Just to add further context, from someone close to the student section.
1) There are two types of card stunts. The rolling card stunt (which many of you are familiar with that is done at halftime), and the standing card stunt (where cards are set out pregame for a nice chill pregame image, then not used the rest of the game.
San Diego State was meant to be a standing card game, to be used pregame and then removed in-game. Rolling card stunts are used for mostly Stanford and Homecoming.
However some students did not return the cards. I'm guessing we will need to go back to the drawing board and stop doing standing cards until we figure out a better way to gather these cards.
2) The Memorial Stadium PA system (a major issue for me) is not very good on the east side of the stadium, and particularly in the student section. So all of the warnings were very hard to make out on the periphery of the student section. I can only imagine it being worse in that crowd. Justin Wilcox's request was very muffled on our side of the field. I believe someone else from the team did come by and give a more direct plea. But we need to fix the audio on the east side.
3) Moving the away section behind the students is the right football call, but imo Rally Comm needed to pre-plan better for what that would mean regarding card stunts. If you're going to have cards all students attending the game need to be notified about what to do with them, how to handle them, and WARN THEM that doing any shenanigans with them will cost the football team. I think it might be too late for this year, but if they want to bring them back this will need to be an integral part of student football onboarding.
There does not seem to be a good enough level of communication regarding how to educate students on what the card stunts are for, and their execution has been lacking in recent years. I think we need to go back to the drawing board, focus on maybe one event every so often (Stanford or Homecoming), and just nix it for the time being until they've worked everything out.
Not sure if this is in the realm of the possible, but how about an app for students phones that can be held up and synced for messaging, yells, music, or more? An example that comes to mind is the Glow Hat Disney implements at the California Adventure water show. The difference here is using the phones, which, I am pretty sure, students won't throw, unless it belongs to someone else. .
Fun Fact: It was a thing for us to throw the cards back in the 70s, so, uh, either teaching and discipline or accepting human nature or both. Damned nerds are out of control! LOL
In my day (1975-1971) everyone threw the cards skyward after our last stunt. The cards stayed on the floor and presumably were collected by rally calm after the game. Nothing thrown onto the field except water balloons and misc. items launched at the furd band via surgical tubing sling shots. But of course furd band was/is an infraction itself.
No one is talking about the effect of this being a night game. Frat parties started early afternoon. Throngs of inebriated students and cards all over the student section are not a good combination. This drunkenness is amplified for a night game. There are inevitably going to be some students, more so at night, not handling their liquor well/doing stupid things. Don’t plan card stunts for night games, I would suggest.
Also I remember when we did the CMS reno that there were a bunch of press releases about how we installed this sophisticated new sound system; what happened to that?
The between play ridiculously loud "music" drowns out the PA announcements and the refs explanations of penalties, etc. PLEASE calm down that DJ who is tearing up my eardrums and never stops the incessant noise. I can't even talk to anyone seated around me without yelling.
Standing card stunts are now the default for most games because we don't always have enough students, right? In 2008-2012 or so I feel like we did a rolling card stunt just about every game.
What does this mean - "3) Moving the away section behind the students is the right football call,..."
Is this saying that moving the visiting team to the East Side is the right call? Or is it something else? Either way, I can't make heads or tails of an "away section behind the students" without context or revision.
I do not like the visitors being in front of the student section. I get trying it out, but we are going to get at least one unsportsmanlike per game if they keep it.
Based upon the events of the last game, I think you are probably right. We shall see. And it may prove the wisdom of the Pac-12 in requiring the student section to be located away from the visitor's bench.
Cal Fans: Coach Wilcox ABSOLUTELY did the right thing. If you don't think that a fifteen yard fan interference call can change a game, think again. I was at the 1990 Big Game where an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Cal fans moved the 'Furd into field goal range for the winning kick. Final score: Cal 25, Stanfurd 27. Let's make sure that never happens again.
