We're all going to miss watching football in Strawberry Canyon this Fall. To help get us through it, post whatever you remember about your first game at Memorial Stadium.

I'll start:

Home opener in 1982. We beat San Diego St. I believe the final score was 28-0. This was Kapp's first year as coach, and the win followed up our opening day win over CU in Boulder...so we were 2-0.

I remember being surprised at the genuine (well-deserved!) affection the Cal student section had for the Cal Band...it certainly wasn't like that at my high school games.

I also remember that late in the game, J Torchio replaced Gilbert at QB. His first pass landed a couple of yards in front of the receiver, and a big mock cheer went up from the student section...it was so bad that a lot of the players on the Cal bench turned around to look at the rooting section. I felt bad for the guy.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Mine was the 1993 home opener against Marshall Faulk and SDSU. It was my second time seeing Cal play since we had opened by beating UCLA at the Rose Bowl. We handled the Aztecs pretty easily and I remember the student section chanting, "Hey Marshall, start the bus!" We opened 5-0 that year before giving a game away in the 4th to UW. We proceeded to lose 4 games in a row before we got Dave Barr back from injury in time to crush Furd and take the Axe.

In retrospect, that year was a great microcosm of Cal fandom. Great start, crushing disappointment, and then just hoping to beat Furd.

As I recall, Gary Fowler returned a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown. All during my childhood we sat in the family section in the southeast corner, where the visiting fans now sit. My mom would make us lunch and we would bring it in in a paper bag. Attendance was so poor, we had plenty of room to run around in the stands, or we would go across to Witter.

cal97;550235 said:

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Mine was the 1993 home opener against Marshall Faulk and SDSU. It was my second time seeing Cal play since we had opened by beating UCLA at the Rose Bowl. We handled the Aztecs pretty easily and I remember the student section chanting, "Hey Marshall, start the bus!" We opened 5-0 that year before giving a game away in the 4th to UW. We proceeded to lose 4 games in a row before we got Dave Barr back from injury in time to crush Furd and take the Axe.

In retrospect, that year was a great microcosm of Cal fandom. Great start, crushing disappointment, and then just hoping to beat Furd.

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Don't forget that beat down of Iowa in the Alamo Bowl. We would have gone to the RB but for Barr and Zomalt going down the same game (and returning the same game, LOL). It's that 5-0 curse.

1991
1993
1996
2005
2007

Just can't get over the hump.

2003 Washington ... 729 yards of offense!

After listening to Starkey on the radio for a season and a half, I finally got my furd Dad to take me to a game. Even he was glad that he went.

Mine was 48 years ago, against Penn State I think..A receiver, Jerry Bradley made a great catch and we pulled it out at the end..

the main thing I remember was tossing the chocolate malt tops so that they would land in the endzone, the hotdogs and peanuts (I was only 4 haha), and the student section would hold up balloons at halftime with all the students sitting in blue holding blue balloons, and the ones in the gold C holding yellow balloons..

It looked cool and then they would all pop them together. We'd go over there after the game and grab all the balloons that the students didn't use.

because I was 1 year old. 1956. I was also at the last Cal Rose Bowl, at 5 years old. Started selling programs at Cal football and basketball games when I was 14 (told them I was 15). I also plan on being at the next Cal Rose Bowl!!!!

still remember the fumble on the pitch

with my father. The JV Ramblers played a morning game against Santa Barbara, white shirts for the Student Section with men on one side and women on the other. Our family traveled to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl against Iowa.

Orange Gremlins were still legal, card stunts for every game. Attended the Bear's Lair in Shasta before the Lair moved to the current location. Ahhh, those were the days - of my youth..............

The year was 1958 CAL vs College of the Pacific (COP later UOP). We were heavily favored. However COP upset us. CAL went on to play in the Rose Bowl.

I went with our local Park & Rec dept. As I recall it cost $1.00. I remember coming home with with a CAL pennant and a blue and gold pom pom. My first taste of the college football game expeience. I was 11 years old and a CAL fan for life after that game. Joe Kapp was my hero! Blue & gold were my favorite colors. :cheer

bar20;550260 said:

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The year was 1958 CAL vs College of the Pacific (COP later UOP). We were heavily favored. However COP upset us. CAL went on to play in the Rose Bowl.

