SB Nation User Blog: AndBears

DBD 12.08.09 Female Christmas Wish List

AndBears — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:38:42 -0000

Per Danzig's request, I have tried to compile a nice list of what a woman would want for the Holidays. BUT, disclaimer, if I know anything about women, it's that they like what they like. Every woman is different and should be treated as so. The point is to know your woman and to show her that.

With that disclaimer in mind, I've tried to break the presents into categories. Thanks to Kolwave *who's birthday was yesterday* for her fantastic input. I've also reposted since1997's contribution as well from yesterday's DBD.

Hobbies - hiking books, cookie books, membership to museums or zoos, movie tickets. Subscriptions to DIY mags. I find this works best with younger women, as older women tend to have/get all the things they want. As for me, I love cookbooks, even if I take only 1 or 2 recipes from each. And thus, I have dozens.

From Kolwave:

Oh, and I don't want to encourage the guys' wonderful ideas of "get back to the kitchen" casserole dishes, but if your girl is into cooking/baking, a Kitchenaid Mixer is supposedly a Big Deal. My roommate has been hankering for one for years, and decided to ask her family to join together and get her one this Christmas.

Board Games!

Sexy - erotica (short story books.) This you have to really use at your own discretion, and it should never be the only thing you buy her unless you are in the first 4 months of dating. But it could be a fun/sexy stocking stuffer (if you know what I mean). Good Vibes has fantastic books and toys and usually publishes a 'best short story erotica of the year'. If you feel she'd really like lingerie (and it's risky) good luck going to a store. I hear shopping by yourself is quite weird, and I think having another girl to get fun but not slutty might not be a bad idea. It's also risky because you may not know her size, and sometimes things just fit weird even if they are the right size (especially in the boob region)

Jewelry - check to see what types she usually wears. For instance, I tend to wear silver, white gold and pearls - classic and subdued. Others may tend to wear more gold, a little more daring (and currently expensive) but still beloved. This gold/silver thing may be dictated by her skin tone, thus she may fall into one side or the other. If she is especially stylish, or frankly every babyboomer I know, she may like colorful baubles with big jewels or stones or Unique jewelry (e.g. Telegraph Ave silver ring lady named Diana). Unless she's trying to round out her collection (i.e. "boy, I really wish I had gold hoop earings") she'll always appreciate more of what she likes.

Exotic flavors - fancy sodas, wines they've wantng to try, Exotic coffee or chocolate - evenings out! If they love fresh cookies, but don't bake, premade holiday themed cookie dough (in a box with mixing bowl). (again as a side dish). One idea is the 'high tea' served at some fancier hotels and SF spots.

From Kolwave:

Any outing where every last detail is planned by the guy. Doesn't have to be >1 day. But still, you take care of the travel arrangements (including, for example, places to eat / stop along the way), what to do when you get there, bringing meals/snacks along if necessary ... all the girl has to do is bring what you tell her. For example, I'd like a day trip somewhere in NorCal. So, the guy would tell me to get dressed for a hike, bring good road-trip music, find a nice place to eat along the way, pack a nice picnic (or stock granola bars and a coffee thermos, whatever), pick a good hike / fun activity, call ahead to make sure that the destination will be open, check the weather, and plan out a sensible timeline for the whole day. I dunno, listing all this out sounds like a lot, but realistically, this is what I find myself doing whenever I'm in charge of planning an outing. There's a fair amount to think about and try to anticipate, and if the guy does all this for a change, the girl will definitely appreciate the effort. Hopefully no "oh crap, I totally didn't think about that" moments. Instead, see if you can plan a good time and anticipate everything that might be needed for that to happen (or in case something does awry).

comfort - scarves, bath things, toe socks (if they're into it). Sephora (beauty) and bath and body works are nice, and you could always get a gift card or basket gift.

From since1997:

So re Danzig’s earlier request: I GOT IT. Gift certificate for a luxurious spa. Mani/Pedi then a 1hour massage. ~$200 The beauty of this is you’ll reap the benefits the massage… er… worked up when you pick up your special gal from the spa and TAKE HER home. If you don’t know what a luxe spa is… it’s on the level of a Burke Williams, Exhale, etc. All the 5-star hotels should have a great one too. The St. Regis and Huntington hotels in SF have fantastic ones. That’s my contribution towards male-female peace plus 1000+

extensions of stupid jokes - plush syphillus, Pride and Prejudice with Zombies. This is probably 1/2 of the gifts Rags and I give eachother. This may be another use your own judgement gift.

upgrades on stuff she loves - phone accessories, watch/ring upgrades, nicer pjs.
-> warning, don't try to replace something she loves. For instance if she has 5 purses and always takes 1 everywhere she goes, don't expect a new one to win out over the favorite.

Again, Kolwave:

Pick a feel-good cause that the girl supports, e.g. Habitat for Humanity, and go out and spend the day together volunteering. Again, this'll require some advance planning. Call ahead, get a volunteer spot, stop for coffee/fresh pastries (I know, really specific, but I'm just imagining what I would like) on the way, spend the day racking up good karma, and then go out to dinner afterwards. Maybe tell her to bring along a change of clothes/toiletries in case you actually do do HoH and get kinda grungy.

Time with a puppy? - I can get you a good deal!

video games - rock band, group games, little big planet, new mario game. Not as crazy an idea as you may think, I personally love the lego genre games. Do not, REPEAT DO NOT, get something for yourself.

Music - Concert tickets for bands she likes. (again another experience) CDs or paraphenalia, gift sets. (New and classic, even holiday themed)

photos of family, these are always a good gift. I've been told that moms/grandmoms always love this. Framed art (by artist/photog you know she likes. Bonus: you took the extra step and handled the framing chore).