I have had my seats in section T for 12 years and haven’t missed a home game and I can attest that at every single game cards are being thrown onto the field. It was never an issue before when Cal was in front of the student section. Players/coaches would just pick up the cards and discard them when they made it on the field. And no one was the wiser.
With the visitors now in front of the students they were pointing out every card that made it past the seats to the officials and I can’t say I blame them for it. I’m sure they felt like they were being targeted and obviously didn’t appreciate when cards would hit them. I think it is stupid that the student section does this but this is not something new.
They did move uniformed officers behind SDSU looking up at the stands and watching for people to throw things. I counted at least 8 officers. By this time people either ran out of cards to throw or finally decided to not be morons and listen to Wilcox.
It's an interesting subject. Back in 2011 when the seating chart for AT&T Park was unveiled for Cal football, I went down a rabbit hole on where student sections were located. In all of FBS, Cal and maybe three other schools (who I can't recall right now) were the only ones to have the student section at midfield. Everyone else's were either in one end zone or between a 30-yard line and the nearest end zone.
'Furd's student section wraps around the SW corner of the field from about the 10-yard line and includes most of the South End Zone.
I imagine all the other teams are doing it because all the high rollers sit there. We can't even sell half the premium seats on the west side. I'd imagine people on the west side aren't going to pay the same amount, or more, to sit in the sun on the east side.
I think you're right. Seats on the East Side are much less desirable than seats on the West Side precisely because of the exposure to the sun *and* the West Side seats are shielded by the press box.
East Side seats would have to be shaded to attract top dollar. Even then, it wouldn't have the amenities that West Side does.
Especially in light of seeing reports of other schools destroying traditions (e.g. FSU not wanting the Tomahawk chop, or Colorado playing Sanders's song instead of the fight song after his touchdowns), I love this response by Wilcox.
To be fair, the Tomahawk Chop is a bit contentious. I don't think they even got permission from the *correct* Native American tribe, but that's based off memory and I could be wrong.
Right, and they were only in Oklahoma due to the Trail of Tears -- and I'm pretty sure they don't approve of any use of Native American mascots, calling it racist and appropriative.
Any of the students who were participating and thought this was amusing are flipping idiots and selfish as hell. CAL ought to adopt a policy that anyone who knowingly throws something on the field during the game should be escorted out of the game and not allowed to return. If it happens more than once in a season then a season ban for the offender should be applied.
TKE 78 ..... But Drake University in Des Moines. I moved to CA in 1980. A friend said "wanna go to The Big Game?" I said "what's that". He explained and I said "sure". I thought I would be a furd fan. But at the game I saw that stupid band, a student section that sits on its hands and snobby alumni and immediately became a Cal fan. I have had season tickets to Cal since 1990.
Ha!! If it was a result of card stunts then maybe the student section needs to reign in the stunts a little bit, but if if was some moron doing it on purpose I don't have any sympathy for them. No, get off my f--kin lawn! ;-)
Just use colored tissue paper reinforced by thin cardboard on two sides (think scrolls) for card stunts. Tissue can only go as far as the churro wrappers. Those churros btw are yummy with hot chocolate (almost Spain-like)
can't fix what never worked. I've been going to games since the mid 70's and the PA has NEVER been understandable unless the stadium is pin drop quiet.
it’s prolly as these fuckin freshman’s. those pentalies could cost us for important games. I’m glad Wilcox said something. It’s okay to be a fan and support cal football but it’s another thing to do something stupid over and over AFTER being told to stop many times. JUST GET RID OF THOSE FUCKING CARDS. #go bears #undefeated
I’m an “old” Bear” and, as far as I know, for about 100 years (I’m not THAT old) the team sat in front of the students on the ANDY SMITH BENCH (or on benches in front of that historic bench). The student section may be one of the only left in college football actually on the 50. Students having a few pregame beers was a tradition, as was the 1:00 kick off. (I know these lousy late kickoffs give too much pre game beer time!) It worked well and, the card stunts were always about 10 minutes of halftime, then “Please pass your cards to the aisle!” Of course about half just tossed them into the air and Rally Com (I guess) picked them up after the game. Finishing stunts well before the 3rd quarter seemed to work in terms of the tossing them on the field, which wasn’t easy anyway.
