I can't say for sure it's getting worse, but it's definitely not getting better. All the garbage that has sprouted over the past few years was on display Saturday night.
--The (obnoxiously loud) piped-in music. I hate this in general, I think it's abominable to hear at a college football game. I think that except for moments where the band cannot play (because for instance they are preparing to take the field), there should be no piped in music when you have the great Cal band available. Which brings me to...
--The Cal band continues to be muzzled. In some instances, whole timeouts came and went without the Cal band playing even once. The tiny band that Texas brought played at least twice as often, which was dismal. To those in the athletic department who are responsible for this sad devolution, I'll see you in hell.
--Speaking of the band, they used to tour the stadium in a small group during the game to serenade each section of the Cal crowd. Why was this discontinued?
--The stupid on-field promotions/activities. For a stretch to begin the game, I was pleasantly surprised to see there were none. Then the invasion began. I can't decide which I enjoyed least: the dancers (and the 100 decibel piped in garbage that accompanied them), the bowling pins (which featured what I can only assume was an actual drunk Oski shooting water everywhere...), or the Pepsi T-Shirt Toss which was allowed to interrupt the Cal band playing Big C following the missed Texas FG in the 3rd. To my shock and horror, the Cal band simply stopped mid-song.
--The stadium announcer. Nothing against Gary Williams personally, but I do not like his style. The previous guy, Eddy Kleinhans, was great. He had a steady and powerful intonation, and a consistent method of announcing the result of a play. "Number four Jahvid Best on the carry to the eleven yard line. Tackled by number forty-four, John Smith. A gain of seven yards on the play; Third And Three." And when Cal scored a TD, he made it sound like a rapturous event while still keeping the same consistent style. "Number thirty-four Shane Vereen sixty-one yards for the GOLDEN BEAR TOUCHDOWN!" I just wish the current announcer would focus a little harder on getting all the pertinent information out quickly and accurately, and would substitute some passion and disciplined form for the whimsy he injects into his announcing.
--That inflatable Oski on the East side of the stadium above the student section is ghastly.
--Can't they get a less distracting ad to put on the long display board underneath the student section than that bright, multi colored (with a lot of red!!) superhero game ad? Maybe even something with mostly blue and gold in it? They need to realize, in this department the little things matter.
About the crowd: some posters in other threads had complimentary things to say about the atmosphere. Some even went as far as to say 'electric'. I don't agree. It may rank well on the scale of the Dykes era, but it's a shadow of the atmosphere from close games during the Tedford era, to say nothing of the real electric atmosphere games (2006 Oregon, 2007 Tennessee). Part of this was the small Cal crowd--maybe 30k (tops) Cal fans in attendance. Attendance has been poor throughout the Dykes era. Part of that is the team hasn't been very good, but I think part of it may also be connected to complaints like those above. For each of my complaints above, I know not everyone agrees with my preferences in regards to elements of the game day experience, but I know a lot who do. Moreover, I know some people who care a lot--for whom Cal football really isn't about the never ending ambition to become a dominant program but instead is just about this event they somehow came to love. For those people, things like the band, the piped-in music and the announcer aren't mere trivialities, but essential elements which when poorly changed threaten the entire event.
Attendance is only part of the problem though. The other part is the tepid response of the crowd to situations where they need to make noise. Tedford occasionally commented on the crowd needing to be louder, but I don't think I've ever seen crowds less engaged under any coach before Dykes. This is because of the defense. Most of the noise produced by the crowd is and should be while the defense is on the field. Both make plays worth applauding and celebrating, but the defense is where fans are supposed to let loose pre-snap, both to fire the D up and to disrupt the communication of the opposing offense. And nothing beats the roar of the crowd after a big defensive stop, particularly when punctuated by a sack or turnover. When your defense is a total joke, it's hard to maintain any crowd participation. It's not a coincidence that the crowd really started to pick up in the 3rd qtr, and from then on sustained the best crowd participation I've seen the entire Dykes era. There was a "GO...BEARS" chant in the 4th that was fantastic, one of the best I've ever seen. The D made play after play, shockingly dominating the game in the second half, and was rewarded by the crowd with intense demonstrations.
One last word about the crowd: those who ever think it's a good idea to move the student section are making an absurd misjudgment. I heard Texas fans comment about how impressive our student section is (and until the 2nd half, they were actually pretty lame despite being 100% full). Yes, those games where the section is 30% (or occasionally even more) empty are disappointing, but they are where the vast majority of the energy in the crowd is located every single game. If you took them out, Memorial would be a mausoleum. I've been to a bunch of games at various stadiums (including Texas last year) and none of those have a student section that matches ours. They belong front and center.