Being a big Cal Fan, I tried to think of Cal themed gifts, but other than the usual stuff, there isn't anything specifically female. You could always just shop the Cal Student Store and pick her up something fun. Cal Hats, Scarves, extensions of game day traditions (i.e. game faces?) (maybe a sweater for your armored dog).

If you're completely confused, try this: http://www.gifts.com/ - shop by personality. It will at least give you some ideas.

Last Note from Kolwave:

I'm kinda with AndBears ... I'm not much of a traditional girly-item shopper/accumulator/hankerer. Sure, I do happen to have a "Get for Self" list on my blackberry, but the main frivolous items on it are an art print I've had my eye on, and 3 fun graphic tees, despite the fact that I only wear tees/jeans on weekends nowadays. Don't like changing my jewelry, I wear the same pieces every day, and I don't like diamonds anyway (yeah, because gold-mining is so much more environmentally friendly).

Finally, I'll be checking in today since I'm in finals for my grad program (puff pastries, noooooo!) But one final thought, be on the look out for the unintended message. If you put all your gifts together, do they say something? Rags and I still laugh at the fact that he kept buying me cookware and lingerie, but I do enjoy pjs and cooking. Other women might wonder.

p.s. thanks for your patience!

Free Songbooks from CAA!

AndBears — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:55:32 -0000

Free Songbooks from CAA!

If you want simple paper songbooks that have the words to Cal Songs, click the link in the title or email info@alumni.berkeley.edu with your address. They’ll be mailed FREE!

Lyrics include:
All Hail - Stanford Jonah - ‘Hail to Cal - the Golden Bear - Palms of Victory - Sons of California - Big C - Fight for California

IF you want fancier songbooks with History, Pictures, Music and Lyrics, you can purchase them for $20 at www.shopcaa.com. Very high quality, with piano music to entertain all your Cal friends and annoy your Stanfurd enemies.

DBD 5.21.09 The Lazy Shall Inherit the Earth

AndBears — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:32:51 -0000

So, after going to bed embarrassingly early last night (I justify it because of a harsh day of 3 hours volunteering, 2.5 hours of job interview/job testing, 1.25 hours of fighting commute traffic, and a concert) I wake up this morning at 7:00AM and wander around the internets.

Check e-card from friend? DONE
Send e-card to same friend? DONE
(Wonder why I don't have more than 1 friend? DONE)
Check international news? New Zealand Hunts Accidental Millionaires

Wander over to CGB and WHAAAT?!! No DBD already? The overworked Twist has finally let down torch? No Carp or Avinash to throw in their finely tuned piece of 3 legged men or harsh repartee with the world-wide idiots of the world wide web?!

So here it is, the quickest, laziest claim to glory there ever was-- all while Ragnarok and the dog are sleeping soundly.

Poll

How long did it take AndBears to write this?

3 Minutes

8 votes

5 Minutes

6 votes

8 Minutes

4 votes

Banana Hammock

23 votes

41 votes | Poll has closed

Ep. 3 - More Than a Feeling

AndBears — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:45:32 -0000

Another great game and some more fun times in LA. Bears, I think I'm in love with you. And I'm not alone.

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Just a little note about the Basketball support group, I was able to spend some time with them, hanging out in the hotel lobby. First of all, they're a great bunch of people. They've been very welcoming and you can tell that they're the type of group that travels together a LOT. The support guys are the coaches, administrators, media and med staff. They sit around and shoot the shit, telling travel stories, which facilities were crap, and watching the latest photos and videos from the game -- apparently Stanford's visitor facilities are god awful. Ours are too nice to get revenge. My favorite story was the one they told about Oski in Pittsburgh. This was NCAA Women's Tourney 2007 and gameday happened to be on St. Patrick's Day. So, Oski gets suited up and heads out of the hotel lobby at 9 am, to wander around the bars for a while; sure his Oski suit will get him more than enough free drinks. Oski returns for the march to victory/busses, and while he's standing clapping alongside the band he suddenly stops, leans over while lifting up his head, pukes in the gutter, then puts his head back and goes back to clapping. Sarah, director of basketball operations, has to ask 'Did that just happen?!'. Oski never made it to the game, he spent most of it dry-heaving in the bathroom -- BUT he did have time to signal one of the med-staff to ask for an IV, which in Oski's sign language pretty much looked like he was asking to shoot-up.

Ah, good times.

The team does practice while traveling, so they never had a day off like the band/spirit did. Their schedule is odd, eating lunch at 4pm, after practice - lots of carbs, at least some chicken/fish, provided by hotel. On game days they like to eat 4 hours before tip-off if they can help it. Btw, in case you are ever on these trips, make friends with the basketball support team. The girls leave half the food left, I had steak and potatoes which did not cut into my per diem. :) Sandy Barbour won the coin toss both days (to see who plays the national anthem) and everyone seemed to think this was a great sign. The other super awesome thing that happened while I was eating lunch with the support staff, was that I heard that the LA Sparks Coach Michael Cooper wanted tickets to the game! They discussed it and decided that since it wasn't for agents or scouts that there wasn't any compliance issue. All the basketball-side tickets had been handed out, so the Spirit traveler and I happily gave our tickets up (apparently I got two tickets to the games? who knew). Later on, the jumbo-tron in the stadium showed Candace Parker in attendance of the game. Sweet, huh?! I'm so glad our girls rocked this game.

So, onto the game. Same deal as last time, we waited outside for march to victory/busses, and aside from the sun it felt like we had traveled back in time. We lined up and played towards the 4 lanes of Figueora street, and while I listening to the band, I was watching the traffic and out of the 50 cars that passed us only 1 or 2 turned to look at us. The rest seemed annoyed and couldn't be bothered to look slightly left.

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notice the media!

This was Monday afternoon so we had ridiculous traffic to get to the game. Our driver had to do some very tight squeezes to get through, and he was basically our hero to get there.

