?

"They ruined my last game as a college player. It was a very bittersweet ending. I did not want it to end this way. It's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life." -- John Albert Elway, Jr., November 20, 1982

https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2013/11/5/5062950/cal-really-did-ruin-john-elways-college-career

^ The answer is (1).

I have a Daily Cal edition in my hand, dated November 22, 1982, which clearly states that the final touchdown was nullified, and the Stanford Cardinal was declared victorious.

bearister said:

---

"They ruined my last game as a college player. It was a very bittersweet ending. I did not want it to end this way. It's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life." -- John Albert Elway, Jr., November 20, 1982

---

pooor john..
https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/nfl/john-elway-net-worth/

Bobodeluxe said:

---

I have a Daily Cal edition in my hand, dated November 22, 1982, which clearly states that the final touchdown was nullified, and the Stanford Cardinal was declared victorious.

---

I assume you're kidding. If not and you really do have one, I'd sure love to track down an electronic copy of it. Anyone know if this is available anywhere? I've searched from time to time with no luck.

BTW, the actual spoof Daily Cal was published Wednesday, the 24th. You can see a quality scan of the front page here:
https://exhibits.lib.berkeley.edu/spotlight/daily-cal-first-150-years/catalog/59-3386

Fun reading the front page at least.

Would love to see the whole paper.

Man, hate to promote anything Furd, but the telling of the tale of conceiving of, creating and pulling off the prank is a great read:

https://stanforddaily.com/2017/11/16/its-just-not-fair-an-oral-history-of-the-play-and-the-1982-fake-daily-cal/?curator=SportsREDEF

(The fact that the actual Daily Cal had problems with printing its Thanksgiving double-edition and was delayed by EIGHT HOURS made their prank work even better. Dumb, dumb Furd luck!)