What is your favorite personal story related to the Big Game?
Favorite Big Game Memories
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2002 when a bunch of Cal fans took down the goal posts, removed them from the stadium, paraded them down Bancroft and then tried to take them onto BART. (OK, I made up that last part.)
BearGreg said:
What is your favorite personal story related to the Big Game?
1967: carrying the axe off the field at Stanfurd after the Bears broke the streak.
1982 : in the Stands at CMS holding my 2 year old son screaming his head off because I was screaming my head off after The Play. I waited in the stands for what seemed like hours. I must have been among the last 5000 fans to leave CMS. I wanted to savor every last second of that win.
2009: storming the field at Stanfurd along with my adult kids after the INT that stopped Stanfurds last drive.
1994. Daughter is one month old. So, time to take her to a football game! Stanfurd scores late to close within one and Bill Walsh decides to go for two. I have a sleeping infant on my lap. Everyone around stands up for the two point conversion try. Except me. I have a sleeping infant on my lap. So, I "watch" the play by listening. I hear the crowd roar as the ball is snapped - I hear gasps (as the Stanfurd QB rolls away from Cal defenders, I learn later) - and then I hear sounds of exasperation - as I realize that the ball must be in the air - and then the wild cheers as the pass is broken up. Well, I didn't know the pass was broken up - I just knew that Stanfurd failed in the two point try. And the sleeping infant didn't wake. Indeed, she attended every Big Game even after we moved to the East Coast - until 2001 and Holmoe and the bad bad boring Bears. I got chastised by a friend who said we blew it as in 60 years or so, the stadium announcer would say "attending her 60th consecutive Big Game...."
Storming the field after the 1982 game; and then the spontaneous "Go!" "Bears!" cheers that emerged in the Unit 1 dining hall afterwards. Then asking my dad to tape the replay of the game on the home Betamax and watching it later over Thanksgiving break. The color analyst (don't remember his name -- a Gordon something?) was a Furd homer and in the postgame chit chat, he was clearly bitter and refused to acknowledge the loss. My dad got rid of the Betaxmax and tapes when they switched to VHS much to my dismay.
'75 down on The Farm. Muncie. Roth. A Win. Stephen Stills. Neil Young. The End
Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
Absolute favorite was bringing my 12 year old son to the 1975 Big Game---impressionable, ready.....Chuck Muncie goes off for 150+yards, 4 TDs, throws for 1 TD....A man amongst boys.....Further treat, sitting in the south end zone some 'furd had a birthday in the south end zone at halftime and a stripper strutted her stuff....Our son has been a Cal fan ever since, although a UCSB grad.
Oh, it was like 48-15 or some such...Total dominance.
Oh, it was like 48-15 or some such...Total dominance.
Yep. That's the BG when my wife fell in love with Kyle Boller as he was carried off the field by the raving fans. The goal posts were NOT on a hinge or at all retractable and I recall one or two Cal fans literally climbing it and pulling, prodding, and eventually knocking it down in 2 or 3 pieces! Heaven!510 Bear said:
2002 when a bunch of Cal fans took down the goal posts, removed them from the stadium, paraded them down Bancroft and then tried to take them onto BART. (OK, I made up that last part.)
bearister said:
'75 down on The Farm. Muncie. Roth. A Win. Stephen Stills. Neil Young. The End
That was the year, that team tore it up! All the legends, and at Stanfurd, we knew it was going to be a blowout. And a buddy and I had to miss this game because a good friend from HS decided to get married that day. Of course we never mentioned it to him, but we debated mightily though we both knew we had to be there for him. Got drunk, had a blast, found out the game result later. But that one was tough and still leaves a little hole. My anti-favorite story.
'72 Big Game, my first
1975
Getting to hold the Axe after the 2003 game
2009
1975
Getting to hold the Axe after the 2003 game
2009
Two words: Mikey Mo!
Had two extra tix to the farm in 1981. Went to a Clorox party the night before and offered them to a former girlfriend and my now wife.