It worked for about 100 years so why not move the team back to Andy Smith in front of the students and do the stunts at halftime? I’ve never heard of the band disturbing the team. Is this new? Cal was, I believe, the first school to have card stunts and one of the last to give students “premium” seats. It would be a shame to lose either tradition.
They had all day to get sauced which probably didn’t help. I’m just going off what I saw on TV but I don’t think most of them even realized the penalties were being imposed because of them until Wilcox said something. The few faces on camera looked horrified. Lesson learned hopefully, and it didn’t cost anything. If that had been Tedford, card stunts would have been banned immediately, so props to Wilcox for not overreacting.
Kinda torn here...and to give context, in my youth, cough cough, we pelted the field with all manner of stuff at times. (water balloons make excellent projectiles...who knew?!) I do not want us to get penalties of course, but I do have to say I love that the student section is full, rocking and maybe even a bit belligerent. As to the audio problems, I could have sworn we paid extra for a fancy system with the stadium upgrade...what happened?
To clarify (hedge?) a bit, the water balloons were usually saved for halftime trying to hit the opposing team's band., or that damn U$C horse that they used to bring.
Simple solution: if you throw something on the field or other propel something onto the field, you're removed from the game, your identified, and warned. Subsequent violations result in a ban for the rest of the season. Do it again the following season and you earn a lifetime ban.
You ever try to identify a single person in a crowd? Particularly a crowd that includes all his frat buddies? We’d have to go full videotape the crowd mode.
I'm all for card stunts too, but they're not actually doing them! The rally committee places the cards pregame, and even though there were plenty of students to fill out the section last night, they never did the stunts at halftime. In fact, I don't remember the last time they did them.
Yes, it's the reason Cal has been on the sunny side for eons even when it was clear it disadvantaged us (students had to be quiet a lot more, band had to play a lot less, communication with the booth was spottier, opponents in the box could read our signals better).
Just to add further context, from someone close to the student section.
1) There are two types of card stunts. The rolling card stunt (which many of you are familiar with that is done at halftime), and the standing card stunt (where cards are set out pregame for a nice chill pregame image, then not used the rest of the game.
Rolling card: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98lMDB-tWc8
Standing card: https://x.com/rallycomm/status/926882390521233408/photo/1
San Diego State was meant to be a standing card game, to be used pregame and then removed in-game. Rolling card stunts are used for mostly Stanford and Homecoming.
However some students did not return the cards. I'm guessing we will need to go back to the drawing board and stop doing standing cards until we figure out a better way to gather these cards.
2) The Memorial Stadium PA system (a major issue for me) is not very good on the east side of the stadium, and particularly in the student section. So all of the warnings were very hard to make out on the periphery of the student section. I can only imagine it being worse in that crowd. Justin Wilcox's request was very muffled on our side of the field. I believe someone else from the team did come by and give a more direct plea. But we need to fix the audio on the east side.
3) Moving the away section behind the students is the right football call, but imo Rally Comm needed to pre-plan better for what that would mean regarding card stunts. If you're going to have cards all students attending the game need to be notified about what to do with them, how to handle them, and WARN THEM that doing any shenanigans with them will cost the football team. I think it might be too late for this year, but if they want to bring them back this will need to be an integral part of student football onboarding.
There does not seem to be a good enough level of communication regarding how to educate students on what the card stunts are for, and their execution has been lacking in recent years. I think we need to go back to the drawing board, focus on maybe one event every so often (Stanford or Homecoming), and just nix it for the time being until they've worked everything out.