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Galen Center

Once again, it was deja-vu all over again. The only difference was that on Saturday the security was strict, ID's were checked, bags inspected... This time they forgot the paperwork or something and handed out wrist bands. We wandered in and had to get set up, there was some confusion as we had to fight for our previous spot and NOT sit behind the camera guys. But it was worked out long before the game.

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Dance Team had to ask their Cheer what this Mascot was. They were not surprised to be asked. Personally, I think a 9' tall Thomas Jefferson would make a fabulous mascot.

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Band

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All Access BABY

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Band, loud but square. I mean, who DOESN'T like the 'hey' song. (Pre-emptive Ragnarok correction -- it's actually called 'Rock and Roll Part 2')

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Dinner

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These girls had a great trip too.

Our girls were tight, they were really playing like a team, and spreading out the talent. Rags did tell it like I saw it:

"It was an offensive explosion, as Virginia had basically no answer for Ashley Walker or Devanei Hampton inside. Some of the crispest passing you'll ever see let the Bears pummel the Cavaliers with easy layups, and then Cal tossed in 8 3-pointers for good measure."

I was really impressed by all of your comments, you really saw the same game I did. It's like you guys were there except you weren't listening to the band make swashbuckling noises to mock the Cavaliers. I'm not sure it worked, but it was funny! The fans were definitely in LOVE with the team. They could do nothing wrong and the fans were with them the whole way. No one was calming down or sneaking out the back at a sure thing. And a couple of the fans wanted to proclaim their love...

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She noticed me! I think I'm in Love!

But you know how the game turned out, a fantastic success! The band celebrated, then headed on out to the busses. Once we got back to the hotel, the Student Director of the Cal Band made arrangements to ship the big instruments back to Berkeley (must be there before tomorrow at noon, the group is leaving for Trenton New Jersey on Wednesday night) and I waited up in the lobby for the team to return. The team, media and anyone on the bus waits to do the press conference after the game. See, I had heard that they were going fulfill a promise and jump in the pool, and I wasn't disappointed. The girls started shouting to Joanne 'Take off the Boots! Take off the Boots!' -- great footwear is appreciated by the team too. There was a delay as Coach Boyle wanted to change so she didn't ruin her sweater -- it is a pretty nice sweater.

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Hurray!!

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Sandy Barbour jumped in too! Think she's waterlogged now?

I expect this celebration will also be online soon, maybe they'll have better lighting. I do have to mention that one of the Bball players started up a cheer... "Gimme a C! Gimme an A! Gimme an L!.... Gimme an I! Gimme an F!..." and on and on. I had to laugh. But give them a break, after they're not used to it. It's very difficult! But hey, I can't do a layup... so I consider it even. After that, I was beat and went to bed. Soon we were up and out to LAX to end our trip. It was a good one and I thank the band for it. This is the last one for me, another alum will be with the team to help them take on UConn in Trenton.

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Sucks!

Ep. 2 - Bears. Beat. Bulldogs.

AndBears — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:44:31 -0000

Saturday was an important game for the Cal Bears. I hope you were able to watch the game, although I did hear that ESPN decided to play NCAA musical chairs during the game. Sorry about that. I'd like to write today about the experience of the game, from the point of view of the spirit groups, not necessarily about the players skills or performance. That you can get from much more talented sports writers.

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If you've ever been to LA, and you're reading this blog, you've probably been to the Staples Center. It's where the Pac-10 men's tournaments have been held since they began. I'm going to take a slight diversion to tell you about the new additions they've made to the area outside of the Staples Center. This is how I spent my morning before the game.

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Staples Center - Friend or Foe?

They've taken the parking lot and created a courtyard surrounded by restaurants and EXTREMELY large video screens.

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My favorite is the ESPN zone:

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Corporate Sponsorship at its most blatant.

Most of the restaurants aren't open, but there is a brand new Grammy museum. Some of the other trip leaders visited there on Sunday. They had a good time, apparently there are a lot of Michael Jackson costumes to admire -- if you like that sort of thing. I just wasn't willing to pay $15 for a ticket.

Anyways, back to the game. The band and spirit groups met in the lobby of the hotel 2 hours before game time, in all our game-ready glory. Well, oski was just a guy with a duffle bag but he had given his sweater to the mic-man. It's pretty comically oversized (some of the band might have this pic but I don't).

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Milling about, Milling about.

So, even when the band is on vacation, we're still on the trip for the team. We were there early to cheer the team as they headed out, sort of a 'March to Victory' but rather 'March to the Buses'. I'm sure they appreciate it on some level, but it is a little awkward. I Imagine it's akin to having a marching band greet you as you get ready to go to work. They're not really used to it.

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Don't they look enthusiastic?!

Anyways, it's on to the buses and off to the Galen Center. Incidentally, I heard the Dance Team discuss their positions for the sidelines. Apparently, they know all the parts of the routines for whichever positions they need, I always wondered about this - whether they knew them all or always had to make sure there was a 'right, left, center' girl there. We arrive about an hour before the game and watch the teams warm up. It takes us about 10 seconds to set up because we don't have a drum kit or anything stationary like that. The Galen Center is where U$C plays, it makes the experience much more disturbing.

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evil, evil, evil, EVIL!

But we were here to do a job. Cheer on the bears as they took on the dreaded Fresno State Bulldogs. The Fresno State band is pretty generic. They played Mars, we played 'Don't Stop til you Get Enough', they followed up with 'Lets Go Band'. It was just like Drumline only WE were the cool ones! How do you like that?!

The crowd was pretty split evenly between Bears and Bulldogs. The Bulldog fans were more excited, but probably because they were the underdogs -- ha!

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'V' is for vasectomy?

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First Half Awesome Action shot

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Their Cheer, done to some popcorn dance mix. It really did remind me of Bring it On.