Priest of the Patty Hearst Shrine
OdontoBear66 said:
Absolute favorite was bringing my 12 year old son to the 1975 Big Game---impressionable, ready.....Chuck Muncie goes off for 150+yards, 4 TDs, throws for 1 TD....A man amongst boys.....Further treat, sitting in the south end zone some 'furd had a birthday in the south end zone at halftime and a stripper strutted her stuff....Our son has been a Cal fan ever since, although a UCSB grad.
Oh, it was like 48-15 or some such...Total dominance.
Hopefully not a fan of strippers too.
Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
Clearly 1982. Section T, Row 39.
Best part: we had a party that night with a bunch of friends from Stanford. I was feeling so smug, I just grinned and didn't even rub it in (well, not too much).
Best part: we had a party that night with a bunch of friends from Stanford. I was feeling so smug, I just grinned and didn't even rub it in (well, not too much).
2002. JT's first year. I self banished myself from flying down for games, just couldn't take Holmoe any longer. It was my first game back. Joe Igber ran like a mother#$(^ over, around and through Furd for a glorious W, ending a horrific 7 game losing streak to the *******s. I came home and wrote a check, my first donation to Cal (and they have continued ever since).
1974 (I've told this story before):
I was a high school senior working at Oscar's, where a number of the campus cops would come by for coffee at night. I befriended several of them, often not charging them because I liked them around for personal safety late at night. One of them offered to get me and a buddy in to the Big Game. I met him at a pre-arranged time with a buddy and he had us both handcuffed and then escorted us through the gate. Once inside, he freed us and told us to stay out of trouble.
We lost on a last minute field goal IIRC. But a fun memory.
I've been to many Big Games on my own dime since. As for actual game enjoyment, there are so many--every win is a great Big Game!
Go Bears!
I was a high school senior working at Oscar's, where a number of the campus cops would come by for coffee at night. I befriended several of them, often not charging them because I liked them around for personal safety late at night. One of them offered to get me and a buddy in to the Big Game. I met him at a pre-arranged time with a buddy and he had us both handcuffed and then escorted us through the gate. Once inside, he freed us and told us to stay out of trouble.
We lost on a last minute field goal IIRC. But a fun memory.
I've been to many Big Games on my own dime since. As for actual game enjoyment, there are so many--every win is a great Big Game!
Go Bears!
510 Bear said:
2002 when a bunch of Cal fans took down the goal posts, removed them from the stadium, paraded them down Bancroft and then tried to take them onto BART. (OK, I made up that last part.)
Mine too.
Beating Furd in 2002 was really special. It validated the Tedford's entire first season.
I was one of the folks tearing down the goal post. I remember looking up in the stands and seeing a bunch of Stanford fans cheering us on. It was like they were happy that we finally beat them...or maybe they just wanted us to vandalize our own campus.
1982 and 1986 are my two favorites.
One Big Game I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is the 2008 win (37-16). Jahvid ran all over the Card, we had imaginative play-calling (including the "hitch-and-pitch" to Jahvid and a deep pass to Vereen while he was being covered by a much, much slower DB).
That win got the Axe back after the miserable 2007 loss on the Farm and kept LSJU from a bowl game. Fun day.
One Big Game I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is the 2008 win (37-16). Jahvid ran all over the Card, we had imaginative play-calling (including the "hitch-and-pitch" to Jahvid and a deep pass to Vereen while he was being covered by a much, much slower DB).
That win got the Axe back after the miserable 2007 loss on the Farm and kept LSJU from a bowl game. Fun day.
Was incredible to watch from the stands.
Of course, The Play surpasses everything and will never be topped. Once we knew that the TD was REALLY going to count, we realized we were part of history. A cool thing was that it was a GREAT game even before the ending.
But we all know that, so here is a different one: The 1979 game at the Farm, where we stop 'Furd near the goal line on a Ron Coccimiglio deflected-pass, in the final seconds. As far as what actually happened, all I remember is that Stanfurd was driving for the winning TD and must've had 2-3 shots inside the ten. While I don't recall the exact specifics, what I do recall is that we were RIGHT THERE in that end zone and our entire row was holding hands on their last two tries. The feeling was that NOTHING was more important than what was about to transpire. (Well, nothing in sports, certainly. We were absorbed in the moment.)
