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An emotional & possibly self-indulgent thread about what today means to me if y’all will permit me: There are few things in life more important to me than @CalFootball. In some ways my love for & obsession w Cal football defines me...
...The struggle, the pain, the occasional joy. It usually hurts. Badly. But, despite the hurt I come back. Always. I never quit. It also connects me w my mom. It’s OUR thing. And today is the biggest day of the year for the thing I love most. Today is the 123rd Big Game...
...Today Cal plays their evil, morally bankrupt, wretched, elitist, most hated rival, Stanford, for the 123rd time. Nothing matters more to me & I was there - 34 times in a row...until last year...
...2 years ago was going to be my first miss. The Big Game was scheduled for Nov. 17th but the Lakers were in Orlando that night. I was devastated, but I had known for months that I’d miss it. It didn’t make it any easier...
...We had an early morning flight from LA to Orlando on the 16th & as I feverishly refreshed my phone for news, I learned that due to the poor air quality, the game had been postponed to Dec. 1st & we were off of that road & there was no home game that night...
...My streak could live! I cried in my seat for the rest of the flight, hoping nobody would notice. Cal lost, of course, their 9th in a row to Stanford, but I was there, like I always am...
...Last year we were in Memphis and there was no was such postponement luck. I was going to miss my first Big Game in 35 years. The game started at 3pm Central so the plan was find a sports bar to watch the first half then come back to the hotel to hop on the bus to the arena...
...Spent a good portion of the morning calling around Memphis (
@robincarlin w the assist) to find a sports bar w/ PAC-12 Network. Nothing. Plan changed to watching on my phone in my room. The WiFi wasn’t great, neither was Cal...
@robincarlin w the assist) to find a sports bar w/ PAC-12 Network. Nothing. Plan changed to watching on my phone in my room. The WiFi wasn’t great, neither was Cal...
...By the time I got to the arena, it looked bleak. I watched on my phone in the Media Room, but couldn’t eat the Gus’ Fried Chicken we always get. Too much nervous energy...
...So I walked out on the floor to watch w @RealJasonKidd. The momentum changed. Cal scored...got a stop...and w 1:19 left, scored again. We screamed at each other. This was one of those rare joy moments. Then Cal got a stop on 4th Down. The game was over Cal had won...
I texted my mom. Then I called her. Then I lost it. I had to excuse myself to go sit in a quiet hallway and I wept. My Bears had done it, but I had missed it. I felt like I had let them down. It was the most bitter sweet moment of my life...
...Today will be the 2nd Big Game in a row I’ve missed. It hurts. I also haven’t seen moms in 10 months. That hurts more...
...Next year, at the 124th Big Game, I want to do the thing I love most w the person I love most, so please, everybody stay safe out there, wear a mask, socially distance, wash your hands, stay out of groups, all that...
...And as always, #GoBears #BeatStanford
