This is the 2nd part in the narrative of the Cal FanFest 2007.  Please read the earlier portions first to be up to date.

Words.Cannot.Describe I 

As we got to the front of the line, a gentleman there said that the line was for entering the field.  And that the field wouldn’t be open for another 10 minutes.  And that you could easily just walk right in if you had no interest in entering the field.  And you could easily enter the field from the stands when they opened the gates.  So, basically, there was no reason to wait in the line, because you could just walk into the stadium, get down by the field, and walk in a lot quicker than if you were in line.  But because we are all sheep, we just up and waited in line.

No matter, we walked in and went into the stands.  There was thought of getting the free burritos, but there was a line for those and we felt that we’d miss out on getting to run onto the field at first chance.  So, we got down right by the field and watched the players start to trickle out.  At first, it was some players I didn’t really recognize.

Although then that running back Vereen came down.

And Don Cheadle showed up.

It was kind of a process of elimination.  Players that people didn’t really know well were easily able walk down without getting hounded for autographs.  Which makes me sad that this guy made it down so quick:

But then, yknow, I saw Forsett walk out and just get mobbed.   This is either Kyle Reed or DJ Campell, but either way he looks 45:

And then, all of a sudden, the big guns started coming down.  Beginning with the biggest gun of them all, DeSean Jackson.  To avoid the mugging or just because he has a giant ego (or a little from column a and a little from column b), he had a posse of security guards. 

HE WALKED RIGHT BY ME ON THE WAY DOWN.  UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!  TO HELP HIM, I EVEN YELLED "MAKE A HOLE" IN CLASSIC BAND FASHION.  

ICE!

After DeSean headed down the field, Nate came out.  If it had been the other way, I think I woulda been "OH MY SCIENCE, NATE LONGSHORE!"  Instead I was like "That’s not DeSean at all!" He also has grown his hair out and looks vaguely like a hobo.  I half-expected him to have all his possessions in a bindle over his shoulder.  Oh well. 

And now and only now did the day actually begin.  They opened the gates to the field and the mad dash to get to Nate and DeSean began.  I will detail that in the next installment as I attempt to describe, using words, what words.cannot.describe.  GO BEARS!!!

Saturday, August 25, 2007, which is either today or yesterday depending on when I can get this finished, was one of the greatest days of my life.  I have never been at the birth of a child nor walked on the moon.  Never even had a kid on the moon.  I can only assume those things pale in comparison to the incomprehensible joy that was the Cal FanFest.  I was like a kid in a candy shop.  "There’s DeSean!  No, there’s DeCoud!  Wait, DeSa, too!" 

And it wasn’t just players with the letters D and e in their names.  Many other letters were involved too.  Such as Jeff and, to an equal extent, Tedford.  Yes, that’s right.  Our Lord and Saviour, Coach Tedford.  When I was in the band, I had some opportunities to be near the man.  At the Cal v. UDub b-ball game, I was able to also be near him.  But I’ve never had an opportunity to actually converse with the man. Today was that date.  August 25, 2007, the day I spoke with Lord Tedford.  

But that is for the future.  There is a narrative to this tale of ours.  And like all narratives, it should start in the beginning.  The start to this day doesn’t even start at the stadium.  It starts before the stadium.  With our good friend Runnie Dub.  Now with braids!

"Yellow pants are SO hot right now!" 

I was busy making my way to the stadium, so I didn’t get a chance to stop and talk with R to the Dub.  He was also on the phone and judging from the facial expression above, paranoid about me stealing his yellow pants.  But I did notice that there were a lot of chalk drawings around the region.  

This one says Save The Oaks Tree Sit and then gives the days that they have been doing it.

That one says "Native American Sacred Space," which refers to the report from 1920s that claimed a dead body was found there with a Mexican coin.  Although the report was vague, the Save The Oaks people said it proved there was a Native American Burial ground there.  This claim, along with the claim that the oaks were old growth, has eroded people’s confidence and trust in the Save The Oaks’ peoples beliefs and tactics.

The Save The Oaks people have also seemingly started diluting their message.  To wit:

This one says "No Tree Cutting Allowed" with some stuff thrown in about alcohol.  It’s odd, because the only people cutting the trees are the Save The Oaks people.  They were "pruning" (R-Dub’s words) them earlier this year to make it more comfortable to stay up there.  So far, the only damage to the Oaks have come from the very people claiming to be saving them.  How ironic.  Just like when the cat burgler was caught by the very people trying to catch him!

