From the early Sixties, note the attire of fans
It was recently suggested to me by a friend that I write a piece comparing the game day experience at Cal football when I was a youth (in the 1960s) with today. Never one to pass on an opportunity to either extoll “the good old days” or rave about modern conveniences, I present the following.
One aspect of doing this comparison is noting how much is virtually the same. Memorial Stadium has been spit-shined and retrofitted but it is still nestled within picturesque Strawberry Canyon and has the same basic look — i.e. beautiful. Tightwad Hill remains, allowing freeloaders good views of the action. The Victory Canyon still introduces the team and punctuates scores and victories. The student section remains on the east end of the stadium and continues to perform card stunts and exhort the Bears. The band has much the same look and —thankfully — still plays those spirit songs we all love and know by heart. Their halftime shows remain worth the price of admission.
But, to turn a phrase, the more things stay the same, the more they change. While Cal still sports blue and gold uniforms and helmets now come in an array of styles including occasionally wearing gold as a dominant color (old fogies such as myself point out that our colors are blue and gold, not gold and blue.) There was even a case of white storm trooper like helmets. Utterly blasphemous.
Variety and inventiveness in the cheers, chants and taunts by the student section has all but vanished. There are virtually no organized taunts directed at opposing student sections. Most cheers and chants are generic. No imagination. I wish I could offer you examples of different yells I heard from the student section as a lad. Maybe someone out there recalls some. I do know that the student section used to count off the yardage when Cal was assessed a penalty and when the ball was placed yell at the ref, “you bastard!” Wouldn’t do these days when ears are more sensitive. Still one is glad that “Roll on You Bears” is alive and well, if on a few occasions misused.
One of the biggest changes from when I was a kid (and dinosaurs roamed the Earth) is the scoreboard. It’s hard to imagine we used to have to do without replays. On the flip side it’s hard to imagine that I went to games before the incessant noise that is in-game advertising. It is relentless and it aided by another big difference between then and now — constant and interminable breaks in the action. Hardly any game was televised in my youth and even those that were did not require constant breaks and such long ones at that. Games used to finish in well under two and half hours although some of that has to do with the fact that there was less passing. Games are also slowed down by reviews of plays. Getting the call right is nice and has improved the quality of the game, but goodness they do eat up time.
Some of the lengthy timeouts are still filled by the wonderful sound of the Cal band or the cacophony of opposing bands. This is nice. It is also nice when other Cal teams are introduced as a promo for their coming season or to recognize recent accomplishments. It’s nice to have an alum who has done well introduced too. Not so nice is having to meet some corporate bigwig who’s company spread some cash Cal’s way for promotional considerations.
I also could do without the piped in rock music that blasts our ears before the game and sometimes during timeouts. The band is sufficient for music. Can we not be allowed a few moments of quiet when we don’t have to yell to be heard by the people we are chatting with? It’s so bad it often overlaps with the PA announcer and worse it doesn’t allow the student section to build up momentum making noise before the snap on third down.
I also have mixed emotions about the fun and games that sometime take place during time outs. I may be in a minority on this one but I’ve had my fill of the cute little kiddies and the Golden Bear Growl. I love children (to the extent that I sired a couple) but find the exercise a bit tedious and overdone. Also watching some yokel try to kick a fifty-yard field goal in order to win a king’s ransom is not my idea of a good time. Last Saturday fans voted on preferences in three category raising one finger for Michael Jordan, two for LeBron James, one for the Giants, two for the A’s etc. What the hell was the point of that and where was the entertainment value? Nonsense.
The single best thing about Cal football when I was a child is that you knew BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED when every game was going to start and they usually all started at the same time — in the early afternoon. None of this bullshit of game times not being announced until two weeks or even a week before a game. This is not conducive to those people who have other aspects to their lives besides Cal football, or just want to plan their game day experience. Also there were no night games when I was young. An occasional one is okay but I can say anecdotally that we lose a lot of fans to seven o’clock or later starts. Mostly our youngest and oldest ones. This whole issue boils my blood. No other sport does this to the extent that college football does and I say screw the bastards who can’t commit to setting game times (here come all caps again) BEFORE THE SEASON STARTS. It’s another example of how TV takes precedent over the fans who actually sit in the stadium.
Fans are, of course, the same hearty lot. However there was much less Cal gear sold when I was a child and no replica jerseys. Also, for some reason people were less likely to wear a cap to a game, those sitting in the sun had to shade their eyes with their hands. Fans are more sober than in the old days it being infinitely more difficult to smuggle spirits in. Ironically the increased sobriety remains even after they began selling beer in the stadium. During my teens and twenties there was often the smell of a marijuana wafting through the stadium. Not so much today. Speaking of smoking, thankfully there are no people puffing on tobacco these days.
I’ve never been one to spend time or money at concession stands, choosing to dine just before games and then bring my own snack, that being said I have to acknowledge that in-game diners have a dizzying array of foods to chose from compared to in my youth. Then it was pretty much cokes, orange sodas hot dogs and malts.
One treat I miss from my youth is the opportunity to prance around on the field after games. Many young ‘uns would bring a ball and toss it around post game. Just being on the field where are heroes only recently trod was a thrill. Of course allowing fans to access the field had practical purposes as well. If you sat in the north end but lived or parked nearer the south end (or vice versa), it was much faster crossing the field than going around the stadium. It also cut down on foot traffic congestion outside the stadium.
Oddly, in the Sixties no one brought their phones to games (these were the dark ages when people interacted face-to-face). The downside was we couldn’t check scores of other games. Smart phones allow one to constantly keep track of rival’s games or other games of interest. It’s also made it a whole lot easier to take photos. Few people brought cameras to games in days of yore. Then again I note people out of the corner of my eye staring at their phones while the ball is in play. What’s their deal?
One of the great conveniences of the modern age is being able to go home to your computer and immediately find all the game’s highlights and statistics and visit message boards where you can discuss the game and read other fans’ reactions. (Actually you can do a lot of that with your smartphone before you even leave the stadium). In the dark ages we had to turn on the TV and wait until the local news came on during which we’d get highlights of maybe five or six plays and sometimes snippets from interviews with the head coach or a player. If you missed that you had to wait until the eleven o’clock news. Then the next morning and you went to the sports section of the newspaper to get stats, more quotes and a rundown of the game. If you wanted to discuss the game with others you’d better hope you had friends, family and co-workers who were fans.
I am not going to conclude by saying that I prefer the experience of my youth or that of today.* I’m glad I’ve lived in both worlds. There is a lot that I miss about the proverbial good old days (mostly the infinitely fewer time outs and the absence of so many noisy adverts). But the jeannie is not going back in that bottle. All I can do is wax nostalgic about “back in the day.” Better today to focus on the ways the experience has improved.
Note: I’ve not mentioned ticket prices which is a whole other kettle of fish. Plus it was never an issue for me. As a kid games were so cheap it was not the slightest strain on the family budget to go to anything but the Big Game — and that wasn’t all that prohibitive either. As an adult, Cal football season tickets have always merely been part of the yearly budget and the price has never gotten out of hand. Perhaps on another occasion I can look at ticket prices then and now or someone can offer to write a guest post on the topic.
*I’ve changed my mind. I wrote the first draft of this before Saturday’s game and after my most recent “game day experience” have to conclude that I much prefer the days of yore. The hell with the silly games, piped in music, ads and constant and never-ending time outs.
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