Not sure if this is in the realm of the possible, but how about an app for students phones that can be held up and synced for messaging, yells, music, or more? An example that comes to mind is the Glow Hat Disney implements at the California Adventure water show. The difference here is using the phones, which, I am pretty sure, students won't throw, unless it belongs to someone else. .
Fun Fact: It was a thing for us to throw the cards back in the 70s, so, uh, either teaching and discipline or accepting human nature or both. Damned nerds are out of control! LOL
Just a thought.
This might be the boomer in me, but I want fewer reasons for students to be on their phones in-game.
I get that. But, let's be honest, this is how current and foreseeable future generations engage.
In my day (1975-1971) everyone threw the cards skyward after our last stunt. The cards stayed on the floor and presumably were collected by rally calm after the game. Nothing thrown onto the field except water balloons and misc. items launched at the furd band via surgical tubing sling shots. But of course furd band was/is an infraction itself.
‘76-80.
Same.
And, yes, Furd “Band” is a blight.
'82-'86
same
Rally com
65-71
No one is talking about the effect of this being a night game. Frat parties started early afternoon. Throngs of inebriated students and cards all over the student section are not a good combination. This drunkenness is amplified for a night game. There are inevitably going to be some students, more so at night, not handling their liquor well/doing stupid things. Don’t plan card stunts for night games, I would suggest.
That's an argument for denying entry for intoxication.
Also I remember when we did the CMS reno that there were a bunch of press releases about how we installed this sophisticated new sound system; what happened to that?
The between play ridiculously loud "music" drowns out the PA announcements and the refs explanations of penalties, etc. PLEASE calm down that DJ who is tearing up my eardrums and never stops the incessant noise. I can't even talk to anyone seated around me without yelling.
Standing card stunts are now the default for most games because we don't always have enough students, right? In 2008-2012 or so I feel like we did a rolling card stunt just about every game.
Yes, we only do rolling for Stanford and Homecoming. Maybe UCLA/USC but obviously that's out the window for now.
Even when there are enough students, they don’t take them seriously and they look terrible, almost impossible to tell what is being displayed.
What does this mean - "3) Moving the away section behind the students is the right football call,..."
Is this saying that moving the visiting team to the East Side is the right call? Or is it something else? Either way, I can't make heads or tails of an "away section behind the students" without context or revision.
I do not like the visitors being in front of the student section. I get trying it out, but we are going to get at least one unsportsmanlike per game if they keep it.
Based upon the events of the last game, I think you are probably right. We shall see. And it may prove the wisdom of the Pac-12 in requiring the student section to be located away from the visitor's bench.
Imagine when Furd is there later this year.
what a shit show that will be.
That will be...interesting.
Cal Fans: Coach Wilcox ABSOLUTELY did the right thing. If you don't think that a fifteen yard fan interference call can change a game, think again. I was at the 1990 Big Game where an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Cal fans moved the 'Furd into field goal range for the winning kick. Final score: Cal 25, Stanfurd 27. Let's make sure that never happens again.
Do people realize that if it had continued repeatedly it could have ended with the officials ending the game and forfeiting the game to SD St.?
Nit to pick: the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty move the kickoff spot up 15 yards. Furd recovered the ensuing onsides kick.
It was John Belli's roughing the passer (John Paye) penalty that moved Snodfart into FG range. Damn Pat Flood.
The last 12 seconds of the 1990 Big Game are still pretty clear to me in my memory.
What a horrible, terrible, awful night that was -- because of those last 12 seconds.
I have had my seats in section T for 12 years and haven’t missed a home game and I can attest that at every single game cards are being thrown onto the field. It was never an issue before when Cal was in front of the student section. Players/coaches would just pick up the cards and discard them when they made it on the field. And no one was the wiser.
With the visitors now in front of the students they were pointing out every card that made it past the seats to the officials and I can’t say I blame them for it. I’m sure they felt like they were being targeted and obviously didn’t appreciate when cards would hit them. I think it is stupid that the student section does this but this is not something new.
