Golden Nuggets: Who Needs Sleep?
Recapping a week that felt three-weeks long
In case you were under a rock on the Moon, Cal’s 7 fans showed up and made an absolutely raucous College GameDay show that will be talked about on campus for years to come. The show was the culmination of an equally crazy week online with Cal, CalTwitter, and the Calgorithm in many, many articles, news clips, and more. Join us as we circle around and relive the glory and splendor of Cal fandom by looking back at last week!
The Start of GameDay
Following weeks of Calgorithm and Cal presence online, man was it cathartic to scream into the early morning air with thousands of adoring fans (and the creator of the Bear Territory chant Ahmad Anderson) and declare the whole damn world (and the surrounding Berkeley neighborhoods) this is Bear Territory.
Explaining Calgorithm To Your Family
While there’s been lots of ink written and words typed on Calgorithm, none quite understood it like Christopher Kamrani of The Athletic/New York Times and Kyle Bonagura of ESPN. Kamrani notes the central tenet of the memes, “to prove that Cal, associated with one of the most liberal communities in America, does, in fact, have a beloved fan base happily obsessed with Golden Bears football.” while Kyle Bongura got the quote of the week from our very own Nick Kranz, “'We are going to save Cal football through the sheer force of our vibes.'
The Signs, the Beautiful Signs
Oh man there were so many and they were all wonderful. Here were the best according to ESPN, Awful Announcing, KRON4, and SF Gate.
My personal favorite, was the late-night law office commercial for Goff, Rogers, and Lynch LLP.
Got my Vans on but they look like slippers.
Of course one of the (many) highlights of GameDay was Daniel in the slip-on Vans casually splitting the uprights from 33 yards, uphill for a cool $100k.
Here’s a fan video shared with Write For California.
And here’s Dan getting a lesson in 26 CFR § 1.74-1.
Deciphering the Fever Dream
Steve Kroner of the SF Chronicle had a great write up of the GameDay atmosphere as well as some quotes from the ESPN Crew talking about Berkeley.
Pro Bears
On Monday Night Football, former Cal Quarterback Jared Goff was perfect, going 18/18 for 292, 2 TDs Thrown, and 1 TD Caught. Fresh off a NBA Championship and an NBA Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown ate some spicy chicken wings.
Last Week in Cal Team Sports
Volleyball lost in South Bend, lost to Wake Forest, but turned things around with a win against NC State. Women’s soccer won against Miami in Berkeley. Field Hockey shut out Davis, lost to Duke, and lost to North Carolina. Men’s soccer drew even with Louisville. Men’s Water Polo lost to USC and UCLA down in Los Angeles. Football sold out Memorial Stadium but couldn’t hold on for the win over Miami. Oh, and the Cal Legends Collective raised almost $2 Million. Can you help push us over the mark?
Free Speech at Berkeley Turns 60
Lost in the chaos of GameDay, the Free Speech Movement turned 60 and the university marked the occasion by compiling various content around the University regarding Free Speech.
Fat Bear Week Ends
Because the universe is cosmically aligned, Fat Bear Week, the annual celebration of our beautiful prepper bears began last week and concluded Tuesday October 8th where Grazer was declared the victor. God I love the internet.
I’d say that’s it for this week, but I know I’m scratching the surface of the sheer memery that was College GameDay. Share your favorite moment or content I’ve forgotten in the comments!
Oh, also this.
Hubs & I were at Tailgate Town before the game. Cal’s AD told this story in himself before presenting the annual Glen Seaborg Award: when ESPN called & let him know GameDay was coming to Cal, they asked, “Can you get 5,000 people there at 6:00 in the morning?” The AD told them, “Sure, no problem.” After hanging up the phone, he recalled, it hit him what he had just casually committed to: “Can I get 5,000 fans to come out for GameDay?”
6,000+ fans showed and he thanked everyone who did & the incredible energy they brought to Memorial Glade.
NB: I knew Prof. Seaborg was a Nobel Laureate, has an element named after him, was Chancellor, and a huge Cal football backer. What I learned was he also played! How did I miss that nugget of info?