Nest year let's send some students with crossed eyes and hope for a 50 point cal win. Ford rally com would go insane.

The Axe exchange is a tradition and awesome

I'm sure they will figure a way to make the run safer

A big part of college sports are the traditions and this is a good one

A tradition they apparently got rid of was rolling students up after a TD.
Apparently they stopped that for safety reasons. I felt it was fairly safe even though I saw a few times someone was almost dropped.
Rushing the field or court is also risky

But where do we draw the line?

I think you're partially right ducky. The Axe is mythical. But not because of the stare down. It's mythical because of its origins. It's mythical because of how it came to become the trophy. How we borrowed it. How they stole it from us.

Perhaps it's mythical status is also because we can't seem to hold onto it. Which really sucks. But we have it now and I'm sooo happy.

From hose photos - the Axe is in the Cal lockeroom. Is it absolutely necessary for one or more of the RC to keep their hands on it - literally? That seems so over the top. Anyway - the Axe is mythical because it's the Axe. It's 120+ years of tradition - not the staredown or the nerd sprint.

Rolling people up was fun but people would lose shoes and butts (and other choice body parts) would be grabbed and groped to the point where it lost its "fun" quality ..... some traditions just don't work in today's modern times

I hope that nerdy faceplant cracked the axe, and what will forever be known as "The Crack of '19" gets "fixed" permanently with the venerable japanese technique of kintsugi (blue & gold fillings, of course).

HoopDreams said:

---

mvargus said:

---

ducky23 said:

---

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

---

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

---

Good post

I like it when the bands play and march together for the national anthem

---

That would explain why they were almost "disbanded" because of rampant sexual abuse.

Uthaithani said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

Grandours said:

---

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!

---

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.

---

Congratulations. Only Uthaithani can manage to turn a great win into a downer and an attack on Cal. You must really hate your life.

Some of you people are beyond belief. You find a way to turn a unique spectacle that is all ours, gets ton of national media play (at least tons for us) and jazzes up the students into something to ***** about. Seriously why don't you go **** yourselves and watch a Niner game or something?

I think the staredown is amusingly silly and I don't mind it at all.

I do agree they should let players celebrate with it on the field after taking it.

philly1121 said:

---

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

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

---

Back in the 1960s (when I was on Rally Comm) the tradition was (when the Axe was changing hands) for the exchange to happen on the field. In 1967 I was on Rally Comm. we walked on the field and the Axe Comm carried the Axe across the field and handed it to us. We gave it to the players who carried the Axe to the rooting section who gave the Axe Yell. The team gave the Axe back to Rally Comm. We carried it around (to show fans) then carried the Axe off the field.

The problem was that with the fact that the fans rushed the field and everyone wanted to touch the Axe. Some even wanted to TAKE the Axe.
So we Rally Comm-ers had to fight to take back the Axe from "fans". It was a real struggle when you are surrounded and outnumbered.

I think (but am not sure) that is why the Axe is exchanged off the field now.

One of my sons was on Rally Comm back on 2002. The purpose for the stand off was so that the exchange could happen as soon as time ran out without waiting for a long delay of having the losing team walk across the field.

My guess is that the reason for the "state down" is to avoid taunting and insults by the winning team. Talking of any sort was prohibited as a simple precaution.

GivemTheAxe said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

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

Someone needs to be punished for this absurdity.

---

Back in the 1960s (when I was on Rally Comm) the tradition was (when the Axe was changing hands) for the exchange to happen on the field. In 1967 I was on Rally Comm. we walked on the field and the Axe Comm carried the Axe across the field and handed it to us. We gave it to the players who carried the Axe to the rooting section who gave the Axe Yell. The team gave the Axe back to Rally Comm. We carried it around (to show fans) then carried the Axe off the field.

The problem was that with the fact that the fans rushed the field and everyone wanted to touch the Axe. Some even wanted to TAKE the Axe.
So we Rally Comm-ers had to fight to take back the Axe from "fans". It was a real struggle when you are surrounded and outnumbered.