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Our Dance Team performing a dance with Oski! Much beloved by the crowd, because Oski gets 3 of the girls! Yep, He's a playa'

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Band

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band

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basketball

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Coach Boyle -- Does it all, and in great shoes too.

Spoiler Alert - The Bears won! And pretty well too. What I really appreciated about the game was that even though we had the lead the whole time, the girls never let up. The intensity of the game was there the start to finish. The staff I spoke to knew the girls had it in them, they just had to get over their own nerves. They definitely did that in spades. From our point of view, we were yelling and cheering as much as if they were neck and neck. Well, occasionally the band was barking to distract/mock the other guys. Personally I thought the Fresno Cheer team sounded like chihuahuas. Actually, even though we were ahead in the game, we didn't even discuss the winning travel scenarios until the game was almost over and we were up by 20. That's when we starting making plans to hand out additional per diem and the possible flights home. After the game, the band and spirit packed up, and left to go back to our hotel. Apparently the girls stayed to watch the other game. They'll be taking on U. Virginia on Monday. They didn't get back until late and went out again to practice on Sunday. The spirit groups had the day off and pretty much scattered. That's it until next time...

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Oski Victorious over the Unbelievers!

NCAA Tourney - Ep 1. Bears on a Plane!

AndBears — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:24:39 -0000

Hey CGB'ers, I'm writing this fanpost in the Natasha Vital style -- the blog. One from the road. Due to dumb luck and the power of unemployment, I am able to tag along with the spirit groups as they cheer the Bears in the NCAA (women). We are in LA! Which is just a return trip for a lot of the spirit group as they were JUST HERE for the Pac-10 tourneys (men and women). This trip is scheduled to last until Sunday if we lose the first game, and Tuesday if we win the first game. After that, everyone will come home, and another group will leave next weekend. The team already went down so the spirit groups are following down today. Just for context, all these kids just went through midterms and now are starting spring break! They're pretty excited but noticeably warn out. Even though they are on spring break, I know most of them have brought text books or readers.

The group is still pretty small. 22 Band, 8 dance team, 1 mic-man, 1 oski-comm, 1 rally/flag person, 1 spirit advisor and me (temporary travel supervisor for band). The spirit advisor and I are pretty much the trip mommies when has so far involved dealing with the airline/bus reps. I don't expect to do much more, and that's the way I likes it. We get $35 per diem, and were only given $18 for dinner for our evening flight. Apparently that's the going rate for dinner.

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Will this flirting work?!

Some stereotypes I've noticed. Dance team definitely brought more luggage, and were more giggly on the bus. A few pointed out that this was *not* charter so to be careful with your liquids and that this *wasn't* a football trip so you won't be provided with food everywhere you go. WOW. Clearly, flying Southwest was not in their experience. Band definitely more sarcastic and rowdy (although I definitely think more calm than when *I* was in band). Band handed me an itinerary (or 'poop-sheet') which also included a map of our hotel area, some sudoku, and a cross-word puzzle where the answers are tidbits of various band gossip. Mic-man is cute (or so said some dance team members) and oski-comm ...well... the oski head looks better. Sorry. The porn stash is not working. He did tell a fun story about an interview with Oski for TV which had to be done with a white-board because Oski doesn't talk. (Incidentally, I hope no one on this trip will read this before I can depart the trip. AWKWARD!)

Then we got to Oakland airport, to board our Southwest flight to Los Angeles Int'l Airport. Checking in was pretty easy considering we had 37 people, only 2 blips that were easily sorted out. One person brought so many textbooks that her luggage weighed 64 pounds. After removing the textbooks to her carry-on, she was down to 45lbs. For comparison, the snare and snare-player's baggage weighed 48.5 together. I hope she studies those textbooks, otherwise she's risking a hunchback for nothing.

While waiting in the security line, I was able to talk to the Cal Spirit Advisor some more. We talked about the recent pac-10 tourney in LA. Interestingly enough, because the women's and men's were in the same city, the Pac-10 officials decided to combine the spirit allowances, so that the schools could send a total of 45 people (of combined spirit groups), and then when one team lost send 15 of them home. This was a big hassle and did nothing to preserve the quality of the remaining group, and pretty much pissed off all the spirit groups at the various universities. They've logged their complaints and hope it will get fixed for next year. I also spoke to an airport security guard who was checking our boarding passes. I asked if he was a Bear fan, and started telling me about how friendly Ashley Walker is, "even when I had to take away her shampoo". Score one for Ashley Walker. (Side note, I forgot to take my liquids out of my bag, it wasn't noticed. As I assumed, I am not as imposing as Ashley Walker).

My story essentially ends here with a 20 minute delay on a 50-minute flight, over-priced airport chicken strips (but still +$8 per diem so far!), and the fun of the Spirit magazines. My favorite item in the Sky Mall magazine was the doggie-doorbell -- paw shaped, of course -- so fido can tell you when he needs to go in and out! Watch out Rags, this might be comin' home. Puppy Ragbears will surely have no idea what to do with it.

In closing, I'll leave you with this image. Cal Band singing 'Fight for California' as the plane begins to taxi out, alternately amusing and annoying the other half of the plane. The Bandsman next to me grumbling 'stupid newmen... No it does NOT matter that I am one.' The pilot saying 'Go Bears'.

Go Bears, indeed Mr. Pilot. Go Bears Indeed.

Poll

What should AndBears do with her free time if Cal moves onto the next game?

Fill her bag with pirated movies on safe and interesting S. Figueroa street.

9 votes

Stalk Hollywood movie stars, especially those guys from Entourage. (Rags sez: No B-Listers!)

4 votes

Take 2 buses and the metro to go to Disneyland.

6 votes

Walk west until she find the beach and then ride dolphin back to hotel.