But we all know that, so here is a different one: The 1979 game at the Farm, where we stop 'Furd near the goal line on a Ron Coccimiglio deflected-pass, in the final seconds. As far as what actually happened, all I remember is that Stanfurd was driving for the winning TD and must've had 2-3 shots inside the ten. While I don't recall the exact specifics, what I do recall is that we were RIGHT THERE in that end zone and our entire row was holding hands on their last two tries. The feeling was that NOTHING was more important than what was about to transpire. (Well, nothing in sports, certainly. We were absorbed in the moment.)
My most disappointing Big Game memory was in 1952. I was a little kid who loved Cal sports. My parents had only 2 tickets to the Big Game, so I had to stay home. They tried to solve the problem by buying a TV (only the second TV in our neighborhood). Just as I tuned in the game, the TV blew a tube, and I had to listen to the game on the radio.
In 1953, my parents had the 2 tickets again, so I stayed home to watch the Big Game, and this time the TV worked fine. It was a great game. It was Cal (4-4-1) and Paul Larson vs #19 Stanford (6-3) with Bobby Garrett, who led the nation in passing yardage, and finished 5th in the Heisman Trophy voting. There were 91,500 fans in the stands. The game was tied with time running out. On the final play, Cal lined up to kick a very long game winning field goal, but the students rushed onto the field and tore down the goal posts. Larson got the kick away, and it would have been a missed anyway, even if the goal posts had stayed up. The best thing about the tie was it denied Stanford a trip to the Rose Bowl.
1956 was probably my favorite Big Game. It was Pappy Waldorf's last game. After all his years of success at Cal, Pappy had fallen on hard times. His 1956 team was 2-7, and 4 days before the Big Game, Pappy announced his retirement. Stanford was 4-5, led by All-American senior QB, John Brodie, had just upset USC, and were favored over Cal by 14 points. Cal sophomore QB Joe Kapp returned the opening kickoff to the Stanford 20 yard line and Cal would go on to score a TD, and score on their first 3 possessions. The final score was 20-18 for Cal.
1959 was another of my favorite Big Games. Both teams were not very good. It was Pete Elliott's final game at Cal. After his Rose Bowl team of 1958, players had graduated, and the team was now led by QB Wayne Crow. The Bears were only 2-7, while Stanford was 3-6. Stanford QB Dick Norman completed 34 of 39 pass attempts for 401 yards, and set the NCAA record for passing completions, passing yards, and completion percentage. Cal would prevail 20-17, as Norman tried to run for a score on the final play and was stopped on the 5 yard line.
In 1953, my parents had the 2 tickets again, so I stayed home to watch the Big Game, and this time the TV worked fine. It was a great game. It was Cal (4-4-1) and Paul Larson vs #19 Stanford (6-3) with Bobby Garrett, who led the nation in passing yardage, and finished 5th in the Heisman Trophy voting. There were 91,500 fans in the stands. The game was tied with time running out. On the final play, Cal lined up to kick a very long game winning field goal, but the students rushed onto the field and tore down the goal posts. Larson got the kick away, and it would have been a missed anyway, even if the goal posts had stayed up. The best thing about the tie was it denied Stanford a trip to the Rose Bowl.
1956 was probably my favorite Big Game. It was Pappy Waldorf's last game. After all his years of success at Cal, Pappy had fallen on hard times. His 1956 team was 2-7, and 4 days before the Big Game, Pappy announced his retirement. Stanford was 4-5, led by All-American senior QB, John Brodie, had just upset USC, and were favored over Cal by 14 points. Cal sophomore QB Joe Kapp returned the opening kickoff to the Stanford 20 yard line and Cal would go on to score a TD, and score on their first 3 possessions. The final score was 20-18 for Cal.
1959 was another of my favorite Big Games. Both teams were not very good. It was Pete Elliott's final game at Cal. After his Rose Bowl team of 1958, players had graduated, and the team was now led by QB Wayne Crow. The Bears were only 2-7, while Stanford was 3-6. Stanford QB Dick Norman completed 34 of 39 pass attempts for 401 yards, and set the NCAA record for passing completions, passing yards, and completion percentage. Cal would prevail 20-17, as Norman tried to run for a score on the final play and was stopped on the 5 yard line.
