Sebastabear said:

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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/

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behind a paywall.

CannonBlast said:

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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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He kinda has a point.

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Not a good look for Netherda.

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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The face-off has been recognized by the announcers for over a decade, and goes back quite a bit farther than that. I remember it from back in the 90s.

I don't think it was so much "Invented" as it developed from a few cases where one sides committee would gather near the axe when a game not in doubt made it clear that the axe would be moving to a new home for the next year and the current holders didn't want to give it up. And since the holders of the axe have special groups organized to control/protect it (Rally Comm for Cal, the Axe Committee for Furd), you ended up with these stand-offs on the sideline.

And now, even though no one is sure when it started, its tradition to set up a few minutes into the fourth quarter and stand a few feet apart until the game is over before parading off with the axe.

Imagine if the Stanley Cup finals ended with something similar.

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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Adults spending billions of dollars to watch college kids play a meaningless game is also stupid and ridiculous. If you can't enjoy the whole insanity of the Big Game, the Axe, it's history and silly traditions then why follow Cal football at all? Or college football?

In short, kiss my ass, **** the Trees, and Go Bears

TheSouseFamily said:

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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.

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It's another way to keep the fans into the game. It's their way of being part of the game and pageant. Love it.

For critics, what harm does it do to you? Do you think it somehow reflects badly on you? No one forced you to comment. Just ignore it.

Rushinbear said:

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TheSouseFamily said:

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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.

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It's another way to keep the fans into the game. It's their way of being part of the game and pageant. Love it.

For critics, what harm does it do to you? Do you think it somehow reflects badly on you? No one forced you to comment. Just ignore it.

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I think you misread me. I find it entertaining and I look forward to seeing it every year.

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.

okaydo said:

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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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Eh, I don't know... I do agree with folks and Alex that the PLAYERS should be parading it around on the field... but my bigger question is - and i'm serious about this - why no joyous smiles in that photo. I get that a picture is a mili-second in time, but you'd think people would be grinning from ear to ear non-stop... i know i was and just about every other peson i ran into on the field. There's a deeper point here I'm not making very well, but man, if you can't unabashedly enjoy this moment, completely lose yourself in non-stop joy, I think you're missing one of the key pionts of life.

The "no smiling" adds to the entire spectacle. Do you ever see Secret Service personnel smiling? When you're a member of a protective detail charged with ensuring the safety of an asset, that's your only job. Your solemn duty to protect it comes at the expense and sacrifice of you personally being able to enjoy it so that others may. The utter seriousness of it all definitely adds to the humor of it and we should applaud them for their sacrifice.

TheFiatLux said:

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okaydo said:

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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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Eh, I don't know... I do agree with folks and Alex that the PLAYERS should be parading it around on the field... but my bigger question is - and i'm serious about this - why no joyous smiles in that photo. I get that a picture is a mili-second in time, but you'd think people would be grinning from ear to ear non-stop... i know i was and just about every other peson i ran into on the field. There's a deeper point here I'm not making very well, but man, if you can't unabashedly enjoy this moment, completely lose yourself in non-stop joy, I think you're missing one of the key pionts of life.

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Go to 3:12 of this Bear Insider video.

Rally Com is like the Secret Service and the axe is like the president. They have a serious job to do to protect the axe amid all that chaos. Don't forget that this rally com is coming off of the longest Big Game drought ever. So maybe there shouldn't be all these critiques.

TheSouseFamily said:

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The "no smiling" adds to the entire spectacle. Do you ever see Secret Service personnel smiling? When you're a member of a protective detail charged with ensuring the safety of an asset, that's your only job. Your solemn duty to protect it comes at the expense and sacrifice of you personally being able to enjoy it so that others may. The utter seriousness of it all definitely adds to the humor of it and we should applaud them for their sacrifice.

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Nailed it.

dajo9 said:

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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.

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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.

TheSouseFamily said:

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The "no smiling" adds to the entire spectacle. Do you ever see Secret Service personnel smiling? When you're a member of a protective detail charged with ensuring the safety of an asset, that's your only job. Your solemn duty to protect it comes at the expense and sacrifice of you personally being able to enjoy it so that others may. The utter seriousness of it all definitely adds to the humor of it and we should applaud them for their sacrifice.

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Exactly.

I was searching the words "Cal" and "Stanford" on Twitter and basically were saying "NERDS!"

But it's hilarious. Fighting over an axe is a dumb tradition. But it's OUR dumb tradition.

dajo9 said:

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dajo9 said:

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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.