20 votes

39 votes | Poll has closed

Robert Orlando Briggs, 1927-2008

AndBears — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:35:11 -0000

via www.calband.berkeley.edu

Bob Briggs passed away this morning. Below is a lovely note from Jamie Rawson, Bass '77

ROBERT ORLANDO BRIGGS

20 August 1927 - 17 September 2008

Robert O. Briggs, Director Emeritus of the University Of California Band, has passed away at the age of 81 after complications developed following routine surgery.

Bob Briggs was director of the Cal Band from 1971 until his retirement in 1995. Bob's association with the Cal Band extend much further than his time as director, however. Bob joined the Cal Band as an entering freshman in the Fall of 1947, and continued his association for the next 61 years. Even in retirement, Bob served as a resource for the current Cal Band, sharing his expertise and experience with successive generations of Cal Band members.

Because Bob's years as an undergraduate coincided with the "Glory Years" of Cal Football under Pappy Waldorf, Bob was fortunate enough to march in three successive Rose Bowls. In late 1958, as Cal was preparing for yet another (and to date its last) Rose Bowl, Bob Briggs was invited to march with the Band in order to help fill out its ranks. He thus gained the unique distinction of being the only member of the Cal Band in its 117 year history to have marched in four Rose Bowls.

In 2004, Bob recalled, "I marched in some Rose Bowls -- in fact 4 of them -- '49,'50,'51 as a student member and '59 as an invited alum. I am the only Cal Bandsman to have done that many. It was always my goal to conduct at one of them, and we almost did after the '75 season. But UCLA went!!!"

Bob Briggs was born in Modesto, California, on 20 August 1927. He attended public schools in Modesto, graduated from Modesto High School, and briefly attended Modesto Junior College.

At Cal, Bob played cornet in the Band, and took up the study of the French horn. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music in 1951. Bob served in the U.S. Army for two years after his time at U.C. Berkeley. During his service in the Army, Bob played in the Army Band at Fort Ord in Monterey, California, and at other postings. Bob graduated from the U.S. Army Music School. He continued his musical studies, receiving a Master of Arts in Music at San Francisco State University.

Bob became band director at Armijo High School in Fairfield, California in 1955, and continued in that position until 1967 when he returned to the University of California in the capacit y as assistant Band Director as he pursued doctoral studies. He served under James Berdahl until 1971 when Berdahl took an extended leave of absence to work in Japan. Bob served as acting director for two years until he was formally appointed director of the Cal Band in 1973.

During Bob's time as director of the Cal Band, the Band made an extensive national tour in honor of the Bicentennial of the United States in the Summer of 1976. The Cal Band's opportunities to perform at bowl games improved during his tenure as well, as the fortunes of Cal Football improved; in 1979 the Cal Band performed at its first bowl game since the 1959 Rose Bowl, the Garden State Bowl in New Jersey.
During Bob's time, the Cal Band would march in three more bowl games and make an appearance at a conference game in Tokyo.

Because of the unique organization of the Cal Band as a student-run University activity, Bob Briggs had to balance the dynamics of a vigorous and youthfully demanding student government with the requirements and politics of the larger university administration. In a position fraught with potential conflicts and burdened with competing and often contradictory demands, Bob's non-confrontational style served the Cal Band and the University well.

In his earlier days as director, Bob was more formal and reserved in his relationship with band members. He was most often addressed as "Mr. Briggs." In later years, Bob developed a more casual style and later generations of Cal Band members know him best as simply, "Bob."

Upon his retirement in 1995, at the recommendation of Chancellor Tien, President of the University Peltason appointed Bob Director Emeritus of the University Of California Band. In retirement, Bob remained active in music, helping to organize the Solano Winds, a community musical ensemble, and serving as its conductor for the past 13 years. In 2005, Bob celebrated his fiftieth year as a director with a
special Solano Winds concert.

On December 1, 2006, the Cal Band Alumni Association presented Bob with its Tony Martinez award in recognition of his many contributions to and accomplishments with the Cal Band during his long association.

Bob was an avid enthusiast of automobiles, both the classics and more modern creations. He often used one or another of his antique sedans to transport Cal Band brides and grooms to their wedding ceremonies, acting as chauffeur, a role he relished.

In his six decades of association with the Cal Band, Bob touched thousands of lives. He will be long remembered by generations of Cal Band members and Cal Band fans.

If California Went to the Olympics...

AndBears — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:04:28 -0000

We’d have at least 175 Olympians (based off Team USA hometowns), more than any other state in the US (next is Texas with 44!), and more Olympians than 185 of the Countries in the Olympics. Team USA competed in 27 out of 28 sports, as the U.S. did not qualify for either the men's or women's team handball tournament in Beijing. Team Handball is the dumbest sport, so we're not that broken up about it. Also, Fun Fact, the US Olympic Training Center for BMX biking is in San Diego.

Go Bears! Beat every other country in the world! - Image via cache.eb.com

Yes, I may be exaggerating: the list below is based off hometowns, birthplaces, or Universities. I'm including alternates and heat athletes as well, but not coaches. Yes, I'm ignoring that if we only had some but not all in relays or team sports, outcomes would be different. I'm taking only from Team USA, assuming that if they represented another country, they were probably always going to represent them. Finally, I'm assuming that if someone had the least bit of affiliation with California, they'd want to represent the 31st state. And if you think about it, we're still kicking everyone's ass even taking into account that we have the highest population of any state in the US.

