When the Rally Committee seized the axe and started for our sideline, they took a fall and this happened. Not to be deterred, the group including this determined member carried on to the promised land. She will live on in Big Game lore. Go Bears!

Grandours said:

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When the Rally Committee seized the axe and started for our sideline, they took a fall and this happened. Not to be deterred, the group including this determined member carried on to the promised land. She will live on in Big Game lore. Go Bears!

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AOL webmail in 2019?

? Sorry, was watching on TV and didn't anything other than a group of Cal people running with the axe who were maybe 8 years old last time we had it. Did somebody need stitches or something?

CALiforniALUM said:

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? Sorry, was watching on TV and didn't anything other than a group of Cal people running with the axe who were maybe 8 years old last time we had it. Did somebody need stitches or something?

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It was actually the Chairwoman of the Rally Committee herself. Talk about doing it all for your job!

I thought the rally committee thing was stupid. The idea that a group of different sized men and women can run with arm linked in a crowd is a workers comp claim in the making ;-)

The whole "face off" thing is sooo stupid. Who invented it? When did it start?

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

philly1121 said:

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The whole "face off" thing is sooo stupid. Who invented it? When did it start?

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

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Yep.

socaltownie said:

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I thought the rally committee thing was stupid. The idea that a group of different sized men and women can run with arm linked in a crowd is a workers comp claim in the making ;-)

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Big Game wins have been so few and far between during my time as a Cal fan - what exactly is the protocol for RC after taking possession of the Axe? I was hoping to see Rally Comm meet up with either Garbers or Weaver but all I saw was the tumble. The picture of Steve Levy holding the Axe above his head after beating Furd was so epic. How cool would it have been to see something like that unfold this year on live tv?

philly1121 said:

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The whole "face off" thing is sooo stupid. Who invented it? When did it start?

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

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Seriously? How do you feel about sunshine and puppies? Hate those too? If you don't like these traditions then I can't imagine why you bother following college football at all.

Sebastabear said:

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philly1121 said:

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The whole "face off" thing is sooo stupid. Who invented it? When did it start?

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

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Seriously? How do you feel about sunshine and puppies? Hate those too? If you don't like these traditions then I can't imagine why you bother following college football at all.

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Is it a tradition? I guess that was my question - when did this start? Or are we like Tx A&M now where if it happens twice, it's a tradition? Simple question - when did this start? The face off.

Forever , if the game is in doubt late.
As long as I can remember.
And I've been to over 50 Big Games.

philly1121 said:

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Sebastabear said:

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philly1121 said:

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The whole "face off" thing is sooo stupid. Who invented it? When did it start?

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

---

Seriously? How do you feel about sunshine and puppies? Hate those too? If you don't like these traditions then I can't imagine why you bother following college football at all.

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Is it a tradition? I guess that was my question - when did this start? Or are we like Tx A&M now where if it happens twice, it's a tradition? Simple question - when did this start? The face off.

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i don't recall the face off until the last decade or so. I love traditions, and if this was going on while I attended then I just wasn't aware. My take upon experiencing it is that it seems a bit ridiculous.

Don't mind the face off -- but they don't to try and run off with the Axe as a group. Why not just walk away and hold the axe up in victory for the fans to see.

Yeah same here. If this was going on while I was at Cal, I never saw it.

The thing that makes the face off so silly is watching two groups of students staring each other down and acting as if what they're doing actually has an impact on which team goes home with the Axe..

It feels like a scene from the DMZ, or the India Pakistan border

62bear said:

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socaltownie said:

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I thought the rally committee thing was stupid. The idea that a group of different sized men and women can run with arm linked in a crowd is a workers comp claim in the making ;-)

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Big Game wins have been so few and far between during my time as a Cal fan - what exactly is the protocol for RC after taking possession of the Axe? I was hoping to see Rally Comm meet up with either Garbers or Weaver but all I saw was the tumble. The picture of Steve Levy holding the Axe above his head after beating Furd was so epic. How cool would it have been to see something like that unfold this year on live tv?

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the best tradition is when players run across to the opposition sideline and take the trophy. The worst is this staredown lameassery.