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

okaydo said:

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TheFiatLux said:

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okaydo said:

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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?

---

---

Eh, I don't know... I do agree with folks and Alex that the PLAYERS should be parading it around on the field... but my bigger question is - and i'm serious about this - why no joyous smiles in that photo. I get that a picture is a mili-second in time, but you'd think people would be grinning from ear to ear non-stop... i know i was and just about every other peson i ran into on the field. There's a deeper point here I'm not making very well, but man, if you can't unabashedly enjoy this moment, completely lose yourself in non-stop joy, I think you're missing one of the key pionts of life.

---

Go to 3:12 of this Bear Insider video.

Rally Com is like the Secret Service and the axe is like the president. They have a serious job to do to protect the axe amid all that chaos. Don't forget that this rally com is coming off of the longest Big Game drought ever. So maybe there shouldn't be all these critiques.

---

Eh, we see things differently. It really isn't that serious a job.

If you go to 2:42:30 of the 2002 BIg Game you see the players with the axe in a far crazier mob...

Here is 2004 in another crazy mod...



It's call having fun.

For all its (debatable) flaws, this year's staredown had one amazing moment - the one where our crew took the axe from their crew after 9 years.

The fact that it really isn't that serious of a job is what makes the humor of it all work. And why people around the country find it so amusing. And because it's Cal/Stanford, two schools that aren't exactly known for rabid, hard-core fans.

okaydo said:

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dajo9 said:

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dajo9 said:

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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?

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No, before and periodically during the game they showed the Stanford RallyComm parading the Axe around for fans and cameras. At the end of the game the Axe was under the tunnel for transfer. I'm fine with a public transfer, I think that is fun. Just the whole spectacle of the staredown, I am not a fan of.

Why aren't they smiling? Shouldn't they be happy that Cal won the axe for the first time in 8 years?!?!

okaydo said:

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Why aren't they smiling? Shouldn't they be happy that Cal won the axe for the first time in 8 years?!?!

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do you see how they're not posing for a picture... and do you miss the part where the axe is, you know, BEING TOUCHED BY EVERYONE and the players! Don't be obtuse.

TheSouseFamily said:

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CannonBlast said:

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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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He kinda has a point.

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Not a good look for Netherda.

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Disagree, the whole Rally Com running with scissors haphazard wedge running through the crowd thing is not only goofy and dangerous, it also detracts from the celebration and deprives the team and the fans from the basic and spontaneous reward of raising the trophy they fought for on the field.

The whole "secret service protecting the "President" thing is a silly zoomer LARP, as if a Furd contingent was ever going to steal the Axe and wrestle it from the team and thousands of celebrating Cal students and alums on the field.

Quote:

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TheSouseFamily said:

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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.

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Haha

Have to say that if I was standing that close to a bunch of Furd weenies holding the axe it would have belonged to me and my Cal friends.

The "tradition" is to win, steal, or grab the axe. The stare down is stupid.

dajo9 said:

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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.

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Wow this thread blew up! I agree. If this was born out of something from the 60s or earlier - ok I can see it as tradition. But as many posters also pointed out - it seems unfair to the players that they can't immediately access The Axe. Yes, the Rac are charged with it's safe keeping. But the days of raiding and stealing the Axe are OVER. Does anyone expect them to not give it to us after a win? Or is anyone expecting 10-15 Stanfurd students to try and swipe it from the RC when we claim it? those days are long gone.

If we are to keep this "spectacle", then it should only be done if the game is in doubt with less than a minute to go. And as other posters on the USC band thread are calling for respect and comity, it should be an orderly hand off with out the nerd sprint we saw that knocked a couple people over. AND THEN it should be handed immediately to the players! And RC can surround the player that has it.

I loved the win. I love the Axe. It is the BEST trophy in all of college football - hands down. But put the trophy and focus in the hands of he players where it belongs.

TheFiatLux said:

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okaydo said:

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Why aren't they smiling? Shouldn't they be happy that Cal won the axe for the first time in 8 years?!?!

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do you see how they're not posing for a picture... and do you miss the part where the axe is, you know, BEING TOUCHED BY EVERYONE and the players! Don't be obtuse.

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They are not posing for a picture in yesterday's photo, either. They are moving in the midst of chaos.

mvargus said:

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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

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Good post

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

They should probably given part of the axe to the players on the field to put up above the crowd. But this is all so new to them. I'll allow for rookie mistakes.


