I'm a season ticket holder but had to miss the UNT game for work. There was a promotion for this game that claimed this game would feature the "Bay Area's largest t-shirt toss", with 10,000 shirts distributed at half time. A friend who went to the game told me that only folks in about the first 15 rows got shirts because the shirts would unfold when fired into the crowd. I'm wondering if this is what others experienced.

GoCal80 said:

---

I'm a season ticket holder but had to miss the UNT game for work. There was a promotion for this game that claimed this game would feature the "Bay Area's largest t-shirt toss", with 10,000 shirts distributed at half time. A friend who went to the game told me that only folks in about the first 15 rows got shirts because the shirts would unfold when fired into the crowd. I'm wondering if this is what others experienced.

---

To me it appeared that the cannon appeared to be defective and was not used very much.
Most of the tossing was done the old fashioned way -by hand.
But the people doing the tossing were fairly successful in distributing the T shirts. Some people in the stands were throwing them higher up. Even the Mean Green cheer leaders and fans were getting into the
action. But as usual the fans in the top half of the stadium did not get many shirts unless they or their friends walked down to the bottom half of the stadium
BTW. I don't understand why instead of a cannon (which proved in effective) the sorts are not shot out of a giant slingshot (like the ones used very effectively to shoot water balloons in days gone bye)

I didn't see many shirts fired into the crowd. We're on the East Side, and most shirts were thrown, so a disproportionate number of shirts landed in the first 15-20 rows.

I saw people walking up the stairs after the game with what looked like ten or more shirts. Just offer them at the gate, and people can take or leave it.

They had people at upper entrances to the stadium throwing shirts to the upper rows so there were some shirts making it up to the higher reaches.

p.s. cool thing was we had a couple sitting in front of us who were visiting the Bay Area and decided to see the game spur of the moment because they love football. We are in Row 44 adjacent to the ESP seats and the couple both got shirts after the game.

They also gave us a good recommendation for Barbecue in Memphis when we travel to the game later this week......

Sitting way up in Row 47, a little ADA section, the guy next to me got one. But there were relatively few thrown into our area.

Out with it... what's the barbecue recommendation?

I sit a few rows in front of the disabled seating in section I. A few shirts made it up to our area, but we saw a bunch of people, especially kids, coming up the aisles with multiple shirts. I guess Cal Athletics wanted some gimmick, but it would have been much more fair to just give shirts out at the entrance to the first 10,000 people, rather than tossing them into the stands and then hoping that the people who caught more than one shirt were kind enough to share with the rest of the crowd. It also seems like quite a bit of (unnecessary) effort for them to roll up all of those shirts into balls so they can attempt to fire them into the crowd.

GoCal80 said:

---

I'm a season ticket holder but had to miss the UNT game for work. There was a promotion for this game that claimed this game would feature the "Bay Area's largest t-shirt toss", with 10,000 shirts distributed at half time. A friend who went to the game told me that only folks in about the first 15 rows got shirts because the shirts would unfold when fired into the crowd. I'm wondering if this is what others experienced.

---

They had people in the stands tossing them. Pretty well organized IMO.

I didn't get a shirt, no one around me got a shirt unless they left the area. Most were tossed a couple of rows, or thrown well above. That's OK. They did their best.

I would say, judging by who had a shirt looking around the stadium, it was well distributed, on the whole.

Cal_79 said:

---

Out with it... what's the barbecue recommendation?

---

Charlie Vergos Rendezvous-Original Memphis style BBQ. Looks like the are half mile from the Civil Rights Museum we plan to visit as well and another friend recommended the place as well.

Go Bears!

I very much doubt they distributed 10k shirts. They looked to have 20 people throwing shirts, and there's no way they each threw 500 shirts.

Some of my neighbors got shirts near the end of the event by just going down to the first row and asking the throwers for one.

I'm in Row 32, Sec. H, and we didn't get any that high. One guy about 8 or 9 rows down grabbed three of them and was generous enough to toss one to another guy in his row. Oh, well....

Thanks for the heads up... Go Bears!

Were in row13 section H & seemingly everybody around us got a shirt. Thought the T-shirt toss was a fun event

The cannon worked for a short while but could only shoot about 15-20 rows up and it only shot shirts to 3 or so sections. Then it lost power.

Cheerleaders and staff threw the other shirts as best they could, but I'm at row 30 and none got up to that row (a few got to row 25, and a lot got to about 10-15

I guess some sections had people throwing from higher up but I didn't see that on east side. Maybe my row was too high, and yet not high enough

We commented that it didn't look like 10,000 shirts. That would have meant about 1 in 3 people got a shirt

I did see a mom and three young boys walking around after with all three with a shirt

However I thought it was successful overall and much more fun than just getting a shirt at the gate

Thanks to those who made it happen

It was fun but un-evenly distributed. Lots of people with multiple shirts. Was thinking just sell me a shirt at cost. Liked the design-Oski throwing a shirt.

