So I'm in town for my Mother-in-laws passing, the one who who went to Cal, worked in the AD dept etc
So anyways I decide to walk through the campus during a break to clean her apartment..
So I go to the men's clothing dept. and notice these cool Joe Roth 12 t's ....see this guy trying them on ( he had bags of cal crap he bought) and was trying one of them on in the aisle (in a bare flabby chest mind you)
Me: "love those, is that an xl?"
Him: "yes"
Me(sarcastic ...."surprised they aren't selling #8's"
Him: "well it's the only number retired"
me: "oh really" ( I say incredulously)
Him: "yeah it's joe Roth"
Me, internal voice : "no shi* you dbag"
Me: "oh, I see you are also buying one of those cool neck scarves they have now for graduation, all I got was a tassel"
Him (in a tone suggesting I should know this): "they've had them now for the past two years"
Me (feigning complete appreciation for this knowledge drop): "nice, where are they selling them?"
Me, internal voice: "man, this guy is a piece of work"

Went across the street and saw, #8, #1, and #17s .
Guess they are now retired as well. Opted out on the $32 neck scarf. I mean where the hell am I going to wear that and I don't have "trophy" wall to put it.

bearister said:

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You: "I love those, is that an xl?"

Him: "I like your shirt too. Does it come in a Men's?"

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me: "no big bellied bare-chested hunk of boy, but I sure wish it did"

prospeCt said:

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second one looks like the old Freight and Salvage?

KenBurnski said:

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guarantee that dude is posting on CGB as we speak about his weird encounter with a flirtatious Cal fan

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lol, I'm pretty sure I had the moral high ground there having not tried on a shirt with a bare and sweaty torso in the middle of the aisle. Who does this? Anyways, it was mostly a humorous recount of a cal "football" and quasi-BI experience after a long and trying week.

https://m.facebook.com/ebmediacenter/photos/gm.1292041057614116/2615162281833266/?type=3&source=44

cal83dls79 said:

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GMP said:

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cal83dls79 said:

---

So I'm in town for my Mother-in-laws passing, the one who who went to Cal, worked in the AD dept etc
So anyways I decide to walk through the campus during a break to clean her apartment..
So I go to the men's clothing dept. and notice these cool Joe Roth 12 t's ....see this guy trying them on ( he had bags of cal crap he bought) and was trying one of them on in the aisle (in a bare flabby chest mind you)
Me: "love those, is that an xl?"
Him: "yes"
Me(sarcastic ...."surprised they aren't selling #8's"
Him: "well it's the only number retired"
me: "oh really" ( I say incredulously)
Him: "yeah it's joe Roth"
Me, internal voice : "no shi* you dbag"
Me: "oh, I see you are also buying one of those cool neck scarves they have now for graduation, all I got was a tassel"
Him (in a tone suggesting I should know this): "they've had them now for the past two years"
Me (feigning complete appreciation for this knowledge drop): "nice, where are they selling them?"
Me, internal voice: "man, this guy is a piece of work"

Went across the street and saw, #8, #1, and #17s .
Guess they are now retired as well. Opted out on the $32 neck scarf. I mean where the hell am I going to wear that and I don't have "trophy" wall to put it.

---

I'm not sure this reads like you think it does. But since you posted, let's recap. Two strangers walk into the store and admire the apparel. Presumably both are Cal fans, but often there are visitors who don't know the football program's history. One guy is admiring a shirt with a former great player's name (?) and number on it. You comment that you like it, but are surprised they don't have a #8, a reference to another former great player. You say it was sarcasm, but there's no reason that would be sarcastic. They in fact do sell #8 jerseys, as you later note. The other guy then has reason to think maybe his new acquaintance doesn't know who #12 is, and tries to be helpful about it. For that, in your head, you call him a "dbag".

Up to that point, if there's a "dbag" here - I don't think it's him.

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I thought the xl was a little tight on you.

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LMAO

This is a little like Bill Walton on walkabout or David Carradine riding the snake. How much is real, and how much is imagined?

Northside91 said:

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This is a little like Bill Walton on walkabout or David Carradine riding the snake. How much is real, and how much is imagined?

