Yes, I realize that we are playing an FCS opponent tomorrow and (God willing) the football game itself will never be in doubt. Yes, I realize that the amount of off-season drama this year was extraordinary even by Cal standards - which is really saying something. But I'm going to beg everyone who can come tomorrow to do so. One of our largest boosters is flying in from Georgia for the game. If he can do that, hopefully a number of you can make a short drive from your homes to Strawberry Canyon to show your support for the team.
On that support, we have a ton of new players this year and this will be their first exposure to Cal fans, to Memorial Stadium and to Cal football and its traditions. We are also going to bring in a number of Raiders fans and start getting them to adopt Cal as their home team. And, as always, we have thousands of new freshman, many of whom will have likely never seen a live football game, much less a Cal one. This is our one and only chance to make a first impression on all these folks. Let's show them what we've got. Show the players, who work so incredibly hard for these few brief moments, that we care and value them and appreciate them wearing the blue and gold. Show them what an amazing experience Memorial Stadium can be. Show Chancellor Lyons and Ron Rivera how much we appreciate their efforts to help Cal again ascend to the pinnacle of the football mountain. Show them all.
This is also your chance to see a lot of the new and more innovative things Cal is trying to do to further energize the fan experience. Our new speaker system is installed and should sound amazing. We have a new sing-along we're rolling out for the first time. And if we can find a way to make his pants stay up, we have a new way for Oski to enter the stadium. These are all firsts that will never come again.
I'm also guessing years from now that you may appreciate being able to say that you were there when Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele played at Memorial stadium for the very first time. Those of us who follow football closely know that talent like his doesn't come along too often. He has a chance to be The One we've all been waiting for. This is your only chance to see his first home game.
There are only six or seven games played at Memorial a year. The season is incredibly short and the opportunities incredibly fleeting. It doesn't matter who the opponent is or really anything else about them. You need to seize the moments you can seize to see Cal itself.
Lastly, Texas Southern is bringing its band which is one of the great college bands in the country. I still remember watching Grambling State play at Memorial and, by all accounts, these guys and gals are even better. If you love college bands, they should be worth the price of admission all by itself.
So join me in Memorial tomorrow. Let's show the world a new day has dawned for Cal football.
Go Bears!
On that support, we have a ton of new players this year and this will be their first exposure to Cal fans, to Memorial Stadium and to Cal football and its traditions. We are also going to bring in a number of Raiders fans and start getting them to adopt Cal as their home team. And, as always, we have thousands of new freshman, many of whom will have likely never seen a live football game, much less a Cal one. This is our one and only chance to make a first impression on all these folks. Let's show them what we've got. Show the players, who work so incredibly hard for these few brief moments, that we care and value them and appreciate them wearing the blue and gold. Show them what an amazing experience Memorial Stadium can be. Show Chancellor Lyons and Ron Rivera how much we appreciate their efforts to help Cal again ascend to the pinnacle of the football mountain. Show them all.
This is also your chance to see a lot of the new and more innovative things Cal is trying to do to further energize the fan experience. Our new speaker system is installed and should sound amazing. We have a new sing-along we're rolling out for the first time. And if we can find a way to make his pants stay up, we have a new way for Oski to enter the stadium. These are all firsts that will never come again.
I'm also guessing years from now that you may appreciate being able to say that you were there when Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele played at Memorial stadium for the very first time. Those of us who follow football closely know that talent like his doesn't come along too often. He has a chance to be The One we've all been waiting for. This is your only chance to see his first home game.
There are only six or seven games played at Memorial a year. The season is incredibly short and the opportunities incredibly fleeting. It doesn't matter who the opponent is or really anything else about them. You need to seize the moments you can seize to see Cal itself.
Lastly, Texas Southern is bringing its band which is one of the great college bands in the country. I still remember watching Grambling State play at Memorial and, by all accounts, these guys and gals are even better. If you love college bands, they should be worth the price of admission all by itself.
So join me in Memorial tomorrow. Let's show the world a new day has dawned for Cal football.
Go Bears!
