I wonder how much of these issues are not micro but macro for the state of California. When I grew up a mile away from the stadium, the bay area was different. It was more relaxed, it was middle class affordable and the future was bright. California was a target state for families wanting a good education for their kids and affordable University education. These are all qualities that make it easier to follow, afford and enjoy sports.
Fast forward to these days. The standard of living, no matter how great, pales in comparison to the cost of living. Folks, working or retired with a full pension, cannot afford to live here. The middle class, or what is left of it in the country is moving out of California. What used to be a fun day at the beach or the park has become a day sitting in traffic. Blue skies aren't really blue any more. They're kind of milky. If there aren't fires, there are power outages, floods etc. Housing has become a crisis as is the homeless issue. Most households are working two or three jobs. Yeah, we have more technology, but our tech companies are driving up the cost of living by paying high wages that stimulate inflating rents. The quality and affordability of education has plummeted. These are all qualities that make it harder to follow, afford and enjoy sports.
If you look at all of the major pac-12 schools in California, they are all in decline both in attendance and ability to recruit California. Maybe kids are smart to go to places where the cost of living is more reasonable.
This may sound like I am complaining but actually these issues are well documented in our local media. I'm not making them up. It's just very stressful trying to survive in California and, while I do think Cal football is beginning a renaissance, it is a bit too little too late for me.