Sebastabear said:

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philly1121 said:

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The whole "face off" thing is sooo stupid. Who invented it? When did it start?

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

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Seriously? How do you feel about sunshine and puppies? Hate those too? If you don't like these traditions then I can't imagine why you bother following college football at all.

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Having a tradition isn't enough to make it a good tradition.

It's flat out stupid. I didn't see the axe today. That's bad. The team didn't see it until way after the end of the game. That's bad. The RC doesn't impact what side gets the axe. Pretending they do is lame. It has literally no redeeming qualities of a GOOD tradition. It never has.

This year was close to to best it could be (with a lead change while they do it) and it was still lame as hell, because they have nothing to do with it.

RC shouldn't touch the axe until it's time to lock it up for the night. The teams should have ownership of it until then. The bonus here is that you don't run into the idiotic bull S that Furd pulled that year they refused to turn it over in public.

Also, where was the tradition that year?

Is the stare down the way wifeisafurd met his wife????

Cal_79 said:

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The thing that makes the face off so silly is watching two groups of students staring each other down and acting as if what they're doing actually has an impact on which team goes home with the Axe..

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That's what makes it so great. And that's why I endorse continuing the tradition.

Alkiadt said:

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Forever , if the game is in doubt late.
As long as I can remember.
And I've been to over 50 Big Games.

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I have seen it when the game is well decided late.

If it has anything to do with close games, that part of the tradition is long dead.

I don't mind the stare down. I do mind the panic and chaos they themselves created by running around especially over obstacles that only those in the front could see thereby those in the back, who couldn't see them, would stumble. Frankly I expect more of a Cal student.

Grandours said:

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When the Rally Committee seized the axe and started for our sideline, they took a fall and this happened. Not to be deterred, the group including this determined member carried on to the promised land. She will live on in Big Game lore. Go Bears!

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For folks who didn't see (and since I don't think this picture came through) Claire got good sized gash on her neck which was bleeding pretty freely as they were running off the field. But she kept going. The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die!

My only complaint about the Stare Down is that it's not long enough. If it were up to me, they'd stare at each other like that for all 4 hours of the game. That'll separate the wheat from the chaff. And while I'm not advocating fisticuffs, I'd be fine with seeing some pushing and shoving or something like a hard nut flick.

UrsineMaximus said:

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I don't mind the stare down. I do mind the panic and chaos they themselves created by running around especially over obstacles that only those in the front could see thereby those in the back, who couldn't see them, would stumble. Frankly I expect more of a Cal student.

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Exactly. I was like ***? Just walk over and give it to the players to hoist. Weirdos.

Sebastabear said:

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Grandours said:

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When the Rally Committee seized the axe and started for our sideline, they took a fall and this happened. Not to be deterred, the group including this determined member carried on to the promised land. She will live on in Big Game lore. Go Bears!

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For folks who didn't see (and since I don't think this picture came through) Claire got good sized gash on her neck which was bleeding pretty freely as they were running off the field. But she kept going. The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die!

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The holding hands as a group and running with the Axe is not a long-standing Cal tradition. I can remember when Gilby and JT won them and players got to carry the Axe very early on and not have to wait until the TV crews left to celebrate.

Leave it to Cal to come up with a dumb idea, execute it poorly, and then celebrate their incompetence with that lame Joe Kapp quote that's supposed to make up for missing the Rose Bowl for the better part of a century. The Bear will not quit being stupid. And the laughter from the rest of the Pac 8-10-12 at Cal's expense will not die.

Like the fans of a 6-5 team celebrating tripping over themselves carrying a trophy. Accidents happen, but memorializing it? Typi-Cal.

I hope Furd fans make that a meme of that epic fail and it goes viral and that's the end of that goofy "human amoeba bridge" tradition.

UrsineMaximus said:

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I don't mind the stare down. I do mind the panic and chaos they themselves created by running around especially over obstacles that only those in the front could see thereby those in the back, who couldn't see them, would stumble. Frankly I expect more of a Cal student.

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C'mon, it was a a great moment. Of course, if we keep the axe every year, you will never see that happen again.

