My wife and I flew into Minneapolis the week before the game and drove to Voyageurs Natioanl Park and then on to Isle Royal National Park. Had a great time and drove to Chicago the day before the game. Unfortunately i got sick and stayed sick Saturday and could not use my tickets for the game. What a bummer. Didn't even watch it on TV as my son doesn't have a TV and was to sick to go to a bar. He did tell me the score from the computer which was 30 to 7. And then as soon as I clicked in , they scored 2 touchdowns.

On our flight back to Oakland yesterday, there were lots of Cal fans. And they were giddy.

Great to be back in the Bay Area. Wasn't that hot in Chicago but it sure was humid.

hope u feeling better and your spirit helped us get win

Can somebody please get this poor sick b-----d a copy of the game video!?

Hopefully you can make another game away and have some good fun. I suggest Tucson.

:-)

BearlyClad;842351800 said:

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Can somebody please get this poor sick b-----d a copy of the game video!?

Hopefully you can make another game away and have some good fun. I suggest Tucson.

:-)

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Well...maybe not. Since Cal was scoring up a storm until you started watching, did you ever consider that you and not Buh were the cause for the horrendous season in 2013. :p

Why not fly to Tucson and take in Tombstone and the indian ruins in the area. Then take a leisurely dinner and have your son text you the score of the game. Everbody wins. :beer:

I may go to Sac State this weekend. Normally I wouldn't go but I felt i was cheated.

wvitbear;842351823 said:

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I may go to Sac State this weekend. Normally I wouldn't go but I felt i was cheated.

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That sucks! I hope that you are on the mend. I too got sick at the end of my vacation.

Based on what I saw us do at the NU game we no longer have the guys that concentrate on the ME in TEAM but the whole word. Here's to roll on to victory Saturday.

:gobears:

So you're saying they concentrate on the T&A?

bar20;842351835 said:

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Based on what I saw us do at the NU game we no longer have the guys that concentrate on the ME in TEAM but the whole word. Here's to roll on to victory Saturday.

:gobears:

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bar20;842351835 said:

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Based on what I saw us do at the NU game we no longer have the guys that concentrate on the ME in TEAM but the whole word. Here's to roll on to victory Saturday.

:gobears:

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Thanks for the comments. I have long thought that JT's downfall began when he started reaching for the 5* and 4* recruits just because of their number of stars.
When JT first came on board, Cal had some high quality players but few were what one would call superstars. We had running backs like Joe Igber who was happy just to be starting RB, and I do not remember Echemandu (sp?) or Arrington turning lots of head when they were recruited. Boller had been highly recruited but had taken his lumps under Holmoe. And Robertson and Rogers were also "no great shakes" when they were recruited.

JT's early teams were "blue collar" (sorry to use a worn out term). But there was cohesion among most of the players. IIRC the graduation rates were also better than they were later.

Then came the Deshawn Jackson and the other superstar 4* and 5* recruits. Heck at the Armed Forces Bowl, JT had to sit his starting players for the first quarter just to get their attention. [They wanted to tell him how to run the team.] He also had to get rid of some players who openly admitted that they had little use for a Cal education. [compare that to Joe Igber who after beating Stanfurd sat quietly in the stands and was reported to be looking forward to going on to grad school.]

Many in this new generation of recruits looked to their stats and their future in the NFL. Team came second.

It was very encouraging to see a return of the team spirt to the Cal Bears on Saturday. I was glad to see Goff coming out and patting LR on the back after LR made a good play---even though LR was taking playing time away from Goff.

68great;842351951 said:

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Thanks for the comments. I have long thought that JT's downfall began when he started reaching for the 5* and 4* recruits just because of their number of stars.
When JT first came on board, Cal had some high quality players but few were what one would call superstars. We had running backs like Joe Igber who was happy just to be starting RB, and I do not remember Echemandu (sp?) or Arrington turning lots of head when they were recruited. Boller had been highly recruited but had taken his lumps under Holmoe. And Robertson and Rogers were also "no great shakes" when they were recruited.

JT's early teams were "blue collar" (sorry to use a worn out term). But there was cohesion among most of the players. IIRC the graduation rates were also better than they were later.

Then came the Deshawn Jackson and the other superstar 4* and 5* recruits. Heck at the Armed Forces Bowl, JT had to sit his starting players for the first quarter just to get their attention. [They wanted to tell him how to run the team.] He also had to get rid of some players who openly admitted that they had little use for a Cal education. [compare that to Joe Igber who after beating Stanfurd sat quietly in the stands and was reported to be looking forward to going on to grad school.]