I went with our local Park & Rec dept. As I recall it cost $1.00. I remember coming home with with a CAL pennant and a blue and gold pom pom. My first taste of the college football game expeience. I was 11 years old and a CAL fan for life after that game. Joe Kapp was my hero! Blue & gold were my favorite colors. :cheer

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Wow, great story. Who knew that 53 years later, that would be the last Rose Bowl season?

Dick Bass was a pretty good football player from Vallejo for COP!

1975, Cal vs. San Jose St:

Cal looked sluggish for most of the game, but then won it on a long pass from the late, great Joe Roth, to Wesley Walker. Cal continued to improve -- the success snowballed -- and SHOULD have been in the damned Rose Bowl that year, were it not for too many fumbles against UCLA and U$C's inept effort against the Bruins on the Friday after Cal detroyed Stanford, 48-15, in the Big Game.

I sat with my uncle in the corner of the end zone where Cal broke up Stanfurd's attempt at a 2-pt conversion at the end (we won 16-15). This was the game that put us in the RB. It was also the 1st year of 2-pt conversions, and the 'furd failed on both of their attempts.

86Oski;550224 said:

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We're all going to miss watching football in Strawberry Canyon this Fall. To help get us through it, post whatever you remember about your first game at Memorial Stadium.

I'll start:

Home opener in 1982. We beat San Diego St. I believe the final score was 28-0. This was Kapp's first year as coach, and the win followed up our opening day win over CU in Boulder...so we were 2-0.

I remember being surprised at the genuine (well-deserved!) affection the Cal student section had for the Cal Band...it certainly wasn't like that at my high school games.

I also remember that late in the game, J Torchio replaced Gilbert at QB. His first pass landed a couple of yards in front of the receiver, and a big mock cheer went up from the student section...it was so bad that a lot of the players on the Cal bench turned around to look at the rooting section. I felt bad for the guy.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

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That was my first home game which I attended as a student. That was a good start to the Kapp era, but the final game that season was more memorable. Cal went 7-4, but no bowl game.

I was surprised with how much booze the students got into the student section.

86Oski;550224 said:

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Home opener in 1982.

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My first Cal game too. But I have zero memory of the season until Stanford's last drive of the Big Game. Elway converted the 4th and 17 and I remember thinking he's too good, we're going to lose. When they made the field goal, people started pouring out the exits, to their eternal regret.

When Moen made it to the end zone, we actually had no idea what had just happened, because there were so many people on the field.

If I ever run into John Elway or Condoleezza Rice, I'm gonna rub it in. :hammer:

TouchedTheAxeIn82;550293 said:

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If I ever run into John Elway or Condoleezza Rice, I'm gonna rub it in. :hammer:

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Well, if you run into Elway and decide to rub it in, make sure you have a large box of tissues so you can offer him some when he starts crying. He's pretty sensitive, you know.

86Oski;550224 said:

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.. Post whatever you remember about your first game at Memorial Stadium.

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71, from tightwad hill.

brought my gf there a few weeks later.

she didn't dump me the same day, for no apparent reason.

we're still married.

1966 v. Michigan:cheer

Colorado State 2008.

First year my mom would let me drive down by myself. :p

1985 vs U$C. I remember more of the crowd and the walk up to the stadium than the actual game considering that I was 5 years old at the time. I'm glad that my first Cal game ever, my first college football game ever, was a 14-6 victory over $C.

2007 vs. then-#15 Tennessee. I had never been to a football game, didn't exactly understand the game, but a friend of mine suggested I go. I didn't know it at the time, but I think I missed the deadline for season tickets that year... So I went and saw first hand how crazy the games are...

The large sea of blue and gold fans cheering for the Cal, the swatch of orange for the opposing team, the banter between both fanbases, the energy, how LOUD it was... the ruckus of the student section.... It's funny, I don't really remember the game, but I remember the experience.

My experience at that game was the moment I became a Cal fan, through and through. I fell in love with Berkeley as deep as possible during that game, and it's never let up.



