Go Bears!

Photo: Oakland Tribune

To everyone going to Big Game - have a safe and great time. I'll be watching the game on Versus today. First time I've missed Big Game since 1994.

The Oakland Tribune has videos of the Chopping Rally and the Axe Rally.

Go Bears! Give them the Axe!

Enemies within our midst

So Daily Cal reporters decided to do a little Big Game Week scare of their own and hike up to the Big C at night.

In the hills of Berkeley, there exists a bright beacon of Golden Bear pride, and that is the Big C. It’s a steep hike (give us a break—we work behind computers!), but the Clog sallied forth at 10 p.m. to visit and otherwise disrupt UC Rally Committee’s guarding during Big Game week.

First things first: If you plan to take pictures, make sure you have a charged camera ready to go. So much for being tech savvy.

[snip]

After huffing and puffing, we reached the top, where “C” marks the spot. Despite our loud comments of “Let’s paint it red!” and “Ambush Rally Comm!,” there was no one to hear our genius. We walked across the C, stepping on a light (oops), and we realized the C had a whole string of lights looped around. So we plugged it in.

Unfortunately, Rally Comm sucks at lighting, but perhaps that’s all for the better, considering they had Christmas lights against the dry brush of the hill. Their decorated C was lackluster at best.

We must have signaled to them because soon after three bewildered Rally Commers came trudging up the hill. We greeted them, offered chocolate, but they spurned our hospitality. They attempted to fix the lighting, and we took pictures of ourselves.

Hakka!

For those of you who will miss the Axe Rally...

The Daily Clog recommendation

The Daily Cal blog - the Daily Clog - is encouraging students to attend the Bonfire Rally (for us old timers, we'd prefer to call it the Axe Rally since we have the Axe).

For those of you who have experienced a bonfire rally before, you'll enjoy this choice quote:

For those of you who will be attending their first bonfire, the Clog encourages you to sit as close to the pit as possible in order for the most intense experience. You can thank us later.

A Cal Grad answers questions from the uneducated masses

You will note the high degree of elitism from Farm types. And the author definitely will be in politics someday, judging from the answers. From today's Stanfraud Daily:

Q. It only seems fitting that you are a dirty Cal student, as that school yields nothing more than a derelict collection of unwashed masses.

A. It’s true — we are indeed unwashed. This is because Cal students, to preserve our exquisite skin, actually take dust baths, like chinchillas. Bathing ourselves in fine volcanic ash, we remove excess oil and moisture from our skin, while also protecting ourselves from lice and mites. We eschew the traditional practice of washing not because we are unclean vermin, but because we care about the quality of our skin, as washing is an excessively harsh treatment. Feel the difference for yourself — next time you see me, rub a finger along an exposed part of my skin, and experience the silky smooth exterior of a Cal student.

[snip]

Q. Which school has more attractive people: Stanford or Cal?

A. In absolute numbers, you will probably find more attractive people at Cal than at Stanford. And some argue that Cal students are objectively hotter — there have been some articles about how Stanford students have less sex than other university students, and maybe it’s because you find less people you want to have sex with =( . But I’m very pleased with what I see around Stanford campus, and Stanford students seem to be more physically fit than Cal students.

Q. GO F*%$ YOURSELVES STANFORD MOTHERF%@&#*$.

A. Right on, brother.

Q. Why are Cal students so much more into the rivalry between the two schools?

A. I agree, Cal students generally do take it more seriously than intended. With all of the vilifying of Stanford students that takes place, you would think that y’all are demonspawn whose presence taints and corrupts the earth, on par with people convicted of crimes against humanity. The Rally Committee at Cal is especially bad — some of those people would probably sacrifice themselves to the gods if it meant stopping a Stanford sporting victory.

You know why Cal students put so much energy into the rivalry? Because they want some attention. For whatever reason they are feeling unloved, so do a good deed at this year’s Big Game and give a Cal student a hug.

The Play revisited again

Yeah, you all know it:

25 years...

Ruined Elway's last college game...

Starky's excited voice can be found anywhere in cyberspace - YouTube, mp3, transcript (I'm surprised I couldn't find it in a ringtone)...

So let's do something different...selected photos and newspaper shots from that historic day.

1982 Program

Front page - Oakland Tribune

Back page - Oakland Tribune

Sports Page - Oakland Tribune

Photo of the Axe and the exuberant crowd

Front page of the Berkeley Gazette

Go Bears!

The Axe - It's Ours Again!

Not a real pretty game. But we won. Cal now the victor of five Big Games in a row. Fans stormed the field after the end of the game.

An incredibly windy day in Strawberry Canyon, so much so that the California Banner needed to be brought down from its flag posts - it appeared that the Banner may have damaged the one of the flag posts and security did not let anyone sit in a vulnerable section of the student seating. Not a great shot (cell phone camera), but you can tell from the photo that the Banner is missing, as well as a few flags.


Rally Committee, for some reason, took the Banner from the Cannon Platform and placed it just below the UCRC section; I'm assuming the Main Banner was damaged as well. Trivia: the replacement Banner was originally flown at the 1982 Big Game as the main Banner (see the photo of this Banner in an earlier posting), and when it retired, was presented as a gift to Chancellor Tien in the 1990's. Later, it was seen in the lodge of Camp Gold at the Lair of the Bear. Somehow it got back into UCRC's good hands.

Go Bears!