One of my sons was on Rally Comm back on 2002. The purpose for the stand off was so that the exchange could happen as soon as time ran out without waiting for a long delay of having the losing team walk across the field.

My guess is that the reason for the "stare down" is to avoid taunting and insults by the winning team. Talking of any sort was prohibited as a simple precaution.
Usually there is a reason why traditions are what they are. .

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

Lotta kill joys here. Stare down is hilarious. Go ahead, run with the ax and trip, who cares, it's ours and it's been a while and something even ole Sonny couldn't make happen. I hope his memory is put to rest

---

Yeah, but sometimes humiliating when someone (we can imagine it is 'Furd) has to walk over when their team is down four touchdowns with two minutes to play and doesn't have the ball, only to stare at people who have the axe and are keeping it, again. If this only happened to them, I'd be fine with it.

Go!Bears said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

Lotta kill joys here. Stare down is hilarious. Go ahead, run with the ax and trip, who cares, it's ours and it's been a while and something even ole Sonny couldn't make happen. I hope his memory is put to rest

---

Yeah, but sometimes humiliating when someone (we can imagine it is 'Furd) has to walk over when their team is down four touchdowns with two minutes to play and doesn't have the ball, only to stare at people who have the axe and are keeping it, again. If this only happened to them, I'd be fine with it.

---

thanks for the reminder. Glad we can win with class. Enjoy the moment, may not come for another 9. I enjoyed every minute of it. The quotes on the Twittesphere are quite amusing.

As I viewed the triumphant run with the axe, with a girl carrying it, and 8-10 other students forming a ring of protection around her as they ran, it looked like she tripped, and dropped the axe. I thought, "How lame is that? How embarrassing. We can't even hold on to this trophy for even a minute's run without dropping it." I think the poor girl herself really should not come under any scrutiny. We haven't had this axe for nine years, is it? So we are very much out of practice in how to carry it, hold on to it, protect it, and defend it with life and limb, if necessary. I hope the proper authorities will install stricter qualifications for axe protectors, and institute intensive training in axe carrying while standing or running, so this does not ever happen again when the axe is in our possession.

SFCityBear said:

---

As I viewed the triumphant run with the axe, with a girl carrying it, and 8-10 other students forming a ring of protection around her as they ran, it looked like she tripped, and dropped the axe. I thought, "How lame is that? How embarrassing. We can't even hold on to this trophy for even a minute's run without dropping it." I think the poor girl herself really should not come under any scrutiny. We haven't had this axe for nine years, is it? So we are very much out of practice in how to carry it, hold on to it, protect it, and defend it with life and limb, if necessary. I hope the proper authorities will install stricter qualifications for axe protectors, and institute intensive training in axe carrying while standing or running, so this does not ever happen again when the axe is in our possession.

---

She finished the mission and probably has more spirit in her pinky than most. Man, the self loathing here is shocking. Let's beat ourselves up even in victory.

Some of the comments on this thread help explain why young people came up with the phrase "OK Boomer."

It was a great win, so much fun.
When we win next year, rally comm, let's get it to the players on the field too.
Go Bears!!!
We've got the Axe.
Can't wait to see it at a basketball game soon.
Give it to the players there to display in front of our fans

SFCityBear said:

---

As I viewed the triumphant run with the axe, with a girl carrying it, and 8-10 other students forming a ring of protection around her as they ran, it looked like she tripped, and dropped the axe. I thought, "How lame is that? How embarrassing. We can't even hold on to this trophy for even a minute's run without dropping it." I think the poor girl herself really should not come under any scrutiny. We haven't had this axe for nine years, is it? So we are very much out of practice in how to carry it, hold on to it, protect it, and defend it with life and limb, if necessary. I hope the proper authorities will install stricter qualifications for axe protectors, and institute intensive training in axe carrying while standing or running, so this does not ever happen again when the axe is in our possession.

---

If only we could design something to make it easier to carry around

HoopDreams said:

---

---

yes, that

Why do you call it self-loathing? Can supporters not like this as a so called "tradition"?