But I don't think they should completely surrender it. That plaque ain't that big. It's not that far-fetched that, amid all the chaos of thousands of people on the field, it ended up with people who throws a jacket or prison jumpsuit over it and walk out with it. It sounds ridiculous. But some of the events in this rivalry have been pretty absurd.

Rallycom was still attached to the axe even in the locker room.

Is the axe displayrd in the Student Union building above the store? I know it used to be.

TheFiatLux said:

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okaydo said:

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TheFiatLux said:

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okaydo said:

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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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Eh, I don't know... I do agree with folks and Alex that the PLAYERS should be parading it around on the field... but my bigger question is - and i'm serious about this - why no joyous smiles in that photo. I get that a picture is a mili-second in time, but you'd think people would be grinning from ear to ear non-stop... i know i was and just about every other peson i ran into on the field. There's a deeper point here I'm not making very well, but man, if you can't unabashedly enjoy this moment, completely lose yourself in non-stop joy, I think you're missing one of the key pionts of life.

---

Go to 3:12 of this Bear Insider video.

Rally Com is like the Secret Service and the axe is like the president. They have a serious job to do to protect the axe amid all that chaos. Don't forget that this rally com is coming off of the longest Big Game drought ever. So maybe there shouldn't be all these critiques.

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Eh, we see things differently. It really isn't that serious a job.

If you go to 2:42:30 of the 2002 BIg Game you see the players with the axe in a far crazier mob...

Here is 2004 in another crazy mod...



It's call having fun.

---

You can clearly see the axe is surrounded by rallycom people here. With the pics from the locker room we can deduce that one of their "jobs" is to keep a hand on it at all times. So they were doing the same thing today as in 2002 (I remember the goal post being paraded down Bancroft. What an awesome game!). In any case there are many much more stupid traditions out there, and I for one like that fact that we can even debate about whether it is silly or not! Go bears!

ClevelandBear said:

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TheFiatLux said:

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okaydo said:

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TheFiatLux said:

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okaydo said:

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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?

---

---

Eh, I don't know... I do agree with folks and Alex that the PLAYERS should be parading it around on the field... but my bigger question is - and i'm serious about this - why no joyous smiles in that photo. I get that a picture is a mili-second in time, but you'd think people would be grinning from ear to ear non-stop... i know i was and just about every other peson i ran into on the field. There's a deeper point here I'm not making very well, but man, if you can't unabashedly enjoy this moment, completely lose yourself in non-stop joy, I think you're missing one of the key pionts of life.

---

Go to 3:12 of this Bear Insider video.

Rally Com is like the Secret Service and the axe is like the president. They have a serious job to do to protect the axe amid all that chaos. Don't forget that this rally com is coming off of the longest Big Game drought ever. So maybe there shouldn't be all these critiques.

---

Eh, we see things differently. It really isn't that serious a job.

If you go to 2:42:30 of the 2002 BIg Game you see the players with the axe in a far crazier mob...

Here is 2004 in another crazy mod...



It's call having fun.

---

You can clearly see the axe is surrounded by rallycom people here. With the pics from the locker room we can deduce that one of their "jobs" is to keep a hand on it at all times. So they were doing the same thing today as in 2002 (I remember the goal post being paraded down Bancroft. What an awesome game!). In any case there are many much more stupid traditions out there, and I for one like that fact that we can even debate about whether it is silly or not! Go bears!

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But we do agree winning should be fun, right?

okaydo said:

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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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Hah. 90% sure she was a Lair staffer this summer.

This was my 46th BG. The stare down is "relatively" recent, like, the past 15 years.

It's silly and ridiculous (but then, that's what makes college football so fun) and it's what gets on ESPN because it's the silly-and-ridiculous thing that we do.

But I don't like it. It's dumb. Just have the two committees meet immediately after the game and turn it over -- and then, as Netherda says, give it to the team. Whisking it off to the locker room deprives the team and the fans of the spectacle of the Axe being paraded in triumph.

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

when I was a kid, the axe held this mythical quality. Why? If you think about it,it's just some trophy with an axe on it. But why does it have such a special place in our hearts? Why is it so valuable to us? I mean, do UCLA and SC people really care that much about the victory bell? That's a much more storied rivalry, yet no one cares about that stupid bell.

But the axe is different because of the way we have decided to treat the axe. It has value because of all these silly traditions (like the stare down) The fact that a rally comm member must have a hand on it at all times seems nonsensical. I get it. But it also adds to the axe's mystique.

If we treated the axe as any other trophy, it would become any other trophy.

But if we pretend to treat it as the most important thing on earth, then it becomes the most important thing on earth.