California’s Gold Medals:

Jason Edward Lezak (Irvine, UCSB), Swimming -- Men's 4×100 meter freestyle relay
Nathan Adrian (UCB), Swimming -- Men's 4×100 meter freestyle relay
Benjamin Marshall Wildman-Tobriner (SF, Stanford), Swimming -- Men's 4×100 meter freestyle relay
Natalie Anne Coughlin (Lafayette, UCB), Swimming -- Women's 100 meter backstroke
Aaron Wells Peirsol (Newport Beach), Swimming -- Men's 100 meter backstroke
Rebecca Soni (USC), Swimming -- Women's 200 meter breaststroke
Klete Keller (USC), Swimming -- Men's 4×200 meter freestyle relay
Erik Vendt (USC – now at UMich), Swimming -- Men's 4×200 meter freestyle relay
Venus Williams (Lynwood/Compton), Tennis -- Women's Doubles
Serena Williams (Compton), Tennis -- Women's Doubles
Mary Whipple (Sacramento, UCB), Rowing -- Women's Eight
Elle Logan (Stanford), Rowing -- Women's Eight
Erin Cafaro (Modesto, UCB), Rowing -- Women's Eight
Stephanie Brown Trafton (San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly), Track and Field -- Women's discus
Will Simpson (Thousand Oaks), Equestrian -- Team jumping
Dawn Harper (Los Angeles, UCLA),Track and Field -- Women's 100 meter hurdles
Misty May-Treanor (Los Angeles - Costa Mesa, CSU Long Beach), Volleyball -- Women's beach volleyball
Kerri Lee Walsh (Santa Clara/Saratoga, Stanford), Volleyball -- Women's beach volleyball
US Women's Soccer Team (7)
    Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Stanford)
    Shannon Boxx (Fontana)
    Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forrest/Santa Margarita, USC)
    Aly Wagner (San Jose, Santa Clara University)
    Lauren Cheney (UCLA)
    Stephanie Cox (Los Gatos/Elk Grove)
    Nicole Barnhart (Stanford)
Phil Dalhausser (Ventura), Volleyball -- Men's beach volleyball
Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara/San Marcos, UCSB), Volleyball -- Men's beach volleyball
David Neville (Valencia), Track and Field -- Men's 4x400 m relay
Reggie Witherspoon (Pasadena), Track and Field -- Men's 4x400 m relay
Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, USC), Track and Field -- Women's 4x400 m relay
Monique Henderson (San Diego/Bonita, UCLA), Track and Field -- Women's 4x400 m relay
United States women's national basketball team (7)
   Cappie Pondexter (Oceanside)
   Kara Marie Lawson (Sacramento)
   DeLisha Milton-Jones (Los Angeles)
   Lisa Leslie (Gardena/Los Angeles, USC)
   Tina Marie Thompson (Los Angeles, USC)
   Diana Lurena Taurasi (Chino)
   Candace Nicole Parker (Los Angeles)
United States men's national volleyball team (8)
   Gabe Gardner (San Diego/San Clemente, Stanford)
   Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach/Corona del Mar, Stanford)
   Tom Hoff (Long Beach State)
   David Lee (Alpine/El Cajon, Long Beach State)
   Ryan Millar (San Dimas/Palmdale)
   Richard Lambourne (Tustin/San Diego)
   Sean Rooney (Pepperdine)
   Scott Touzinsky (Long Beach State)
United States men's national basketball team (4)
   Carlos Boozer (Los Angeles)
   Jason Kidd (San Francisco/Oakland/Alameda, UCB)
   Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles)
   Tayshaun Prince (Compton)

California -- Fuck Yeah! - Image via www.chinadaily.com.cn

California’s Silver Medals:

Dara Grace Torres (Los Angeles),
nbsp; Swimming -- Women's 4×100 meter freestyle relay
   Swimming -- 50 m Freestyle
   Swimming -- 4×100 m Medley Relay
Katherine Elise "Katie" Hoff (Palo Alto), Swimming -- Women's 400 meter freestyle
Rebecca Soni (USC),
   Swimming -- Women's 100 meter breaststroke
   Swimming -- 4x100 m Medley Relay
Gina Miles (Creston), Equestrian - Individual Eventing
Natalie Anne Coughlin (Lafayette, UCB),
   Swimming -- Women's 4x100 meter medley relay
   Swimming -- Women's 4x100 meter freestyle relay
Kimberly "Kim" Susan Rhode (Whittier, Cal Poly Pamona), Shooting -- Women's Skeet
Elaine Breeden (Palo Alto, Stanford), Swimming -- Women's 4×100 meter medley relay
Jason Rogers (Los Angeles), Fencing -- Men's team saber
James Leighman Williams (Sacramento), Fencing -- Men's team saber
Sheena Tosta (Los Angeles, UCLA), Track and Field -- Women's 400 meter hurdles
Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, USC), Track and Field -- Women's 200 meter
US Women's Water Polo Team (14 - all but 1!)
    Patty Cardenas (Commerce, USC)
    Kami Craig (Santa Barbara, USC)
    Erika Figge (Rancho Santa Margarita, USC)
    Natalie Golda (Fullerton, UCLA)
    Alison Gregorka (Stanford)
    Brittany Hayes (Santa Ana, USC)
    Jaime Hipp (Fresno, UCLA)
    Ericka Lorenz (San Diego, UCB) *spelled UC Berkley on usawaterpolo.org
    Heather Petri (Orinda, UCB)
    Jessica Steffens (Danville, Stanford)
    Moriah van Norman (San Diego, USC)
    Brenda Villa (Commerce, Stanford)
    Lauren Wenger (Long Beach, USC)
    Elsie Windes (UCB)
US Softball team (16 - all but 2!)
   Monica Abbott (Salinas)
    Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs)
    Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Palm Beach C.C.)
    Andrea Duran (Selma, UCLA)
    Jennie Finch (La Mirada)
    Tairia Flowers (UCLA)
    Vicky Galindo (Union City, UCB)
    Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley)
    Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Stanford)
    Caitlin Lowe (Tustin)
    Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Stanford)
    Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, UCLA)
    Natasha Watley (Irvine, UCLA)
    Lisa Fernandez (Long Beach, UCLA)
    Alicia Hollowell (Suisun)
    Jenny Topping (Whittier, Cal-State Fullerton)
   Micheal Day (Tarzana), Cycling -- Men's BMX
United States women's national volleyball team (8)
   Ogonna Nnamani (Stanford)
   Danielle Scott-Arruda (Long Beach State)
   Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Upland/Laguna Hills)
   Nicole Davis (Stockton, USC)
   Heather Brown (Orange/Yorba Linda, UCSB)
   Jennifer Joines (Santa Clara/Milpitas, UoP)
   Kim Glass (Los Angeles)
   Logan Tom (Napa, Stanford)
United States men's national water polo team (18 - EVERYONE)
   Brian Alexander (Cambria/Los Angeles, UCLA)
   Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, Stanford)
   Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, UCI)
   Brandon Brooks (UCLA)
   Adam Hewko (Irvine, Pepperdine)
   Thomas Hopkins (Coronado, Stanford)
   Peter Hudnut (Encino, Stanford)
   Tim Hutten (Seal Beach, UCI)
   Genai Kerr (Imperial Beach, UCI)
   J.W. Krumpholz (Santa Ana, USC)
   John Mann (Newport Beach, UCB)
   Rick Merlo (Fresno, UCI)
   Merrill Moses (Rancho Palos Verdes, Pepperdine)
   Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, UCI)
   Jesse Smith (Coronado, Pepperdine)
   Peter Varellas (Moraga, Stanford)
   Adam Wright (Seal Beach, UCLA)
   Layne Beaubien (Coronado, Stanford)