I got one. First time ever. A buddy of mine and I were walking around on the east side at the time and a young woman was throwing them to the folks at the upper seats and even beyond. Gave mine to a young fan a little later. Virtually anyone who wanted one could get one where we were. The woman next to me was thrilled to get hers.

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

Sebastabear said:

---

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

---

Only if we had a top notch engineering program to figure these things out.

CALiforniALUM said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

---

Only if we had a top notch engineering program to figure these things out.

---

I'm sure a t-shirt cannon is their top priority.

It was a dud. On the north side (Section B) shirts didn't get past the 15th row. I like the idea of just handing them out pregame, but apparently our Athletic Dept. likes a gimmick, even one that doesn't work. Perhaps they could bring back former QBs with strong arms (Gale Gilbert, Steve Bartkowski, Joe Ayoob, et. al.) heave them to the upper levels. It would be more effective and fun to see the old guys again.

GMP said:

---

CALiforniALUM said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

---

Only if we had a top notch engineering program to figure these things out.

---

I'm sure a t-shirt cannon is their top priority.

---

When you say "their", realize these are the game day experience folks. It's not like Wilcox and the coaches are spending time on this. And yes there are other things game day folks are working on as well but ultimately it's about doing what they can to improve the fan experience and make it fun. Since the t-shirt cannon isn't interfering with the band, or really anything else, I'm all for it.

I second the Rendezvous recommendation. The best barbecue I've ever had and I've tried a lot. They've got great dry rub ribs. Amazing flavor.

I sit in Section EE. There are a whole lot of Senior Citizens in and around my area. A lot of them have walkers, canes, and support people helping them to their seats. Also there are a lot of people who have unseen disabilities, too. So, to have them compete against younger people for a f***ing give away was a frustrating and totally disappointing experience for all of those people who worked hard to sit in Memorial to support the team. Ten or a dozen T Shirts shot from a cannon is a fun thing. 10,000 T Shirts which half the people should have gotten was not.

CALiforniALUM said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

---

Only if we had a top notch engineering program to figure these things out.

---

Was it nearly fifty years ago that our engineering department and Stanford's developed air cannons to shoot water balloons, to replace the surgical tubing sling shots used by some frats at games. The air cannons failed to recharge quickly and were no match for the sling shots. Seems about the mid 70s Stanford fans started to shoot golf balls, much worse than the original water balloons, and then the oranges which escalated the conflict. Doesn't seem compressed gas cannons have progressed much since.

acalfan said:

---

I very much doubt they distributed 10k shirts. They looked to have 20 people throwing shirts, and there's no way they each threw 500 shirts.

Some of my neighbors got shirts near the end of the event by just going down to the first row and asking the throwers for one.

---

Hahaha, no.

you are way off.

Sebastabear said:

---

GMP said:

---

CALiforniALUM said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

---

Only if we had a top notch engineering program to figure these things out.

---

I'm sure a t-shirt cannon is their top priority.

---

When you say "their", realize these are the game day experience folks. It's not like Wilcox and the coaches are spending time on this. And yes there are other things game day folks are working on as well but ultimately it's about doing what they can to improve the fan experience and make it fun. Since the t-shirt cannon isn't interfering with the band, or really anything else, I'm all for it.

---

The T-Shirt cannon thing is a meme now. No sane person actually thinks it is a net negative.

A NON-working cannon is a neutral, at worst. But people have fun laughing about things that dont do what they are expected to do, especially when it is inconsequential. When it gets the kinks worked out, it will be cool. Until then, everyone will pretend it not working has a negative impact on them personally, at home, mid week.

PRD74 said:

---

I sit in Section EE. There are a whole lot of Senior Citizens in and around my area. A lot of them have walkers, canes, and support people helping them to their seats. Also there are a lot of people who have unseen disabilities, too. So, to have them compete against younger people for a f***ing give away was a frustrating and totally disappointing experience for all of those people who worked hard to sit in Memorial to support the team. Ten or a dozen T Shirts shot from a cannon is a fun thing. 10,000 T Shirts which half the people should have gotten was not.

---

Yeah, someone almost knocked down my dad, so that wasnt good.

A giveaway at the gate isnt as fun for the fans and doesnt take up a chunk of the downtime, though.

LunchTime said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

GMP said:

---

CALiforniALUM said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

---

Only if we had a top notch engineering program to figure these things out.

---

I'm sure a t-shirt cannon is their top priority.

---

When you say "their", realize these are the game day experience folks. It's not like Wilcox and the coaches are spending time on this. And yes there are other things game day folks are working on as well but ultimately it's about doing what they can to improve the fan experience and make it fun. Since the t-shirt cannon isn't interfering with the band, or really anything else, I'm all for it.