I'm super happy and proud of our victory and team. But - it's a flavor we can do without. My opinion only.

philly1121 said:

---

I think you're partially right ducky. The Axe is mythical. But not because of the stare down. It's mythical because of its origins. It's mythical because of how it came to become the trophy. How we borrowed it. How they stole it from us.

Perhaps it's mythical status is also because we can't seem to hold onto it. Which really sucks. But we have it now and I'm sooo happy.

From hose photos - the Axe is in the Cal lockeroom. Is it absolutely necessary for one or more of the RC to keep their hands on it - literally? That seems so over the top. Anyway - the Axe is mythical because it's the Axe. It's 120+ years of tradition - not the staredown or the nerd sprint.

---

I respectfully disagree. I'm going to use the victory bell as an example. Everything you say about what makes the axe "mythical" could be said about the victory bell. It has a backstory. It's nearly as old. It's been stolen constantly. Etc.

The key difference is how the trophy is treated once it's in possession. When usc has it (for instance) they put it on public display and let people ring it.

In contrast, how many of you have actually touched the axe. Hell we have one person on this board whose name is "touchedtheaxe". Seeing the axe is rare. Touching it even more rare.

If you treat something as overly valuable it becomes overly valuable.

philly1121 said:

---

Why do you call it self-loathing? Can supporters not like this as a so called "tradition"?

I'm super happy and proud of our victory and team. But - it's a flavor we can do without. My opinion only.

---

"traditions" come and go. Some stick, some pass. This is a new one. Maybe it will pass but until then and especially when we actually win, I think it's harmless and entertaining ...and to denigrate it and it's participants is disrespectful to our student non-athlete nerds.

Who's the player in the locker room photo with Remigio. They actually look alike. That would be a meta post for a lookalike thread.

Actually, if someone cares to identify the other players in those photos, that would be awesome.

LunchTime said:

---

62bear said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

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 ;-)

---

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?

---

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

---

Uh oh, people are disagreeing with TeflonBear. Expect mass temporary bans.

UrsineMaximus said:

---

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.

---

Yeah...it's really f'in stupid and dangerous of them to be randomly running around with a dozen people holding a heavy object in a highly traffic area.

cal83dls79 said:

---

philly1121 said:

---

Why do you call it self-loathing? Can supporters not like this as a so called "tradition"?

I'm super happy and proud of our victory and team. But - it's a flavor we can do without. My opinion only.

---

"traditions" come and go. Some stick, some pass. This is a new one. Maybe it will pass but until then and especially when we actually win, I think it's harmless and entertaining ...and to denigrate it and it's participants is disrespectful to our student non-athlete nerds.

---

It's funny. You're actually talking all about the Rally Committee as I'd they are integral to the process of winning or...unfortunately...losing the Axe. And from what I've seen - the coverage has been solely about the RC and the ridiculousness of the whole process. Not the game. NOT the players. And NOT the trophy. That in and of itself is lame. And you've finally admitted that it's a new one. Did you go to A&M? Lol

I like it.

I also respectfully disagree. The Axe has over 40 years on the Victory Bell. Additionally, the bell was a gift of the UCLA alumni. It was subsequently stolen by SC students. Where is the evidence that it was stolen "countless" times by either student body?

The Axe is unique in its origins, it's detailed history of thievery and it's assignment as a trophy. I think it also helps hat is more mobile than the train bell that UCLA and SC fight for.

Edit is that the Axe doesn't need gimmickry to be important. At least important to both Cal and Stanfurd. We don't need to impress the outside world about our trophy.

okaydo said:

---

Some of the comments on this thread help explain why young people came up with the phrase "OK Boomer."

---

Old guy that just wants to say the band did one of the best set of marching formations I have had the pleasure to see. Even Furd fans gave them a huge ovation.