I don't mind the stare down (I think it's unique to big game so I'm good with it)

But I did see a couple things today that were disturbing. (Or maybe it's just me getting older and crankier)

- apparently they were giving out red free tshirts in the cal section. And I saw several cal fans choosing to wear these tshirts (including band members)

- after the game, the cal band went into the tunnel and waited for the furd band to exit thru the tunnel. While the furd band exited, the cal band lined up to give high fives to all the members of the furd band

Maybe it's just a millennial thing. And I'm sure all this getting along is probably healthier outlook on life. But back in my day, we hated Stanford. Hated them. I remember one year they tried to run onto our field and we charged at them and ran them back to the stands (while tearing the tree limb to limb). I doubt stuff like that would happen nowadays. I guess that's a positive. But also a bit sad

Bands are different, the bands may be partying together afterwards who knows. This definitely wouldn't happen with the USC band though.

Dave Lombardi from the Athletic on the game and the axe stare down and hand over (with some details on how it was of course brought to the players). Great video too.

https://theathletic.com/1404099/2019/11/24/crying-like-a-baby-inside-cals-joyous-long-awaited-reunion-with-the-axe/

Sebastabear said:

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For folks who didn't see (and since I don't think this picture came through) Claire got good sized gash on her neck which was bleeding pretty freely as they were running off the field. But she kept going. The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die!

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Dang, she could have ended up like the hockey player who took a blade to the neck...

Sebastabear said:

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Grandours said:

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When the Rally Committee seized the axe and started for our sideline, they took a fall and this happened. Not to be deterred, the group including this determined member carried on to the promised land. She will live on in Big Game lore. Go Bears!

---

For folks who didn't see (and since I don't think this picture came through) Claire got good sized gash on her neck which was bleeding pretty freely as they were running off the field. But she kept going. The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die!

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He kinda has a point.

drizzlybears brother said:

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philly1121 said:

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Sebastabear said:

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philly1121 said:

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The whole "face off" thing is sooo stupid. Who invented it? When did it start?

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

---

Seriously? How do you feel about sunshine and puppies? Hate those too? If you don't like these traditions then I can't imagine why you bother following college football at all.

---

Is it a tradition? I guess that was my question - when did this start? Or are we like Tx A&M now where if it happens twice, it's a tradition? Simple question - when did this start? The face off.

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i don't recall the face off until the last decade or so. I love traditions, and if this was going on while I attended then I just wasn't aware. My take upon experiencing it is that it seems a bit ridiculous.

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Seems to me the stare down has been going on for a long time. I don't think it is a recent change in tradition. The Axe has been handed off at the game for as long as I can remember. Protected and paraded by the Rally Comm.

ducky23 said:

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I don't mind the stare down (I think it's unique to big game so I'm good with it)

But I did see a couple things today that were disturbing. (Or maybe it's just me getting older and crankier)

- apparently they were giving out red free tshirts in the cal section. And I saw several cal fans choosing to wear these tshirts (including band members)

- after the game, the cal band went into the tunnel and waited for the furd band to exit thru the tunnel. While the furd band exited, the cal band lined up to give high fives to all the members of the furd band

Maybe it's just a millennial thing. And I'm sure all this getting along is probably healthier outlook on life. But back in my day, we hated Stanford. Hated them. I remember one year they tried to run onto our field and we charged at them and ran them back to the stands (while tearing the tree limb to limb). I doubt stuff like that would happen nowadays. I guess that's a positive. But also a bit sad

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The various bands in the Pac-12 all get along for the most part. Everyone hates USC's band, but other than that the bands have a great deal of respect for each other. In the 90's the trumpet players in the Cal Band would take one night in the week before Big Game to sneak down to Palo Alto and play Cal fight songs right outside Furd dorms. This "trumpet raid" would usually end up with the raiders finishing their night hanging out with members of the Furd band in the "Band Shack" while waiting for any heat to cool off before driving back to Berkeley.

The band might laugh at the antics of the Furdies, especially since even the Pac-12 network notes that they are "Kids carrying instruments.", but they have generally been decent people.

But you could drop the USC band into the ocean and all you might hear are cheers. :P