SFCityBear
I posted earlier about The Play, but my other favorite had to be 1958 (my first live BG). We were sitting in the endzone right above where Cal stopped Stanford on the 2-point try to preserve a 16-15 win and a trip to the RB (1958 was the first year of 2-point conversions).
Two Big Games stand out that nobody mentioned:
1970 - Plunkett's senior year and Dave Penhall led an underdog (but not bad) Cal team to victory. The unheralded Penhall, while not great, was a ray of sunshine in the dreary days after Craig Morton until Bartkowski hit is stride in 1974. Sherman White, Ray Wershing, and Isaac Curtis were on that team.
1980 - A horrible year for Cal and who would lead them to a Big Game victory over John "D*uche-bag" Elway but the immortal J (no period after the initial) Torchio.
Saturday, I'll be at my first Big Game in a few years - I can't wait!
1970 - Plunkett's senior year and Dave Penhall led an underdog (but not bad) Cal team to victory. The unheralded Penhall, while not great, was a ray of sunshine in the dreary days after Craig Morton until Bartkowski hit is stride in 1974. Sherman White, Ray Wershing, and Isaac Curtis were on that team.
1980 - A horrible year for Cal and who would lead them to a Big Game victory over John "D*uche-bag" Elway but the immortal J (no period after the initial) Torchio.
Saturday, I'll be at my first Big Game in a few years - I can't wait!
congrats to you both. um, and whats a Clorox party?cal83dls79 said:
Had two extra tix to the farm in 1981. Went to a Clorox party the night before and offered them to a former girlfriend and my now wife.
just guessing, our first bg was 1972, all memories fled.
muting ~250 handles, turnaround is fair play
What ever happened to white shirts and card stunts? Or for that matter, whatever happened to rooting sections which were full?smh said:congrats to you both. um, and whats a Clorox party?cal83dls79 said:
Had two extra tix to the farm in 1981. Went to a Clorox party the night before and offered them to a former girlfriend and my now wife.
just guessing, our first bg was 1972, all memories fled.
SFCityBear
When I was at Cal they had just integrated the rooting section for the first time (I mean allowed women, who had been kept out because the language was felt to be too upsetting for them). FWIW, SFCity, the card stunts are still there, but not the white shirts.
Was in Cal Band 2009 as a Sophmore...watching Shane Vereen run all over the Furd, Mike Mohammad picking off Andrew Luck and then the Cal fans rushing the field blowing past the field security...my best big game memory.
I went to two games this year and didn't see any card stunts. How many do they typically have? Are the stunts at halftime? Maybe, I had gone to the restroom and missed them.UrsaMajor said:
When I was at Cal they had just integrated the rooting section for the first time (I mean allowed women, who had been kept out because the language was felt to be too upsetting for them). FWIW, SFCity, the card stunts are still there, but not the white shirts.
I also didn't see the yell leaders do anything. There were song girls standing around in front of the first row of seats, but I couldn't figure out from where I was sitting where the yell leaders could stand in front of the rooting section and lead yells. Every time there was a break, there was a guy standing at the NW corner of the field with a microphone, cameras and a director, and he was doing commercials over the PA system.
SFCityBear
None of my memories of The Big Game were fun while attending Cal since I never saw The Axe (went to Cal 88-92, starting with the Tuan Van Le block in 1988, and you had that ugly 1990 game). I went to the 1999 Big Game as an alum down at the Farm. It was when we were down to like our 4th string QB and Deltha O'Neal was trying to single-handedly win us the game. I guess in 1997 Cal students rushed the field and tore down the goal posts, so Furd didn't want that happening anymore. So at the beginning of the 4th quarter, police in riot gear set up inside the half circle where the Cal section was. They were absurdly demonstrative, slowly lining up and doing some kind of arms length drill to be evenly spaced so there would not be any openings. It was a complete downer for anyone attending a fun rivalry game. What a bunch of weenies to resort to that. Furd and Ty Willingham wound up going to the RB, probably the worst RB team in the history of the Pac-10/12. They had lost to Texas 66-3 to open the season.