They did move uniformed officers behind SDSU looking up at the stands and watching for people to throw things. I counted at least 8 officers. By this time people either ran out of cards to throw or finally decided to not be morons and listen to Wilcox.
That's an argument for moving the Student Section.
Or just taking away the ammo.
Really? You want to kill card stunts because a few jerks can't be bothered to demonstrate a modicum of restraint?
Card stunts were killed loooong before this game.
What other traditions would you like to kill while you're at it?
Apparently the student section on the 50 isn’t a tradition?
If they move the student section, Cal football is over entirely. The ONLY saving grace is that it still a mostly college experience.
It's an interesting subject. Back in 2011 when the seating chart for AT&T Park was unveiled for Cal football, I went down a rabbit hole on where student sections were located. In all of FBS, Cal and maybe three other schools (who I can't recall right now) were the only ones to have the student section at midfield. Everyone else's were either in one end zone or between a 30-yard line and the nearest end zone.
'Furd's student section wraps around the SW corner of the field from about the 10-yard line and includes most of the South End Zone.
Cal is an outlier compared to other FBS programs.
I imagine all the other teams are doing it because all the high rollers sit there. We can't even sell half the premium seats on the west side. I'd imagine people on the west side aren't going to pay the same amount, or more, to sit in the sun on the east side.
I think you're right. Seats on the East Side are much less desirable than seats on the West Side precisely because of the exposure to the sun *and* the West Side seats are shielded by the press box.
East Side seats would have to be shaded to attract top dollar. Even then, it wouldn't have the amenities that West Side does.
There was a plan for an east side renovation but it was scuttled after the debt numbers poured in.
Great point...they have likely always hit the sideline when they got tossed...utb now it's become an issue...
Especially in light of seeing reports of other schools destroying traditions (e.g. FSU not wanting the Tomahawk chop, or Colorado playing Sanders's song instead of the fight song after his touchdowns), I love this response by Wilcox.
To be fair, the Tomahawk Chop is a bit contentious. I don't think they even got permission from the *correct* Native American tribe, but that's based off memory and I could be wrong.
They got permission from the Seminole Tribe of Florida and not its much larger sibling the Seminole tribe of Oklahoma.
Right, and they were only in Oklahoma due to the Trail of Tears -- and I'm pretty sure they don't approve of any use of Native American mascots, calling it racist and appropriative.
Pretty sure it's not a Seminole tribe thing. LOL.
Any of the students who were participating and thought this was amusing are flipping idiots and selfish as hell. CAL ought to adopt a policy that anyone who knowingly throws something on the field during the game should be escorted out of the game and not allowed to return. If it happens more than once in a season then a season ban for the offender should be applied.
Get off my lawn!
TKE 78 ..... But Drake University in Des Moines. I moved to CA in 1980. A friend said "wanna go to The Big Game?" I said "what's that". He explained and I said "sure". I thought I would be a furd fan. But at the game I saw that stupid band, a student section that sits on its hands and snobby alumni and immediately became a Cal fan. I have had season tickets to Cal since 1990.
What else can I say except....
GO BEARS!
GO BEARS!
Ha!! If it was a result of card stunts then maybe the student section needs to reign in the stunts a little bit, but if if was some moron doing it on purpose I don't have any sympathy for them. No, get off my f--kin lawn! ;-)
Except that Rugbear has it right. Sometimes students need to show a wee bit of restraint. You know, take one for the team.