Many in this new generation of recruits looked to their stats and their future in the NFL. Team came second.

It was very encouraging to see a return of the team spirt to the Cal Bears on Saturday. I was glad to see Goff coming out and patting LR on the back after LR made a good play---even though LR was taking playing time away from Goff.

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Good observations. That is why I like the recruits that Dykes is bringing in. Not all 4-5* recruits have that attitude - Goff (who you mentioned) is a good example.

68great;842351951 said:

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JT's early teams were "blue collar" (sorry to use a worn out term).

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No need to apologize. My favorite "blue collar" Cal player will always be Mike Pawlawski.

One need to look no further than the Oakland A's. Except for a couple, no real superstars or veterans but newbies that just want to play and have fun. Even though they have not quite hit the WS they are always up there and beating the like of N.Y and others. They play as a team with no real egos.

That Lou's pizza was great. Anything like that around here?

We had a guy with us who ate the last piece after it had been sitting openly in the hot car, in the sun, before the game for 2 hours, during the entire game, and then for 2 hours after. Guts. He's still alive. Some things are worth the risk I guess.

MoragaBear;842351977 said:

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In my quest to see all the national parks (12 to go), we saw Voyageurs on a trip a few years ago but haven't make Isle Royale yet. Wanted to this time but the only available day they had to travel was Monday and that was the Cubs game for us. But seeing Cubs-Cards in St. Louis and Cubs-Brewers at Wrigley plus a great visit with relatives and some Lou Malnati's pizza thrown in, hard to complain at all, especially after finally getting to write a winning game report for once.

Only one ballpark (Houston) to go and that's on the list UT game week next September. Hoping for as close to a quintuple header as possible between Cal-UT, Astros, Rangers, Cowboys and Texans. All five would be epic if both fb teams are home and one plays on Sun/Mon/Thurs night, but probably not likely.

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One of my goals is to visit every national park on the lower 48. Isle Royal was the hardest to get to that I have ever tried. You have to book the Lodge, the boat trip, the lodging the night before you go over and the the lodging the night after you get back. Houghton, Michigan is an interesting town . Home to Michigan Tech University and center for world winter games. Gets 300 inches a snow a year. The drive from Voyageurs to Isle Royal was interesting as we passed the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin on superior.

I have only two more parks to go to. One in florida and Hot Springs in Arkansas.

After that I may go back to baseball parks. I have been to all 5 of the Oakland A's minor league parks and they have changed several since I did that. Hardest to get to is Midland, Texas. But Both Vancouver and Kain County changed. Went to Beloit last year to make up for losing Kane County but haven't visited Vermont. Nothing like travelling.

GoBears63;842351995 said:

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No need to apologize. My favorite "blue collar" Cal player will always be Mike Pawlawski.

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+1. Never will there be a truer old blue. He would have died for his team if it would have brought a RB.

BearlyClad;842352181 said:

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That Lou's pizza was great. Anything like that around here?

We had a guy with us who ate the last piece after it had been sitting openly in the hot car, in the sun, before the game for 2 hours, during the entire game, and then for 2 hours after. Guts. He's still alive. Some things are worth the risk I guess.

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You haven't tried Zachary's or Patxi's? They're close but miss the mark slightly (mostly the crust and seasoning in my opinion) but are a damned fine substitute for deep dish pizza.

AXLBear;842352199 said:

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+1. Never will there be a truer old blue. He would have died for his team if it would have brought a RB.

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Mike flew out on the Cal plane on Thursday. Seemed to have a great time soaking it all in. He clearly loves the program.

Vandalus;842352326 said:

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You haven't tried Zachary's or Patxi's? They're close but miss the mark slightly (mostly the crust and seasoning in my opinion) but are a damned fine substitute for deep dish pizza.

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You know what a better substitute for deep dish pizza is? Thin crust pizza.

NYCGOBEARS;842352434 said:

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You know what a better substitute for deep dish pizza is? Thin crust pizza.

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I was gonna say an italian beef sando (or a chicago dog or polish sausage)... the prime rib sando at Eataly was also pretty good. Had Lou's while I was in town... most people compare Zachary's to Giordano's. I think I prefer Zachary's to Lou's.

NYCGOBEARS;842352434 said:

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You know what a better substitute for deep dish pizza is? Thin crust pizza.

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And with that one of the big differences Chicago to New York.

Go ahead and feel free to skip the Cowboys and Rangers games. You aren't missing anything....

I'll join you on that trek and maybe we can join with Easdog too....