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I am in town from Maine
My mother in law did die
I am cleaning her apartment (found a mint 2001 Oski Bobblehead with Oakland Tribune logo that I am rescuing)
I passed on the $32 neck scarf.
The guy removed his shirt and tried on an xl #12
...all that is true.

PS. - May check out the cal v sac state baseball game tonight. I see there is a beer garden there now, "The Bullpen" , who knows who I could flirt with there?

cal83dls79 said:

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Northside91 said:

---

This is a little like Bill Walton on walkabout or David Carradine riding the snake. How much is real, and how much is imagined?

---

I am in town from Maine
My mother in law did die
I am cleaning her apartment (found a mint 2001 Oski Bobblehead with Oakland Tribune logo that I am rescuing)
I passed on the $32 neck scarf.
The guy removed his shirt and tried on an xl #12
...all that is true.

PS. - May check out the cal v sac state baseball game tonight. I see there is a beer garden there now, "The Bullpen" , who knows who I could flirt with there?

---

I don't doubt the first several items. But the ASUC guy seemed too lucid to be going naked to the skin in the middle of a clothing store.

Northside91 said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

Northside91 said:

---

This is a little like Bill Walton on walkabout or David Carradine riding the snake. How much is real, and how much is imagined?

---

I am in town from Maine
My mother in law did die
I am cleaning her apartment (found a mint 2001 Oski Bobblehead with Oakland Tribune logo that I am rescuing)
I passed on the $32 neck scarf.
The guy removed his shirt and tried on an xl #12
...all that is true.

PS. - May check out the cal v sac state baseball game tonight. I see there is a beer garden there now, "The Bullpen" , who knows who I could flirt with there?

---

I don't doubt the first several items. But the ASUC guy seemed too lucid to be going naked to the skin in the middle of a clothing store.

---

oh, he was lucid alright, which made it even more remarkable.

cal83dls79 said:

---

So I'm in town for my Mother-in-laws passing, the one who who went to Cal, worked in the AD dept etc
So anyways I decide to walk through the campus during a break to clean her apartment..
So I go to the men's clothing dept. and notice these cool Joe Roth 12 t's ....see this guy trying them on ( he had bags of cal crap he bought) and was trying one of them on in the aisle (in a bare flabby chest mind you)
Me: "love those, is that an xl?"
Him: "yes"
Me(sarcastic ...."surprised they aren't selling #8's"
Him: "well it's the only number retired"
me: "oh really" ( I say incredulously)
Him: "yeah it's joe Roth"
Me, internal voice : "no shi* you dbag"
Me: "oh, I see you are also buying one of those cool neck scarves they have now for graduation, all I got was a tassel"
Him (in a tone suggesting I should know this): "they've had them now for the past two years"
Me (feigning complete appreciation for this knowledge drop): "nice, where are they selling them?"
Me, internal voice: "man, this guy is a piece of work"

Went across the street and saw, #8, #1, and #17s .
Guess they are now retired as well. Opted out on the $32 neck scarf. I mean where the hell am I going to wear that and I don't have "trophy" wall to put it.


The Joe Roth story can't be told enough. I would never assume that all on Berkeley property know the story.

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75bear said:

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Great story, with so many nuanced layers to pick apart. Perfect thread for the offseason - I'm still mulling over the sequence of events.

But most importantly, I'm sorry for your loss.

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I was hoping that the post might have ended with a twist.
The guy trying on the shirt turns out to be Ron Rivera, the poster then whips out a glossy 8x10 of Rivera and asks for Ron's autograph (a great "Albany Bowl" ending)

TheFiatLux said:

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cal83dls79 said:

---

So I'm in town for my Mother-in-laws passing, the one who who went to Cal, worked in the AD dept etc
So anyways I decide to walk through the campus during a break to clean her apartment..
So I go to the men's clothing dept. and notice these cool Joe Roth 12 t's ....see this guy trying them on ( he had bags of cal crap he bought) and was trying one of them on in the aisle (in a bare flabby chest mind you)
Me: "love those, is that an xl?"
Him: "yes"
Me(sarcastic ...."surprised they aren't selling #8's"
Him: "well it's the only number retired"
me: "oh really" ( I say incredulously)
Him: "yeah it's joe Roth"
Me, internal voice : "no shi* you dbag"
Me: "oh, I see you are also buying one of those cool neck scarves they have now for graduation, all I got was a tassel"
Him (in a tone suggesting I should know this): "they've had them now for the past two years"
Me (feigning complete appreciation for this knowledge drop): "nice, where are they selling them?"
Me, internal voice: "man, this guy is a piece of work"

Went across the street and saw, #8, #1, and #17s .
Guess they are now retired as well. Opted out on the $32 neck scarf. I mean where the hell am I going to wear that and I don't have "trophy" wall to put it.

