Have any of you have had people ask you why you bother being a Cal fan, or even suggest you give it up?

I've started getting this from a few people I know, who say, "Why do you care so much about Cal football and basketball? You know as well as the rest of us that Cal isn't ever going to reach a BCS bowl or Final 4".

My response, "But I'm an alum, why would I give up rooting for my own school?" Their response? Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

Does anyone else get this from others? It's stupid and it's part of a front-running attitude, but I'm just curious.

Final 4 is one thing, but I don't know any reason why Cal should never reach a BCS bowl

510Bear;841899566 said:

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Have any of you have had people ask you why you bother being a Cal fan, or even suggest you give it up?

I've started getting this from a few people I know, who say, "Why do you care so much about Cal football and basketball? You know as well as the rest of us that Cal isn't ever going to reach a BCS bowl or Final 4".

My response, "But I'm an alum, why would I give up rooting for my own school?" Their response? Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

Does anyone else get this from others? It's stupid and it's part of a front-running attitude, but I'm just curious.

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No, no one ever has....

I root for the University of California at Berkeley (otherwise known as "Cal) in all areas. Cal is a preeminent institution of higher education, especially in graduate studies, and that is the primary basis...therefore, by extension, I'm a fan off all sports teams from Cal. So even if we went the way of the University of Chicago and got rid of major sports teams, I could NOT be a fan of the Furd, or UCLA etc....they could take away our sports teams but they can't take away the prestige and history that is Cal. So it might be easier if students of Akron of UCF root for someone else cause they aren't going anywhere..but in the most important area, Cal not only goes somewhere, it leads the way...

Ask me again later when Ohio State, UF and LSU discover:

Buckeyenium, Gatorium and Red Neckium........

Cal_Fan2;841899575 said:

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No, no one ever has....

I root for the University of California at Berkeley (otherwise known as "Cal) in all areas. Cal is a preeminent institution of higher education, especially in graduate studies, and that is the primary basis...therefore, I'm a fan off all sports teams from Cal. So even if we went the way of the University of Chicago and got rid of major sports teams, I could NOT be a fan of the Furd, or UCLA etc....they could take away our sports teams but they can't take away the prestige and history that is Cal. So it might be easier if students of Akron of UCF root for someone else cause they aren't going anywhere..but in the most important aspect, Cal not only goes somewhere, it leads the way...

Ask me again later when Ohio State, UF and LSU discover:

Buckeyenium, Gatorium and Red Neckium........

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Most inspirational post on BI..ever

I always say that I receIved the best education in the world for a lifetime of heartache. I wouldn't have it any other way. If others want to jump on bandwagons, let em do it. I see doing that as a lack of loyalty and a character flaw. GO BEARS!

thats like asking you to stop believing in your kid

I should also add that with one person, it came up because I turned down plans with them because of a Cal home game. Which brought up "Why do you waste your time on Cal?" not as joking smack talk, but an actual, serious inquiry. SMH.

And there's no reason Cal should never reach a BCS bowl, unless you think CMS was built on an ancient Native American burial ground. Which it wasn't. Was it?

Now that you've mentioned it, yeah. This guy.

510Bear;841899566 said:

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OT: Has anyone ever asked you to just give up...

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During hard times, existential fatigue, yada yada, the negabear voice often whispers sweet temptation "dude! curse oski and die already."

Fortunately (tied 1 to 1) the devil never got the required super-majority for closure, so it's steady as we goes.. relentless:



#Cynical moments suck.

510Bear;841899566 said:

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Have any of you have had people ask you why you bother being a Cal fan, or even suggest you give it up?

I've started getting this from a few people I know, who say, "Why do you care so much about Cal football and basketball? You know as well as the rest of us that Cal isn't ever going to reach a BCS bowl or Final 4".

My response, "But I'm an alum, why would I give up rooting for my own school?" Their response? Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

Does anyone else get this from others? It's stupid and it's part of a front-running attitude, but I'm just curious.

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I have gone through many "dry spells" in Cal FB. During that time some work acquaintances wondered why I would bother attending the games.
Most of them were the kind of people who leave a game early if their team is losing to avoid the traffic.