Don't know if it's a fair question, Wife, but how are things at the WIAF house today?

okaydo said:

---

dajo9 said:

---

dajo9 said:

---

The staredown is not tradition. I personally think it looks comical, in a bad way. I first remember seeing it in the late 2000's and thinking, boy that looks dumb. It's probably worse on tv than in person. On tv you can see the stony looks on the faces of the respective Rally Comms and think, well none of this looks intimidating in the least.

To be sure, I checked my recording of the 2002 Big Game.* After the game ends you can see Rally Comm EXIT the tunnel with the Axe. The transfer had clearly taken place in private within the stadium. Rally Comm presents the Axe in front with them holding it in a group from behind. They are walking in a dignified manner (not running in a human circle with the Axe in the middle) to bring the Axe to the celebration. At some point in the celebration the players claim the Axe, which is consistent with every Axe celebration I've seen up until yesterday, when the players did not go and claim the Axe, at least as seen on tv. They clearly eventually had it in the locker room.


* The 2002 Big Game celebration is one of the best ever. If you haven't seen it, go track it down and give it a look. Cal had lost 7 in a row but this game was well in hand midway through the 4th Quarter. It was a home game so in the last slow minute of the game while Stanford had the ball, Cal students came out of the stands and stood on the sidelines with the players in celebration. Cal recovered a fumble and took possession of the ball with 11 seconds left and the fans stormed the field. The officials just declared the game over and the party was on. Tedford was drenched with Gatorade, Boller was lifted in the air, and the goalposts came down despite a ring of security.

---

I've gone back and checked my recordings of the 1982 Big Game, 1994 Big Game, and 2009 Big Game. Results:

1982, 1994, 2002 no staredown
2009 staredown

So, the staredown is the opposite of a tradition. It is a made for tv spectacle of the modern era.

Maybe some staredowns happened organically in the olden days to ensure a transfer of the Axe at the end of the game and that is very cool. But this sanctioned tough guy staredown by a bunch of non-athletes, which is obviously made for tv needs to go.

---

Serious question: Did they just not show the staredown in 2002?

---

they look to have come from the Furd side access steps. Definitely no public staredown.

I would like to remind everyone that the chair of the Rally Committee is the legal owner of the axe when in Cal's possession and it is for this reason that a Rally Comm hand must be on the axe at all times. As far as celebrating on the field with the axe, that is much more common in Berkeleyas far as I know, they do not stay on the field all too long before heading into the locker room when down on the farm.

(But what do I know, we never won the axe when I was in Rally Comm)

CannonBlast said:

---

Sebastabear said:

---

Grandours said:

---

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!

---

He kinda has a point.

---

No he doesn't have a point. He's an idiot.

dajo9 said:

---

The staredown is not tradition. I personally think it looks comical, in a bad way. I first remember seeing it in the late 2000's and thinking, boy that looks dumb. It's probably worse on tv than in person. On tv you can see the stony looks on the faces of the respective Rally Comms and think, well none of this looks intimidating in the least.

To be sure, I checked my recording of the 2002 Big Game.* After the game ends you can see Rally Comm EXIT the tunnel with the Axe. The transfer had clearly taken place in private within the stadium. Rally Comm presents the Axe in front with them holding it in a group from behind. They are walking in a dignified manner (not running in a human circle with the Axe in the middle) to bring the Axe to the celebration. At some point in the celebration the players claim the Axe, which is consistent with every Axe celebration I've seen up until yesterday, when the players did not go and claim the Axe, at least as seen on tv. They clearly eventually had it in the locker room.


* The 2002 Big Game celebration is one of the best ever. If you haven't seen it, go track it down and give it a look. Cal had lost 7 in a row but this game was well in hand midway through the 4th Quarter. It was a home game so in the last slow minute of the game while Stanford had the ball, Cal students came out of the stands and stood on the sidelines with the players in celebration. Cal recovered a fumble and took possession of the ball with 11 seconds left and the fans stormed the field. The officials just declared the game over and the party was on. Tedford was drenched with Gatorade, Boller was lifted in the air, and the goalposts came down despite a ring of security.

---

The most fun I've ever had at a Cal event. 2002 was epic.