---

First off, I'm sorry for your loss. I think I knew your mother-in-law if she used to work for Maggard up in Memorial. She was always very kind to me back in the day.

Regarding the ASUC, actually, that was me. I was in there buying my graduation apparrel (see separate post). What little I remember of this unremarkable encounter is different than you retell. I sincerely didn't realize you knew it was Joe Roth, and so I thought I was in a friendly way providing some information to someone who didn't know. Also, re the neck ribbon thing, I didn't say two years i said "for a few years." If i was not as gabby as I usually am it's because I was heading to a couple of meetings on campus and then to take some photos.

I'm also the guy who without knowing you, in November offered to buy you a plane ticket and pay your way out from Maine so you could go to the Big Game due to it being postponed. Just a random act of kindness. Yep, I'm a real dou chebag.

I posted this on Easter:

Again, sorry for your loss.

Go Bears!

---

And there we go.

TheFiatLux said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

So I'm in town for my Mother-in-laws passing, the one who who went to Cal, worked in the AD dept etc
So anyways I decide to walk through the campus during a break to clean her apartment..
So I go to the men's clothing dept. and notice these cool Joe Roth 12 t's ....see this guy trying them on ( he had bags of cal crap he bought) and was trying one of them on in the aisle (in a bare flabby chest mind you)
Me: "love those, is that an xl?"
Him: "yes"
Me(sarcastic ...."surprised they aren't selling #8's"
Him: "well it's the only number retired"
me: "oh really" ( I say incredulously)
Him: "yeah it's joe Roth"
Me, internal voice : "no shi* you dbag"
Me: "oh, I see you are also buying one of those cool neck scarves they have now for graduation, all I got was a tassel"
Him (in a tone suggesting I should know this): "they've had them now for the past two years"
Me (feigning complete appreciation for this knowledge drop): "nice, where are they selling them?"
Me, internal voice: "man, this guy is a piece of work"

Went across the street and saw, #8, #1, and #17s .
Guess they are now retired as well. Opted out on the $32 neck scarf. I mean where the hell am I going to wear that and I don't have "trophy" wall to put it.

---

First off, I'm sorry for your loss. I think I knew your mother-in-law if she used to work for Maggard up in Memorial. She was always very kind to me back in the day.

Regarding the ASUC, actually, that was me. I was in there buying my graduation apparrel (see separate post). What little I remember of this unremarkable encounter is different than you retell. I sincerely didn't realize you knew it was Joe Roth, and so I thought I was in a friendly way providing some information to someone who didn't know. Also, re the neck ribbon thing, I didn't say two years i said "for a few years." If i was not as gabby as I usually am it's because I was heading to a couple of meetings on campus and then to take some photos.

I'm also the guy who without knowing you, in November offered to buy you a plane ticket and pay your way out from Maine so you could go to the Big Game due to it being postponed. Just a random act of kindness. Yep, I'm a real dou chebag.

I posted this on Easter:

Again, sorry for your loss.

Go Bears!

---

I actually thought that might have been you! But only after I posted and upon further reflection. Small world! Congrats on your graduation! . ..I'm putting on dbag hat once again. Won't be the last time.

Damn, please tell me you posted about this on CGB, Ken.

75bear said:

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Great story, with so many nuanced layers to pick apart.

---

Yes, so nuanced. Interwoven threads of inference, allusion, crossed purposes, and misunderstanding all coming together in a delicious stew of irony and illumination...oh, and ******baggery.

cal83dls79 said:

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I actually thought that might have been you! But only after I posted and upon further reflection. Small world! Congrats on your graduation! . ..I'm putting on dbag hat once again. Won't be the last time.