... But my next home game was the loss at Oregon State that same year when we almost had that #1 spot. THAT'S the first game where I actually remember the plays, as I had learned the game by then... and understood how heartbreaking it is to be a Cal fan. I can still see Riley being brought down, followed by the OSU players taking off their helmets and running by us at the student section towards the south end zone to celebrate with their fans. Crushing. It defined the microcosm that was my UC Berkeley career.

Oh I do remember it well: 1990 Miami Hurricanes

Memorable for many reasons:

1. In my Co-op - I could not find one person - ONE! - to go with me to the game. It was like football was irrelevant to everyone in the house.

2. This was back when the ATO sold those little stickers to put on ID cards. I felt like a total idiot when I saw frat guys selling them for half the price on Piedmont.

3. No beer. My entire college football experience was watching UCLA at the Rose Bowl - and they sold beer. At CMS - they didn't. I was bewildered.

4. The game itself. We got run like 54-14 or something like that. But what was really nasty was Randall "Thrill" Hill dancing all over the field after every catch. I mean every catch. And it really wasn't just him - it was every Miami player that made a tackle!

The stadium was half full - you could sit anywhere you wanted.

As a side note, since my sister went to UCLA and my family literally went to every home game during her 5 year career there (lol!). I never really paid attention to the bands of the opposing team. But that first game against Miami I heard Big C and I thought - "isn't that UCLA's fight song? What the hell?" Not!! I researched it and, of course, found out that UCLA stole it from us. This turned into a nice little good-natured feud with my sister.

Lots of memories.

philly1121;550318 said:

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Oh I do remember it well: 1990 Miami Hurricanes

Memorable for many reasons:

1. In my Co-op - I could not find one person - ONE! - to go with me to the game. It was like football was irrelevant to everyone in the house.

2. This was back when the ATO sold those little stickers to put on ID cards. I felt like a total idiot when I saw frat guys selling them for half the price on Piedmont.

3. No beer. My entire college football experience was watching UCLA at the Rose Bowl - and they sold beer. At CMS - they didn't. I was bewildered.

4. The game itself. We got run like 54-14 or something like that. But what was really nasty was Randall "Thrill" Hill dancing all over the field after every catch. I mean every catch. And it really wasn't just him - it was every Miami player that made a tackle!

The stadium was half full - you could sit anywhere you wanted.

As a side note, since my sister went to UCLA and my family literally went to every home game during her 5 year career there (lol!). I never really paid attention to the bands of the opposing team. But that first game against Miami I heard Big C and I thought - "isn't that UCLA's fight song? What the hell?" Not!! I researched it and, of course, found out that UCLA stole it from us. This turned into a nice little good-natured feud with my sister.

Lots of memories.

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How could you not mention Russell White's first touch at Memorial Stadium?

And actually helps explain many of your posts.

Not one part of your post sounds like a pleasant memory. Not one. Couldn't get anyone to go with you. Paid too much for Fall sports sticker. Couldn't get beer. CAL got blown out. Stadium was half empty. Didn't understand why we were playing UCLA's fight song...

It's interesting, for instance, that Russell White, the first time he touched the football as a CAL player, returned a kick for a touchdown and that doesn't make it into your "memory" of the game that you post here.

A very interesting post.

philly1121;550318 said:

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Oh I do remember it well: 1990 Miami Hurricanes

Memorable for many reasons:

1. In my Co-op - I could not find one person - ONE! - to go with me to the game. It was like football was irrelevant to everyone in the house.

2. This was back when the ATO sold those little stickers to put on ID cards. I felt like a total idiot when I saw frat guys selling them for half the price on Piedmont.

3. No beer. My entire college football experience was watching UCLA at the Rose Bowl - and they sold beer. At CMS - they didn't. I was bewildered.

4. The game itself. We got run like 54-14 or something like that. But what was really nasty was Randall "Thrill" Hill dancing all over the field after every catch. I mean every catch. And it really wasn't just him - it was every Miami player that made a tackle!

The stadium was half full - you could sit anywhere you wanted.

As a side note, since my sister went to UCLA and my family literally went to every home game during her 5 year career there (lol!). I never really paid attention to the bands of the opposing team. But that first game against Miami I heard Big C and I thought - "isn't that UCLA's fight song? What the hell?" Not!! I researched it and, of course, found out that UCLA stole it from us. This turned into a nice little good-natured feud with my sister.

