Saturday, Oct. 21 marked Cal’s annual football match against Stanford University. In addition to the game’s relatively unusual timing—a departure from a more traditional November date—this year’s Big Game Rally saw a change of venue from the Greek Theatre to Edwards Stadium, as well as a consequent absence of the evening’s customary bonfire.
Members of the event’s planning committee compensated for the loss, however, by featuring a series of fire-blasting machines and a finale of blue and gold fireworks. Appearances by guest speakers such as members of the legendary play against Stanford in 1982 provided a larger and entertaining context for the impending game, and performances by student groups like the Golden Overtones and the UC Men’s Octet sustained a high volume of student energy.
Such spirit carried over into the noon commencement of the match, where the blue and gold-clad student section led the mass of Berkeley fans in Memorial Stadium in cheering for the resident team. Though a series of errors and fumbled mistakes on the part of the Golden Bears largely prevented them from taking back the axe—resulting in a score of 3-21—the vivacity of the various stadium-wide chants, the crowd-pleasing appearance by Cal Band, and the overall shared spirit and pride in the school provided a thoroughly enjoyable game day, succeeding in the end where our team, perhaps, did not.
But there’s always next year.
Image Source:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/20/uc-berkeley-stanford-_n_1992737…