We've got our Saturday routine fairly well set around our household. Determine which local team is playing, make sure we have tickets, and go. That's it. All spring and summer long, we took a trip up 880 to see the A's, and now as we've turned to fall, and the days are shorter and more crisp, our allegiances have migrated to Cal football, and we are very lucky to be taking in one of the very best football seasons Cal has turned in for the last several decades.Today, we made the trek to Memorial Stadium to see the 10th ranked Cal Bears do battle with the UCLA Bruins from Los Angeles, in an attempt to win their 8th straight, and to sneak further up the national rankings and all-important BCS chart. It turns out that our plan was quite popular, as more than 72,500 fans made their way to Berkeley, for yet another sellout, and yet another good game.
Cal got on the board first, early in the 1st quarter, tallying a touchdown, and leading 7-0. UCLA struck back with a touchdown of their own to tie, and they hung around through halftime, as the teams headed to the locker room with Cal up only 14-10, in a game where they were expected to win by double digits - quite the change from years past, when Cal would have been the decided underdog to their UC brethren from Southern Cal.
As the teams returned to the field, Cal wanted no part of a close game, scoring twice in the third quarter to extend their lead to 28-10, and despite a pair of late touchdowns by the Bruins, Cal went on to win the game by a final margin of 38-24, marking the first time in more than 50 years that the Bears had won eight straight contests, and keeping the team a full game ahead of USC in the Pac Ten conference standings. With the USC Trojans waxing the hapless, winless, Stanford Cardinal 42-0 in Palo Alto, the scene is set for Cal to do battle in Pasadena in two weeks, after taking on the Arizona Wildcats this upcoming Saturday.
So, now as Saturday has drawn to a close, and the cannon's booming becoming only an echo in our memory, our voices hoarse from shouting, and stomach full from ballpark food, we know we've done our parts as sports fans today - and we're happy to have played this role for such a deserving squad.
Listening to ''Praise You'', by Fatboy Slim (Play Count: 7)