--The (obnoxiously loud) piped-in music. I hate this in general, I think it's abominable to hear at a college football game. I think that except for moments where the band cannot play (because for instance they are preparing to take the field), there should be no piped in music when you have the great Cal band available. Which brings me to...
--The Cal band continues to be muzzled. In some instances, whole timeouts came and went without the Cal band playing even once. The tiny band that Texas brought played at least twice as often, which was dismal. To those in the athletic department who are responsible for this sad devolution, I'll see you in hell.
--Speaking of the band, they used to tour the stadium in a small group during the game to serenade each section of the Cal crowd. Why was this discontinued?
--The stupid on-field promotions/activities. For a stretch to begin the game, I was pleasantly surprised to see there were none. Then the invasion began. I can't decide which I enjoyed least: the dancers (and the 100 decibel piped in garbage that accompanied them), the bowling pins (which featured what I can only assume was an actual drunk Oski shooting water everywhere...), or the Pepsi T-Shirt Toss which was allowed to interrupt the Cal band playing Big C following the missed Texas FG in the 3rd. To my shock and horror, the Cal band simply stopped mid-song.
--The stadium announcer. Nothing against Gary Williams personally, but I do not like his style. The previous guy, Eddy Kleinhans, was great. He had a steady and powerful intonation, and a consistent method of announcing the result of a play. "Number four Jahvid Best on the carry to the eleven yard line. Tackled by number forty-four, John Smith. A gain of seven yards on the play; Third And Three." And when Cal scored a TD, he made it sound like a rapturous event while still keeping the same consistent style. "Number thirty-four Shane Vereen sixty-one yards for the GOLDEN BEAR TOUCHDOWN!" I just wish the current announcer would focus a little harder on getting all the pertinent information out quickly and accurately, and would substitute some passion and disciplined form for the whimsy he injects into his announcing.
--That inflatable Oski on the East side of the stadium above the student section is ghastly.
--Can't they get a less distracting ad to put on the long display board underneath the student section than that bright, multi colored (with a lot of red!!) superhero game ad? Maybe even something with mostly blue and gold in it? They need to realize, in this department the little things matter.
About the crowd: some posters in other threads had complimentary things to say about the atmosphere. Some even went as far as to say 'electric'. I don't agree. It may rank well on the scale of the Dykes era, but it's a shadow of the atmosphere from close games during the Tedford era, to say nothing of the real electric atmosphere games (2006 Oregon, 2007 Tennessee). Part of this was the small Cal crowd--maybe 30k (tops) Cal fans in attendance. Attendance has been poor throughout the Dykes era. Part of that is the team hasn't been very good, but I think part of it may also be connected to complaints like those above. For each of my complaints above, I know not everyone agrees with my preferences in regards to elements of the game day experience, but I know a lot who do. Moreover, I know some people who care a lot--for whom Cal football really isn't about the never ending ambition to become a dominant program but instead is just about this event they somehow came to love. For those people, things like the band, the piped-in music and the announcer aren't mere trivialities, but essential elements which when poorly changed threaten the entire event.
Attendance is only part of the problem though. The other part is the tepid response of the crowd to situations where they need to make noise. Tedford occasionally commented on the crowd needing to be louder, but I don't think I've ever seen crowds less engaged under any coach before Dykes. This is because of the defense. Most of the noise produced by the crowd is and should be while the defense is on the field. Both make plays worth applauding and celebrating, but the defense is where fans are supposed to let loose pre-snap, both to fire the D up and to disrupt the communication of the opposing offense. And nothing beats the roar of the crowd after a big defensive stop, particularly when punctuated by a sack or turnover. When your defense is a total joke, it's hard to maintain any crowd participation. It's not a coincidence that the crowd really started to pick up in the 3rd qtr, and from then on sustained the best crowd participation I've seen the entire Dykes era. There was a "GO...BEARS" chant in the 4th that was fantastic, one of the best I've ever seen. The D made play after play, shockingly dominating the game in the second half, and was rewarded by the crowd with intense demonstrations.
One last word about the crowd: those who ever think it's a good idea to move the student section are making an absurd misjudgment. I heard Texas fans comment about how impressive our student section is (and until the 2nd half, they were actually pretty lame despite being 100% full). Yes, those games where the section is 30% (or occasionally even more) empty are disappointing, but they are where the vast majority of the energy in the crowd is located every single game. If you took them out, Memorial would be a mausoleum. I've been to a bunch of games at various stadiums (including Texas last year) and none of those have a student section that matches ours. They belong front and center.
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