I told them that I enjoy each game in and of itself. I hate it when Cal loses. The losses bother me for a few days and by Tuesday I am over the loss. But I but I love it when Cal wins. The wins make me feel great for an entire week (and for the entire offseason if Cal wins the BG or the bowl game at the end of the season).

But some people still do not understand. It only matters to them if their team can go the to playoffs (Pros) or BCS (college). What many of us would consider "fair weather" fans. They think diffrently from the way most Cal fans think. That is OK for them. But I could never live that way.

Most of us will live 80-90 years. That means about 70 football seasons at best.
If you think in terms of cheering only those seasons when your team is going to the playoffs or BCS, then you have very few years that you can look forward to in your life (speaking from a football perspective).

But if you think of each season as 12 games (as opposed to 1 season). Then this makes for 840 games. If you will be happy each time your team wins, then you have 840 times when you can be happy watching football during your football viewing life. These are much better odd for happiness.

510Bear;841899566 said:

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Have any of you have had people ask you why you bother being a Cal fan, or even suggest you give it up?

I've started getting this from a few people I know, who say, "Why do you care so much about Cal football and basketball? You know as well as the rest of us that Cal isn't ever going to reach a BCS bowl or Final 4".

My response, "But I'm an alum, why would I give up rooting for my own school?" Their response? Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

Does anyone else get this from others? It's stupid and it's part of a front-running attitude, but I'm just curious.

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Never considered giving up...though its definitely harder to be a Cal fan at certain times. I've probably said I was giving up in anger a few times but I'm always back in about 10 minutes.

Why does anybody root for $C or LSU when clearly such places are just minor league football farms that have abandoned any concept of student athlete? To me it means nothing when such teams win. But when Cal wins, it means they have triumphed over tremendous odds to inspire all of us that being athletically and academically successful is possible. Otherwise, you might as well just follow pro sports. I admit to admiring Stanford to some extent for the same reason. The rest can go to **ll as far as I'm concerned. We to start beating Stanford more often. Losing to them is unforgiveable

when people question or ask me about my over 50 years of devotion to Cal football, and to no other sport, I simply apologize and say I am sorry you don't have such a lifetime allegiance - you are truly missing something that can't be described and are not as fortunate as I am!

Yes. This gal begged me do give up rooting for Cal. I declined.

510Bear;841899566 said:

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Have any of you have had people ask you why you bother being a Cal fan, or even suggest you give it up?

I've started getting this from a few people I know, who say, "Why do you care so much about Cal football and basketball? You know as well as the rest of us that Cal isn't ever going to reach a BCS bowl or Final 4".

My response, "But I'm an alum, why would I give up rooting for my own school?" Their response? Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

Does anyone else get this from others? It's stupid and it's part of a front-running attitude, but I'm just curious.

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I think most people, at the heart of it, like being part of something bigger than themselves. This doesn't mean giving up indviduality in all areas of one's life - but that most people, in some areas of their lives, like being part of something.

As for me, Cal football is part of all that is Cal. Perhaps Akron, UCF, LL and other schools don't evoke the same kind of pride in "belonging".

Cal is a world class university, has put out history changing alum (as well as claiming some pretty lame ones as per another thread), been on the cutting edge of discoveries and innovation - some which have changed the world as we know it.

We also field a football team - that for the past decade - has been run with integrity (even if we don't like the on field results) - and has also put out some pretty impressive alum.

We field multiple sports teams (both men's and women's) that have put out some pretty impressive alum (world class and world record holding ones at that!).

When I first got married, my wife (a UCLA grad who knew almost nothing about football) once asked me, after another heartbreaking season, "why don't you root for a good team like UCLA (yes, we've been married for awhile) or USC? At least you can then go to the Rose Bowl"

After mutiple decades, she now roots on our Golden Bears - even when playing UCLA. She has noted multiple times how Cal fans seem to really love their Golden Bears - especially since I routinely get a "Go Bears" when sporting my Cal gear and she has never gotten a "Go Bruins" - ever.

bearister;841899612 said:

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Yes. This gal begged me do give up rooting for Cal. I declined.

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send her my way. I'll stop rooting for Cal, but there are gunna be terms.
:bluecarrot:

.. "The Searchers", and was laid low again when big sister Natalie Wood drowned at only 43 y.o.