---

This thread took the ultimate GOT/BI twist of all time. Jaw on floor with the reveal. Let's hope last 4 episodes of GOT can match.

blungld said:

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cal83dls79 said:

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I actually thought that might have been you! But only after I posted and upon further reflection. Small world! Congrats on your graduation! . ..I'm putting on dbag hat once again. Won't be the last time.

---

This thread took the ultimate GOT/BI twist of all time. Jaw on floor with the reveal. Let's hope last 4 episodes of GOT can match.

---

yes indeed. Had I known it was Ken I would have introduced myself, and my intention was to not make this personal. To me it was just a random dude in ASUC trying on a shirt whilst Bear chested dropping cal football history...so my mind went directly to BI (my instincts were spot on there but for the "troll" bit ) The shirt did come off however, but Ken adds much welcomed and important context to the encounter.

TheFiatLux said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

So I'm in town for my Mother-in-laws passing, the one who who went to Cal, worked in the AD dept etc
So anyways I decide to walk through the campus during a break to clean her apartment..
So I go to the men's clothing dept. and notice these cool Joe Roth 12 t's ....see this guy trying them on ( he had bags of cal crap he bought) and was trying one of them on in the aisle (in a bare flabby chest mind you)
Me: "love those, is that an xl?"
Him: "yes"
Me(sarcastic ...."surprised they aren't selling #8's"
Him: "well it's the only number retired"
me: "oh really" ( I say incredulously)
Him: "yeah it's joe Roth"
Me, internal voice : "no shi* you dbag"
Me: "oh, I see you are also buying one of those cool neck scarves they have now for graduation, all I got was a tassel"
Him (in a tone suggesting I should know this): "they've had them now for the past two years"
Me (feigning complete appreciation for this knowledge drop): "nice, where are they selling them?"
Me, internal voice: "man, this guy is a piece of work"

Went across the street and saw, #8, #1, and #17s .
Guess they are now retired as well. Opted out on the $32 neck scarf. I mean where the hell am I going to wear that and I don't have "trophy" wall to put it.

---

First off, I'm sorry for your loss. I think I knew your mother-in-law if she used to work for Maggard up in Memorial. She was always very kind to me back in the day.

Regarding the ASUC, actually, that was me. I was in there buying my graduation apparrel (see separate post). What little I remember of this unremarkable encounter is different than you retell. I sincerely didn't realize you knew it was Joe Roth, and so I thought I was in a friendly way providing some information to someone who didn't know. Also, re the neck ribbon thing, I didn't say two years i said "for a few years." If i was not as gabby as I usually am it's because I was heading to a couple of meetings on campus and then to take some photos.

I'm also the guy who without knowing you, in November offered to buy you a plane ticket and pay your way out from Maine so you could go to the Big Game due to it being postponed. Just a random act of kindness. Yep, I'm a real dou chebag.

I posted this on Easter:

Again, sorry for your loss.

Go Bears!

---

Ok, so that s*** is pretty funny. I'm really beginning to think there are only like five of us in the world and all of these random encounters are just the universe having a laugh. Congrats on the graduation Ken!

cal83dls79 said:

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KenBurnski said:

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guarantee that dude is posting on CGB as we speak about his weird encounter with a flirtatious Cal fan

---

lol, I'm pretty sure I had the moral high ground there having not tried on a shirt with a bare and sweaty torso in the middle of the aisle. Who does this? Anyways, it was mostly a humorous recount of a cal "football" and quasi-BI experience after a long and trying week.

---

Who would do that? I would take stroll down Telegraph and you would probably find more than a few. Seriously, maybe Sproul Plaza set my notion of the possible, but I can't believe anybody who attended Cal would ever be surprised by anything like trying on a shirt in....a clothing store.

TheFiatLux said:

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Just to bring this thread home, here is the ribbon ... I've sent messages to some of you, but if you're in town and would like to come to my graduation party, drop me a DM. The crowd should absolutely span the spectrum!

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Man, I didn't even go to my graduation. I was just happy to receive a diploma 3 months later. I missed out on the graduation speaker, a guy who named a list after himself.

James Dean?

KenBurnski said:

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Damn, please tell me you posted about this on CGB, Ken.

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He's banned there.