Just use colored tissue paper reinforced by thin cardboard on two sides (think scrolls) for card stunts. Tissue can only go as far as the churro wrappers. Those churros btw are yummy with hot chocolate (almost Spain-like)
Just make the mic men and women do their roles and fix the damn PA system
can't fix what never worked. I've been going to games since the mid 70's and the PA has NEVER been understandable unless the stadium is pin drop quiet.
it’s prolly as these fuckin freshman’s. those pentalies could cost us for important games. I’m glad Wilcox said something. It’s okay to be a fan and support cal football but it’s another thing to do something stupid over and over AFTER being told to stop many times. JUST GET RID OF THOSE FUCKING CARDS. #go bears #undefeated
The cards are a source of historic pride. I think a little education and peer support can correct this. Nerd thugs are manageable.
I’m an “old” Bear” and, as far as I know, for about 100 years (I’m not THAT old) the team sat in front of the students on the ANDY SMITH BENCH (or on benches in front of that historic bench). The student section may be one of the only left in college football actually on the 50. Students having a few pregame beers was a tradition, as was the 1:00 kick off. (I know these lousy late kickoffs give too much pre game beer time!) It worked well and, the card stunts were always about 10 minutes of halftime, then “Please pass your cards to the aisle!” Of course about half just tossed them into the air and Rally Com (I guess) picked them up after the game. Finishing stunts well before the 3rd quarter seemed to work in terms of the tossing them on the field, which wasn’t easy anyway.
It worked for about 100 years so why not move the team back to Andy Smith in front of the students and do the stunts at halftime? I’ve never heard of the band disturbing the team. Is this new? Cal was, I believe, the first school to have card stunts and one of the last to give students “premium” seats. It would be a shame to lose either tradition.
They had all day to get sauced which probably didn’t help. I’m just going off what I saw on TV but I don’t think most of them even realized the penalties were being imposed because of them until Wilcox said something. The few faces on camera looked horrified. Lesson learned hopefully, and it didn’t cost anything. If that had been Tedford, card stunts would have been banned immediately, so props to Wilcox for not overreacting.
Kinda torn here...and to give context, in my youth, cough cough, we pelted the field with all manner of stuff at times. (water balloons make excellent projectiles...who knew?!) I do not want us to get penalties of course, but I do have to say I love that the student section is full, rocking and maybe even a bit belligerent. As to the audio problems, I could have sworn we paid extra for a fancy system with the stadium upgrade...what happened?
To clarify (hedge?) a bit, the water balloons were usually saved for halftime trying to hit the opposing team's band., or that damn U$C horse that they used to bring.
I remember a water balloon hitting a USC tuba player....
One of our crowning achievements
As noted, late start time made for extra pre-kickoff drinking and smoking time.
Simple solution: if you throw something on the field or other propel something onto the field, you're removed from the game, your identified, and warned. Subsequent violations result in a ban for the rest of the season. Do it again the following season and you earn a lifetime ban.
You ever try to identify a single person in a crowd? Particularly a crowd that includes all his frat buddies? We’d have to go full videotape the crowd mode.
We have the technology.
Or we could simply empty the student section on the second warning from the refs.
Or we could move the student section to the South End Zone.
Or we could move the Cal bench back to the East Side.
There's lots of options.
I'm all for card stunts too, but they're not actually doing them! The rally committee places the cards pregame, and even though there were plenty of students to fill out the section last night, they never did the stunts at halftime. In fact, I don't remember the last time they did them.
See my comment, but this was a standing card stunt game, they're usually supposed to be collected but some students kept their cards.
There is a good reason why the Pac conference had a rule prohibiting putting a student section behind or adjacent to the other team's bench.
Would it be moving Heaven and Earth to move the home team back to the Student Section for night games and as it is now for day games.
I have been searching for and was unable to confirm any such rule. Do you have proof?
Yes, it's the reason Cal has been on the sunny side for eons even when it was clear it disadvantaged us (students had to be quiet a lot more, band had to play a lot less, communication with the booth was spottier, opponents in the box could read our signals better).
Were any of these opponents in the box wearing a Central Michigan hat?
It is (was) in the Pac-12 rules for game administration.
I have read through those rules and can verify, but I do not have a copy from which to post a screenshot.