#All of Oski's creatures die.

heartofthebear;841899618 said:

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send her my way. I'll stop rooting for Cal, but there are gunna be terms.
:bluecarrot:

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You can still root for Cal......

Cal_Fan2;841899623 said:

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You can still root for Cal......

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Saved by the belle

bearister;841899612 said:

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Yes. This gal begged me do give up rooting for Cal. I declined.

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"You fool.....you god damn crazy fool!"

No, because most of the people I know and care about are just as sick as I am and understand my lifelong, unwavering devotion to Cal. Rooting for the "flavor of the month" is just plain wrong. You have got to support your alma mater through thick and thin. Go Bears.

510Bear;841899566 said:

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Have any of you have had people ask you why you bother being a Cal fan, or even suggest you give it up?

I've started getting this from a few people I know, who say, "Why do you care so much about Cal football and basketball? You know as well as the rest of us that Cal isn't ever going to reach a BCS bowl or Final 4".

My response, "But I'm an alum, why would I give up rooting for my own school?" Their response? Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

Does anyone else get this from others? It's stupid and it's part of a front-running attitude, but I'm just curious.

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1. In regards to the Louisiana _ Lafayette thing: I pull for a Mid Major, a Major, a D1AA, and a high school team. They are not mutually exclusive. (I dont really dig pro sports though - I have no connections)

2. Just because my friend/kid/etc team sucks that does not mean I am going to abandon it...

3. Supporting a winner because they are a winner is lazy and lacks character. These people would side with the British against us. They would have collaborated with the Germans and Japanese in Poland and China. If these people lived in Carthage they would have thrown on Roman armor and killed their own mother.

heartofthebear, the picture you posted, plus Madonna's recent antics during her performance in Turkey, reminds me of what a very wise man once said:

"If you want to survive in this business, you got to dance with the tiger, and if you dance with the tiger, you have to be willing to show a little teat."

Dean Ziegler

510Bear;841899566 said:

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...Cal isn't ever going to reach a BCS bowl or Final 4".

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!Rose Bowl!
Naught else.

510Bear;841899566 said:

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My response, "But I'm an alum, why would I give up rooting for my own school?" Their response? Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

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Of course we all know fans like this, but it's just not the same as being a fan of a university that you actually attended or have some long-standing family connection with. Just choosing a team because you live within a 500 mile radius and they win a lot is weak, and the fans who it know it, and everyone who knows them knows it.

These "fans" I'm sure can enjoy the high of their team's successes in the same diminished way many of us enjoy the successes a favorite pro team. Yes, it's fun, but it's not the same. I get way more of a high off of Cal winning a regular season league game or a crappy bowl than I do when one of my LA pro teams wins a title.

These adopt-a-school fans don't get the full fan experience IMO. They can't, for instance, engage in smack talk with alumni of rival schools without fearing the ultimate comeback, "tell me, how's Akron doing this year?"

Yeah, my wife has. Many times.

510Bear;841899566 said:

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....Alums of schools like Akron, UCF, and Louisiana-Lafayette usually root for Ohio State, UF, and LSU since it's obvious their own schools' teams aren't doing anything impressive anytime soon.

Does anyone else get this from others? It's stupid and it's part of a front-running attitude, but I'm just curious.

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In the examples you give above, the common denominator seems to be "Small School Fan" cheering for a "Big School" that more aptly represents the State both schools are located in. To give another example, Billy Joe of UAB will cheer for 'Bama, but as long as he's consistent and not rooting for Auburn in the same state, he's considered normal down South. Same with your examples above -- they have to be consistent. Sometimes it's Big City Pride and, for example, the University of Cincinnati might be followed by a suburbanite in that area.

Sometimes there's a "backstory" to Small School Fans so-called "front-running" -- Father graduated from Big School, Mom went there, BFF went there, it's the closer school geographically, la-di-da -- but I think State Pride and Big City Pride is the common incentive for following that particular (bigger) school.

That's why College Football is big everywhere else besides (edit: "asides from" or "except") the Bay Area and you don't have to be an alum or Nobel Prize winner to be accepted on their so-called bandwagon. On the other hand, Cal's fanbase is more insular, municipal, small, city-based and alum-based and doesn't reach throughout the State of California, with Cal being the natural representative of the State as "the University of California", as it would seem on paper or to an non-resident outsider.