Lots of memories.

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KoreAmBear;550241 said:

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It's that 5-0 curse.

1991
1993
1996
2005
2007

Just can't get over the hump.

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The curse is very real and in its 60-61st year. And those 6th game losses listed were excruciatingly close--all by a TD or less (two by 3 pts, one by 1 pt).

At least we know that our current head man in charge has in the past stringed together MID-season winning streaks of 7 (2004) and 8 (2006) games. No other Bears coach has achieved more than 5 straight wins at any point in a season since Pappy in 1950.

EchoOfSilence;550313 said:

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...But my next home game was the loss at Oregon State that same year when we almost had that #1 spot. THAT'S the first game where I actually remember the plays, as I understood the game by then... and understood how heartbreaking it is to be a Cal fan.

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Ha, well you probably understood the basic rules by then, but it takes years of careful study and observation to understand the game. When the day comes that Cal is facing a 3rd and 4, and Cal comes up to the line of scrimmage and you see the formation and start cursing Tedford for being so conservative, and then they run the conservative play you expected but come up a yard short, so you start cursing Tedford again but louder to let everyone around you know that you knew this was going to happen, only then can you pretend to "understand" the game.

:p

EchoOfSilence;550313 said:

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I can still see Riley being brought down, followed by the OSU players taking off their helmets and running by us at the student section towards the south end zone to celebrate with their fans. Crushing. It defined the microcosm that was my UC Berkeley career.

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Oh that moment is crystal clear in my mind. I remember everyone in the stands gasping and wondering why he didn't throw the ball away?!!! How could the leader on the field not know what to do, when everyone in the stands knew what he was supposed to do? Yup, that was a crushing, exasperating moment.

TouchedTheAxeIn82;550332 said:

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Ha, well you probably understood the basic rules by then, but it takes years of careful study and observation to understand the game.

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This is what I meant.

1974 against Oregon. I had never been to a major college football game so first impression was being awed by the size of Memorial. The atmosphere, the band, everything was great and got me hooked on Cal for life. I don't remember many details of the game, except Cal won 40-10. Oregon had a running back named Rick Kane, who went to Amador, rival of my high school, Livermore. I must have been a jinx, because I watched him play against Livermore and lose, then lose while playing for Oregon, and two years later after he had transferred to San Jose State, lose once again to Cal.

EchoOfSilence;550334 said:

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This is what I meant.

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Hey hold it, did you change a word before I responded? I thought you said "understood" the game, or maybe I just misread it.

xultaif;550324 said:

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And actually helps explain many of your posts.

Not one part of your post sounds like a pleasant memory. Not one. Couldn't get anyone to go with you. Paid too much for Fall sports sticker. Couldn't get beer. CAL got blown out. Stadium was half empty. Didn't understand why we were playing UCLA's fight song...

It's interesting, for instance, that Russell White, the first time he touched the football as a CAL player, returned a kick for a touchdown and that doesn't make it into your "memory" of the game that you post here.

A very interesting post.

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Ya but I bet even with all that, it's still a very warm and fuzzy memory. It's a time that has a background of youth, freedom, and potential.

First game I went to at CMS was Cal/Syracuse in 1968. I was four years old, and my Mom had to take me out of the Stadium because the Bears were scoring so often, the cannon kept going off, and I was wailing.

The first game I really remember was Cal/Wazzu in 1973 when I was nine. By '75, we had season tix.

TouchedTheAxeIn82;550337 said:

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Hey hold it, did you change a word before I responded? I thought you said "understood" the game, or maybe I just misread it.

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yeah I did, realized saying I 'understood the game' after a few attendances was being a little superfluous

EchoOfSilence;550343 said:

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yeah I did, realized saying I 'understood the game' after a few attendances was being a little superfluous

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Whew, for a second there I thought I read too much into your post and I wasn't appropriately making fun of you. :p (I'm gonna edit my post to change your quote to the original, so my response makes sense). I kid, of course, but I'm afraid no one appreciates my biting wit and commentary on Cal fans. :cry:

1956 Cal 14 Pitt 0. A few years ago, I saw a program from that game in an antique shop. Needless to say, I bought and had it framed.