The Big Game
The Stanford/Cal game was this weekend, my first Big Game as a Cal student. Several weeks ago, my German friend Bonnie mentioned that she wanted to come to a football game, to help develop her American side. Teddy (who took most of the pictures below) came along too, a faithful Cal alumnus, looking like an excited 12 year old with his Cal hat and the football he carried around all day. Sandy completed the rag-tag crew of football fans.
Cal won in a rout, 37-16. I did my best to explain the intricacies of American football to Bonnie; her favorite player was the Cal kicker, Giorgio Tavecchio. He's an Italian soccer player who was all set to play soccer at UC Davis, only to be snatched away by the Berkeley football team. His parents must be so confused.
Best part of the game: as we were leaving the stadium, we passed underneath the Cal locker rooms, which were on the second floor. The players had opened up the windows on the balcony and were tossing down their arm bands, signing their t-shirts, and throwing all sorts of sweaty articles of clothing. One guy threw down his cleats and it was all over - every 18-22 year old hero/postadolescent on the team wanted a piece of the action. Size-17 cleats were raining down like cats and dogs. Sandy and Bonnie made us leave before we could catch any articles of clothing, probably for the best. My hand/eye coordination isn't so great.
Came back to my place and several more people showed up for crabs, tempura, and sake. I love California.