"It is an honor to compete for my country!" - Image via www.ljbears.co.uk

California’s Bronze Medals:

Larsen Jensen (Bakersfield, USC), Swimming -- Men's 400 meter freestyle
Kai Wen "Kevin" Tan (Fremont), Men’s Gymnastics Team all-around
Katherine Elise "Katie" Hoff (Palo Alto),
   Swimming -- Women's 400m Individual Medley
   Swimming -- 4×200m Freestyle Relay
Natalie Anne Coughlin (Lafayette, UCB),
   Swimming -- 100 meter freestyle
   Swimming -- 200 m Individual Medley
   Swimming -- 4×200 m Freestyle Relay
Levi Leipheime (Santa Rosa), Cycling -- Men's time trial
Ronda Rousey (Santa Monica), Judo -- Women's 70 kg
Kim Vandenberg (Moraga, UCLA), Swimming -- Women's 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay
Adam Wheeler (Lancaster), Wrestling -- Men's Greco-Roman 96 kg
Robert ("Bob") Charles Bryan (Camarillo, Stanford), Tennis -- Men's Doubles
Michael ("Mike") Carl Bryan (Camarillo, Stanford), Tennis -- Men's Doubles
Randi Miller (Berkeley), Wrestling -- Women's Freestyle 63Kg
David Neville (Valencia), Track and Field -- Men's 400 meters
Donald Robinson (Napa), Cycling -- Men's BMX
United States national baseball team (12)
   Brian Barden (Templeton)
   Trevor Cahill (Oceanside)
   Jason Donald (Modesto)
   John Gall (Stanford (city), Stanford (univ))
   Mike Hessman (Fountain Valley)
   Kevin Jepsen (Anaheim)
   Brandon Knight (Oxnard)
   Nate Schierholtz (Danville/San Francisco)
   Jeff Stevens (Berkeley)
   Stephen Strasburg (San Diego, SDSU)
   Terry Tiffee (Los Angeles)
   Casey Weathers (Elk Grove, Sacramento City College)

Summary!

Now that's some serious bling! - Image via www.tranism.com

Golds: 50 Total Athletes, 18 events, 50 physical medals
Places 5th in the world for Gold Standings (behind China, US, Russia, Britain)

Silvers: 68 Total Athletes, 16 Events, 72 Physical Medals
Places in a tie for 4th with France (behind US, China and Russia)

Bronzes: 25 Total Athletes, 15 Events, 28 Physical Medals
Places in a tie for 6th with Britain, Germany, and Ukraine (behind US, China, Russia, Australia, France)

Overall 49 total medals. Places California at 4th in the world behind US, China and Russia. The United States had 110 overall medals, of which Californians could claim a part of 49 of them. That's pretty sweet.

Women's Huddle Roundtable

AndBears — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:59:51 -0000

On Friday, August 1st, the 5 of us traveled into Berkeley to learn from the best -- Jeff Tedford and the Cal Football team. We learned all sorts of things, like how to get in proper defense stance, how to appreciate football players in the proper defense stance, but especially how to stay hydrated. Yes, especially the importance of hydration...So he's a review of what we most appreciated from AndBears, OskiWeeWee, RemorsefulBruinBabe, Kittwin, and BearBallCarrier.

After $35, a free t-shirt and guide to college football, free food and drink (I was 2 beers in before we started running) Jeff Tedford gave us a warm welcome and we gave him the highest-pitched 'Go Bears...' I'd ever heard.

Ladies love the Tedford

RemorsefulBruinBabe: I was a little hesitant to come at first (OskiWeeWee: That's what she said!), fearing that I'd be totally obvious as the Cal Fan Newbie, but the ladies (and the football players...oh the football players) did not seem to mind. Once I had my blue and gold t-shirt and a few glasses of wine (and let's be honest, football players), I was feeling like a true Cal fan and shouted "Go Bears!" with no hesitation. Before the event, honestly, I was just excited to get a little football education. I can count on my hands the numbers of games I've been to, but the more I go, the more I like it...and I was actually looking forward to learning something about formations and stances...and football players. And let me tell you, I might still suck at throwing a football, and my tackling skills would not take anybody down, but I have a newfound respect that can only come from attempting a field goal kick that went about 6 inches into the air before bouncing pathetically on the ground.