Also, these drawings are even less related:

That last one there is a bit tough to see, but it basically says that a successful football team won’t solve the problem of global warming but trees will.  I don’t see how driving or global warming really relate to the controversary here.  The oak trees by the stadium might have a minimal effect on stopping global warming, but I doubt they really make much of a difference.  Just another reason why the Save The Oaks’ people political capital has disintigrated.  

So, after that joyful adventure through a magical non-logic land, I finally made it up to the stadium.  There was a long line, but I thankfully saw some old friends from band to cut with.  You can see how the line stretches off into the distance.

While waiting in line, I saw the people from the www.BerkeleyansforCal.com website collecting signatures for a pro-stadium petition.

It is good to see that after all the disinformation out there about the stadium project, finally there is a reaction by the Cal side.  I hope it is successful.  I joked with one of the gentlemen there collecting signatures that I was concerned about how the stadium project might affect my current *free* room and board in a bunch of oak trees near the stadium.  And I remarked about how many of my Native American ancestors had used to live there before dying and being buried.  Clearly, spirits were high.

And thus it was as we made our way to the front.  This software caps the length of posts, so I am goign to split it up.  I will try to get the next installment up either tonight or tomorrow morning.  This one involves DeSean Jackson literally walking 1 foot away from me.  Photographic proof will follow.  GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Continuing on with the Pac-10 roundtable discussions, today’s focus is Oregon State.

YellowFever: Does anyone know how to pronounce Yvenson?  What kind of parents name their kid Yvenson?  That’s boggled my mind for years.  Incredible name aside, he’s a pretty good player.  It’s hard for me to come to terms with the fact that Oregon State won 10 games last year, because they’ve been a relative doormat for quite some time, finishing 10-4 last year after going 5-6, 7-5, and 8-5 the previous three years.   Maybe it’s not an outright shock that they would win a few more games, but it was surprising nonetheless.  On offense, they’ve got the aforementioned Bernard as a foundation, but with the graduation of Matt Moore they’re looking for a new QB.  And their leading returning receiver, Sammie Stroughter, has left the team indefinitely to deal with some personal matters.  So while the offense might look a little shaky at the beginning of the year breaking in a new QB and learning to live for a while without their number one receiver, they’ll still have Bernard to give the rock to.

TwistNHook: I’ve been waiting for this game for two years now!  OSU 05 was perhaps the most brutal loss in recent Cal memory.  Sure, Tenn 06 and USC 05 were humiliating blowouts, but I felt Cal was a much better team than OSU in 05.  Yet, with Marshawn benched for an entire half due to a fumbling problem and Joe Ayoob our QB, the offense mustered NOTHING.  IIRC, we lost 20-23.  So close!  Cal could barely get anything going in the 2nd half. OSU’s punter kept putting the Cal offense behind the 10, I felt like Cal spent the entire day trying to reach their own 20 yard line and failing.

Last year I was stunned when they defeated USC, because we had handled them so well earlier in the year.  They were a surprise team last year and I think they could have another good year this year.  Similar to ASU, they have frontloaded their schedule with home games.  4 in the first 6 weeks. This could lead them to early season success and, again similar to ASU, a national ranking.

But then look at the last 6 games.  They only have 2 home games, Stanford and UDub.  Two worst teams in the Pac-10 IMHO, so that’s not doing them any favors.  Road, home, they’d probably win.  Cal, USC, Wazzu, and Oregon are the 4 road games in the last 6 games.  Two of the best teams in the Pac10, a pretty good Wazzu team and a Oregon team that hopes to recapture the hype from last year.  Could be tough.

I see their season perhaps being like ASU’s.  Early season success with maybe some rough patches down the stretch.  They do have to replace their QB, but have a pretty good D with apparently some of the best LBs in the Pac10.

HydroTech: I’ve been getting super high off of OSU for the past month, but now with the loss of Sammie Stroughter I’m having my doubts.  They had a very talented one-two punch with Stroughter and Bernard, but now they only have a one punch.  Still, I think they’ll make for very formidable competition in the Pac and might be the catalyst that shakes up the standings.