Theoretically, they have card stunts at every game (at halftime), however, the attendance has been so bad in the student section for some games that they've had to abandon them.SFCityBear said:I went to two games this year and didn't see any card stunts. How many do they typically have? Are the stunts at halftime? Maybe, I had gone to the restroom and missed them.UrsaMajor said:
When I was at Cal they had just integrated the rooting section for the first time (I mean allowed women, who had been kept out because the language was felt to be too upsetting for them). FWIW, SFCity, the card stunts are still there, but not the white shirts.
I also didn't see the yell leaders do anything. There were song girls standing around in front of the first row of seats, but I couldn't figure out from where I was sitting where the yell leaders could stand in front of the rooting section and lead yells. Every time there was a break, there was a guy standing at the NW corner of the field with a microphone, cameras and a director, and he was doing commercials over the PA system.
Yes, the yell leaders (now called "Mic-men" FWIW) do stand in front of the section. Every once in a while, they will get on the stadium PA and lead a cheer for the whole stadium.
As for the commercials, yeh, they suck.
UrsaMajor said:
When I was at Cal they had just integrated the rooting section for the first time (I mean allowed women, who had been kept out because the language was felt to be too upsetting for them). FWIW, SFCity, the card stunts are still there, but not the white shirts.
- For some reason, I thought the women and men started sitting together due to Natalie Cohen, but I guess I was wrong. But there is this Natalie Cohen story - which I got to hear her tell - Natalie Yells! A clearer text with more information about Ms. Cohen: Natalie Really Yells!
1986. I was a senior co-captain, with Hardy Nickerson and Doug Riesenberg. Senior day. My final game wearing a Cal football uniform.
We were more than 10 point underdogs and Furd/Toi Cook had been smugly predicting victory all week. We had six sacks and beat Furd 17-11 to knock them out of a bowl game and conclude my football playing career on a beautiful fall Saturday in Strawberry Canyon/Memorial Stadium.
Steve Hendrickson and I carried Joe Kapp (his final game, too, a few weeks after ZipperGate) around the field on our shoulders through the frenzied students and alumni rushing the field after the game, and Hardy Nickerson climbed the director's ladder to lead the band in raucous post-game Cal fight songs. The locker room had crazy energy and the party lasted a couple nights.
One of my favorite life memories! Go Bears!!
We were more than 10 point underdogs and Furd/Toi Cook had been smugly predicting victory all week. We had six sacks and beat Furd 17-11 to knock them out of a bowl game and conclude my football playing career on a beautiful fall Saturday in Strawberry Canyon/Memorial Stadium.
Steve Hendrickson and I carried Joe Kapp (his final game, too, a few weeks after ZipperGate) around the field on our shoulders through the frenzied students and alumni rushing the field after the game, and Hardy Nickerson climbed the director's ladder to lead the band in raucous post-game Cal fight songs. The locker room had crazy energy and the party lasted a couple nights.
One of my favorite life memories! Go Bears!!
This was my choice too. 2003 to 2006 at memorial was something else. If ARod stayed for is senior season instead of riding pine in Green Bay we would have beat everyone in 2005, that team was stacked everywhere except QB. Crazy enough, he may have still went to Green Bay anyways as a #5 pick or earlier if they traded up in 2006 since they probably wouldn't have drafted a round 1 qb if Rodgers didn't fall into their lap. One of these days everything will fall into place just out of pure probability, hopefully next year.berkusc82 said:
Was incredible to watch from the stands.
That was actually a really exciting well played game, although Cal lost.MSaviolives said:
1974 (I've told this story before):
I was a high school senior working at Oscar's, where a number of the campus cops would come by for coffee at night. I befriended several of them, often not charging them because I liked them around for personal safety late at night. One of them offered to get me and a buddy in to the Big Game. I met him at a pre-arranged time with a buddy and he had us both handcuffed and then escorted us through the gate. Once inside, he freed us and told us to stay out of trouble.
We lost on a last minute field goal IIRC. But a fun memory.
I've been to many Big Games on my own dime since. As for actual game enjoyment, there are so many--every win is a great Big Game!
Go Bears!
I had forgotten how absolutely dominant the Cal defense was that year. Statistically they were at least on par with this team.berkusc82 said:
Was incredible to watch from the stands.
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