Controversial History

From the stanfraud review - the farm now claims it invented the card stunt:

The Card stunt started as a way for Stanford to make-up for the smaller size of their cheering section in the Big Game. Ralph Fitting sets the scene for the 1904 Big Game: “What Stanford lacked in numbers, it made up in campus-wide Stanford spirit. The memory of the stolen Axe clung vividly in the minds of everyone; kept alive by the colorful Axe Yell. Revenge was the pass-word.”

As Stanford fans entered the stadium, each received a small packet of confetti. Those in certain seats also received a white tarp and instructions on how to hold it over their hats. As the Stanford team walked onto the field, the Yell leaders gave the command, and the Stanford section threw up their confetti, creating a cloud of red. Fitting comments: “When the great sea of red subsided over the rooting section a great white S emerged on the background of the red rooters’ hats. The Berkeley side was completely stunned...Newspaper cameras clicked from every side. The Stanford stunt became history, again to add to the list of Stanford traditions.”

The card stunt also became history at the farm when they discontinued its use in the 1970's.

Now white tarps do not equal cards. However, this undercuts the long-time claim that the UC Rally Committee believes:

Card stunts originated in the 1910 Big Game against Stanford University. Their appearance at this game marks the first appearance of card stunts and the Rally Committee is attributed with their invention. At the time, it was an activity known as "bleacher stunts."

It's almost like the question of who invented the Wave?

Stadium EIR delayed

Memorial Stadium was built to honor the Californians who died in WWI. The stadium opened its doors to the public on Big Game Day in 1923. Many Cal fans possess exhilarating and heart-wrenching experiences in that stadium. But the stadium is old, it was built on top of the Hayward Fault, and needs renovation and work to keep it safer and to modernize the facilities.

The new Southeast Campus plans, which include additions to the Stadium, were delayed by a UC Regents committee, who were asked to certify the EIR November 14. Construction was slated to begin after this year's Big Game. The committee is expected to reconvene December 4 after further review of the project. The construction was to begin that same week; University officials told the committee that a delay to December 4 should not materially impact the schedule.

Reasons for the delay:

The City of Berkeley is threatening a lawsuit

Tightwad Hill fans are concerned about free views

Panoramic Hill residents are concerned about safety

Oak tree fans are concerned about woodlands

Early '80's Rally Comm alums are concerned that a certain Monterey Pine is targeted for removal

OK, I might be stretching that last point.
SF Chron article
Oakland Trib article
Daily Cal article
Berkeley News Article (hat tip - MGH '97)

Big Game Pranks

In today's SF Chron - True to form, UCRC is not giving very much credit to any pranks attempted by furd this year:

UC Berkeley student leader Nate Hedberg says he likes a good prank as much as the next guy, but the stunts he's been hearing about during this year's Cal-Stanford Big Game run-up strike him as scarcely worthy of the name.

Dumping Cardinal-red Kool-Aid in a fountain on the Cal campus. Splashing red paint on the big "C" on the hillside over Memorial Stadium. Infiltrating a Cal fraternity to reclaim home plates allegedly lifted from Stanford baseball fields over the years.

"If they could pull off something impressive that was entirely legal and didn't destroy anything, especially in broad daylight, I'd give them credit," said Hedberg, who chairs Cal's school-spirit-boosting Rally Committee.

The latest pranks are "pretty much old hat," he said.

[snip]

And some of the stunts aren't considered very entertaining, such as a video that a group of Stanford students posted on the Web this week in an attempt to make fun of their Cal counterparts.

"The video is sophomoric, of questionable taste, insensitive and not very funny, in our opinion," Stanford officials said in a statement Thursday. "It does not accurately represent either Stanford or Cal students."

[snip]

A fourth incident, confirmed by Deputy Ken Bates of Stanford's Public Safety Department, took place at 3:30 Wednesday morning on the Stanford campus. Responding to noise complaints, officers met a caravan of six cars.

"They stopped the cars and found that these were members of the Cal band's trumpet section," he said. "I think we identified about 35 and warned them about disturbing the peace. And they were sent on their way."

The band members were headed for Stanford President John Hennessy's house to jolt him awake with blaring brass, said Stanford junior Kavi Vyas, a resident adviser in the all-freshman dorm.

Go Bears!

For those who plan ahead...

The UC Rally Committee is a little busy in getting their Big Game schedule up, but here's an unofficial guide to UCRC's hectic schedule next week:

BIG GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES

11/14/2005, Around Noon, Exact Time TBA: Cable Car Rally @ Embarcadero Cable Car Turnaround (SF)- Join us and the band as we ride cable cars while playing fight songs all the way to Powell and Market for a big rally in Union Square!

11/15/2005, 9:00pm: Night Rally @ Bowles Hall- The rally travels through the streets of Berkeley and culminates at Sather Gate

11/17/2005, 12:00pm: Tree Chopping Rally @ Sproul Plaza- We have the Cal Logging Team showing off their skills and letting everyone know exactly what we think about the Stanfurd mascot.

11/18/2005, 7:00am: Bonfire Building @ Greek Theatre

11/18/2005, 6:00pm: BONFIRE RALLY- This is the biggest rally we put on all year and it is SO amazing now. It's a family friendly event so bring your kids also!

11/19/2005, 4:30pm: THE BIG GAME (Kickoff Time) @ Stanfurd Stadium- No need to explain.