YellowFever, you bring up the good point that OSU won 10 games last year but yet it seems as if nobody remembers.  They might have had the quietest 10 win season of all time!  Actually, despite the fact that they beat U$C, I think most people still forgot about them because they started off the season with a mediocre record.  They KOed the cupcakes on their sked, but then proceeded to get walloped by Boise St. and Cal.  Also, 4 out of their 10 wins last year were decided by 3 points or less.  Talk about cutting in close!  Clutch or luck?  I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and go with clutch but if they want to make a bigger blip on the national radar then they gotta start blowing up the competition.  While margin-of-victory is no longer a component in the BCS, it still is (whether unconsciously or consciously) for the human voters.

And how boring in their non-conference schedule this year!  Utah, Cincy, and Idaho St.!  I mean, I guess Utah is okay, but I think people give Utah too much benefit of the doubt just because Urban Meyer used to coach there, but Cincy and Idaho St.!  It’s bad enough to play Idaho, but Idaho St.!  I’m not sure that should even count as a win.

Which brings up the point of playing non D1-A schools.  I hate it when teams do that.  I hated it when Cal played Sacramento St. (for obvious injury reasons), and hated it when we had to play Portland St.  It’s just not fair to all the other teams in the national that play all D1-A opponents (no matter how crappy they may be) to play an even crappier non D1-A team.  I say, wins against non D1-A teams shouldn’t count for your win total, but should count as losses if you lose.  Cuz if you’re bad enough to lose to a non D1-A team (cough, cough, Stanfurd) you deserve that big L, lots of shame, and consideration for eviction from your conference. 

I want to see OSU play LSU again.  Even though Alex Serna might have single handedly lost the game for the Beavers a few years ago, that kid is money now. 

YellowFever: Did you know Oregon State had 47 sacks last year?  That was good enough for third in the country, and first in the Pac-10.  Their defense otherwise came in solidly in the middle of the pack, ranking sixth in the conference in total defense and fifth in scoring defense.  The expectation seems to be that with most of the parts returning from this mediocre defense (they would have ranked 59th in the country in yards allowed, and 54th in scoring defense) they’ll improve even more, and I can’t say that I disagree.  I’m just not feeling their offense if they lose Stroughter, along with the fact that they’ll have a new QB for the first time in two years.

I’ve got Oregon State at seventh in the Pac-10 - hey, someone’s got to disappoint this year, and a team without their All-Pac-10 wideout and their starting QB from the last two years seems as good an option as any.

HydroTech: 47 sacks!!!  Can anyone say "max protect"?  With that many sacks, how did they only finish in the middle of the Pac for total defense?  I guess as soon as they take away yardage from the offense they feel guilty and just give it right back.

I’m going to have to disagree with you, YellowFever.  I think OSU will continue to surprise even without Straughter.  I have them finishing at #3 in the Pac due to their proficiency in sacking the QB and Yvenson.  Book it.  After U$C and Cal, the team to beat is Oregon State.

TwistNHook: This is something I was going to bring up when the time came to discuss UCLA.  But if OSU (and UCLA) is as blitz blitz blitz as their numbers suggest, then I think Cal has just the right offense to deal with that. Lotsa talent at WR, good pass-catching RBs.  Weapons that can quickly receive the ball.  I hope we screen the F out of them.

And other teams might have a similar mindset when dealing with these uber-aggressive Ds.  That might explain how they’d have so many sacks, but not have a really effective defense.

I also have them high this year.  I think most people have UCLA at #3, but I think thats based mostly off of the USC game from last year.  But we can talk about that later.  But with UCLA knocked down a bit, that moves OSU
up.

Though now with the loss of Straughter, I’m a bit as hesitant.  But nobody else really jumps out at me this year, so why not put them high?  I still think that they’ll do well this year.

YellowFever: I think there’s a perfectly good argument to be made for Oregon State building upon what they did last year, but you never know what’s going to happen with a new QB, especially when a team’s most reliable wide receiver isn’t there any more either.  And god dammit, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

TwistNHook:  I guess the real question is how will OSU respond to losing their QB and #1 wideout.  That can make or break a team, but with an easy early schedule to work it all in together, that might make the transition a lot easier.

The Ballots

In the order of: HydroTech, Ragnarok, TwistNHook, Yellow Fever
1.
2.
3. OSU, __, OSU, UO
4. __, OSU, __, __
5. UO, ASU, __, ASU
6. __,   UO, UO,  __
7. ASU, UA, UA, OSU
8. UA,  __, ASU, UA
9.
10.