---

The T-Shirt cannon thing is a meme now. No sane person actually thinks it is a net negative.

A NON-working cannon is a neutral, at worst. But people have fun laughing about things that dont do what they are expected to do, especially when it is inconsequential. When it gets the kinks worked out, it will be cool. Until then, everyone will pretend it not working has a negative impact on them personally, at home, mid week.

---

Word.

I get the appeal of a free t-shirt to kids and starving students, but I need another Cal t-shirt like I need another hole in the head. I'm trying to think of ANY Cal t-shirt that I might take (and keep)... well, there's "2019: Cal takes back the Axe, 49-0!" or "Cal makes the effing Rose Bowl!!!". For those two, hey, I'll be happy to add a 37th and 38th Cal t-shirt to my collection! Beyond that, no thanks.

Big C said:

---

I get the appeal of a free t-shirt to kids and starving students, but I need another Cal t-shirt like I need another hole in the head. I'm trying to think of ANY Cal t-shirt that I might take (and keep)... well, there's "2019: Cal takes back the Axe, 49-0!" or "Cal makes the effing Rose Bowl!!!". For those two, hey, I'll be happy to add a 37th and 38th Cal t-shirt to my collection! Beyond that, no thanks.

---

I would be happy to have another good looking Cal t-shirt. However, one advertising the Bay Area's biggest T-shirt toss is a T-shirt that would go in a rag pile.

I was thinking about moving down a few rows to get in better position to snag one from the nearest person tossing T-shirts, and then I saw it. Meh. Not worth it.

I did get a shirt, but I think it is better to pass them out at the entrances to the stadium. That way I could get a shirt the right size. Where I was, most of the shirts went to people in the first few rows.

Sebastabear said:

---

GMP said:

---

CALiforniALUM said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

For what it's worth, here's the latest diagnosis on our cannon - nothing confidential so I'll just repost.

Quote:

---

Yep I am totally aware that the cannon did not fire as it was supposed to. There are a few reasons for this and we are addressing them in the next two weeks. We are having a tech come out from the company along with ensuring the air lines from the CO2 tanks are clear. For some reason the power isnt generating so we are going to figure out what the exact issue was. I can assure you we will have it fixed by the ASU game.

The cannon we have is used by a ton of schools. Believe it or not they are not easy to get as the ones that are out there are all spoken for. Luckily a school dropped one this year and we were able to secure it. We know it will work properly for years to come just unfortunately had a couple kinks to work out. We will also be using the cannon at mens and women's basketball games this winter.

---

I'm beginning to think using dynamite to blast these shirts in to the stands would be a better approach. Will see where we stand in two weeks.

---

Only if we had a top notch engineering program to figure these things out.

---

I'm sure a t-shirt cannon is their top priority.

---

When you say "their", realize these are the game day experience folks. It's not like Wilcox and the coaches are spending time on this. And yes there are other things game day folks are working on as well but ultimately it's about doing what they can to improve the fan experience and make it fun. Since the t-shirt cannon isn't interfering with the band, or really anything else, I'm all for it.

---

Agree. If this cannon thing really works, we should have a special band song to go along with this. And then have the tosses put on the video board and watch for the best T-Shirt catches - I am thinking the University club patron's diving over the rail and landing in the Stadium club for common shots - perhaps snagging two on the way down.

Or else have a 10 yard shot at a guy with a catchers gear on to see if they can catch it. Good fun all around, and lots of cheers. T-Shirt Cannon sponsored by Kaiser...

We were in CC, upper half. A guy with a full box was tossing them up to the higher rows them. He was waving each one in the air and teasing the crowd, taking a long time before actually tossing one up. Other sections were tossing them up one after another in a much speedier fashion.

While putting on this show, others were walking behind him and stealing them out of box. He was clueless.
Needless to say the halftime toss didn't leave our section with many good feelings after watching this happen.

Next time hand em out inside the gates. Much more productive and equitable.

I am surprised by how many posters thought this was a negative

I thought it was fun and new, and got a lot of people excited and happy. I stayed in my seats at halftime to watch it. One of my friends moved lower down to try to get one, and was lucky to catch one because he still was about row 20 which few shirts reached. He looked pretty happy about getting a shirt and it was one of his first times at a college football game

My comments related to what happened and yes, there were some approach and execution issues

Thanks SB for giving some insight into the problems with the cannon. Interesting that the big cannon uses CO2 just like the smaller hand held versions. I would expect those to have a limited capacity and be expensive

But I applaud those who thought of the idea, funded and made it happen. I'm sure they will learn from this and make improvements

For those who are limited physically, I think Cal has other events where they give free shirts at the gate (I've gotten them at men's and women's basketball games). I too have lots of Cal shirts. If I get a free shirt but don't like the design I can always find someone to give it to that is very happy to get it. I saw some people giving it to nearby kids