My First Game Day

I woke up that Saturday morning with a smile on my face. It wasn’t just any Saturday. It was Game Day.

So I hopped out of bed, threw on some Cal gear, and was on my way.

I was brimming with excitement! It was Cal’s first home football game of the year and my first college game as a Bear. Even though I wouldn’t be able to see our team play at our home stadium because it’s under construction, I was eager to see the game played at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Thankfully, a round-trip BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) pass was included in my student ticket, so I made my way to the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

Hordes of students and fans alike boarded the train to San Francisco, singing Cal’s fight songs like “Fight for California” and “Big C.”  A sense of pride and school spirit hung over everyone. We were raring to go see our team play!

We got off at the Embarcadero stop and headed towards AT&T Park by foot.  Inside the park, San Francisco Giants posters looked down at us as the smell of garlic fries wafted through the air.  Since the SF Giants are still in season, the yard lines were painted over the baseball diamond.

Despite arriving before kick-off, the student section was already full.  No one wanted to miss our first home game of the season.  My friends and I were able to grab seats behind the Cal band as we waited for the pregame show to begin.

Once the band started playing, the crowd went crazy!  You could feel the sense of pride and excitement in the air.  I knew it was going to be a good game.

We were playing Presbyterian College, a small school in South Carolina, and we were expected to win.

Once the game started, I soon learned that you had to stand on top of the bleachers to see anything. No one in the student section sits during the game.

Touchdown after touchdown, I cheered for my team and high-fived the people around me. We ended up beating Presbyterian 63-12!

When the game was over, I looked around and saw some familiar faces.  But then I realized, it didn’t matter who I knew. We were all wearing blue and gold. We were all Cal Bears. 
 
My first Cal football game has been one of the most fun experiences I’ve had at Cal to date! I cannot wait for our homecoming game against USC on October 13.
 
This blog post was written in honor of She’s The First: a not-for-profit that sponsors girls’ education in the developing world by helping them be the first in their families to graduate. Want to be a part of She’s the First? Join the thousands of students & young professionals baking & selling tie-dye cupcakes to fundraise for girls’ sponsorships. Change their lives, one cupcake at a time!
Visit their website here to register and host bake-offs!