AndBears: Yes, even those of us who go to a lot of games really enjoyed seeing more detail, and even bringing some of that detail back to our obsessive-fan menfolk. I really felt like a football genius telling Ragnarok how many plays a Cal QB has on his wrist (150 apparently!). By 'a lot of games' I mean, for instance, roughly 1/3 of the away games and every home game for the past 7-years (except for that one homecoming where I was volunteering and had to watch the last quarter at Bear's Lair with OskiWeeWee...)

OskiWeeWee: Oh AndBears, I remember that awesome Homecoming spent watching the game at the Bear's Lair, with fanbana fans aplenty. That might have been the first home game I missed watching in person (not due to a wedding or funeral, my usual ONLY excuses for missing home games). But I digress - the Women's Huddle - it is my single most favorite event of the year. Who does NOT enjoy all the booze and food and booze you can ingest before hanging out with coaches and football players and more really cute football players? (Cougars anyone?)

Perhaps the most famous cougar of all. Sadly, Demi could not make it to the huddle. She would have had a field day.

Kittwin: I went in expecting to be disappointed as it could not possibly be as good as last year. But I was wrong, because it was just as good if not better! Hooray! I think the Women's Huddle is the perfect way to get psyched for the new season. The guys can talk 3-4 defense (is that right?) and new recruits and rankings and debate QBs all they like, but personally I'm for getting liquored up and spending some quality time with some men (boys) in uniform! And of course all of you ladies! RemorsefulBruinBabe was a great addition this year, as she not only was totally game to pose for "awesome" pictures and mob Tedford on sight, she also kept up on the white wine consumption! You'd hardly know she went to fUCLA.

Thanks to OskiWeeWee for driving me to and from, and for getting us in to all the secret special places! I was never more tempted to steal anything in my life than when I was all alone with rows and rows of shiny Cal jerseys. But even in my drunken stupor, I refrained. I feel so moral!

OskiWeeWee: Kittwin, you are very welcome for the ride as well as the super secret places! I love showing off my Cal Power, haha. The equipment room was an unplanned bonus, but I will definitely make sure to get that on the list for next year as well. Oh the pressure to find an ADDITIONAL cool thing! I hear it's not too hard to get to the top of the scoreboard...

Kittwin: Are anyone else's calves really sore? I don't know what I did to my calves. Was it crouching under that tarp? All the stairs? Anyone?

AndBears: Yes, I have some sore calves and a nice bear-claw shaped bruise from a football to show for it. Also, my tackling skills ROCK. Now THAT'S something to bring home to the men-folk.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: I have calves of steel, but my shoulders and neck were in so much pain the next morning that I could barely turn my head to either side! I don't know how that happened...a little too enthusiastic on the tackling and slapping, I think.

OskiWeeWee: Um, I know how it happened. It was when your shoulders and neck (and the rest of your body) accidentally collided with a glass window. But you totally avoided the big metal beam and that's what counts. :)

BearBallCarrier: My calves were sore too! I think it might have been that extra run up the stairs for another bottle of wine. Or all my excellent work striking the Heisman pose!

RemorsefulBruinBabe: I don't know about you guys, but when I came home I showed CBKWit all of my sweet new moves, posing like a running back (?) with my butt up in the air and my hand on the ground (granted, the big, burly, tattooed football players do it better) and rattling off all the things I could remember ("and we learned that you have to keep the ball in your breadbasket, which we realized means 'under the boobs' if you're a girl"). I felt like such a pro, even if I don't quite remember what a tight end was...they all looked tight to me.

OskiWeeWee: Let's breakdown the player's personalities and cuteness factors. Who cares about how good they are or what silly formation name they might play in - we need to be able to talk about them to our girlfriends and make funny comments about their pictures with us on Facebook!

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Wow, OskiWeeWee, you have a one-track mind. Personally, I think it's just demeaning to rate football players on their cuteness, and we should be talking instead about their abilities on the field. Ha! Gotcha! Let the rating begin!!! This is just like a junior high slumber party, only way, way better.

OskiWeeWee: First, #18: Wide Receiver Drew Glover. Adorable! 8 out of 10 on the cuteness scale. He's also a bit of a goofball, which I definitely like. He doesn't take himself too seriously (like other wide receivers we might know?), was willing to sign his name on a variety of, um, t-shirts, and seemed to love to pose in pictures. A plus for our friend group of 25 gals!

Silly boy collage!

AndBears: Yes, Drew Glover definitely very high on cute scale. Really having a good time teaching us how to run-turn-catch. And he did a little 'defense' on the cute girls. He's welcome to defend me anytime!

OskiWeeWee: That's what she said! But wait, that's really what she just said. Is the joke still funny?

Drew Glover uses the open-mouth defense.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Sadly, I didn't get to experience Glover's "defense," since I wasn't in that line. I don't remember who was manning (ha. ha. ha.) our line, but he just let us all run past him. I felt pretty badass running, turning, catching, and then running towards the imaginary end zone (we were in the middle of the field) though - I was doing a touchdown dance in my head for sure. Oh, and OskiWeeWee, it's still funny. It's always funny.

On a different note, why didn't we get to tackle any actual football players? I mean, those dummies were nice and all, but how about letting us run and tackle and push (or whatever it's "actually" called) the guys? Let the women loose! Woo hoo!!! Oh wait, never mind. I think I know why...

AndBears: Well, see, it's because we like our players in prime condition. I'd be afraid we'd inflict too much 'enthusiasm'. They don't train against us, so they wouldn't know what they'd be up against. I did have a lot of fun with the tackling (Sean Cattouse and Bob Gregory gave us that lesson -- no, I didn't ask about Bend-But-Don't-Break, but I really had to hold back).

Bob Gregory lays hands on the Cattouse Caboose

OskiWeeWee: Moving on to #77: Defensive Lineman Michael Costanzo. Media guide says he's a freshman, but he looks like a senior or senior +, and the guy scared the living crap out of me! Monster tattoo, creative goatee/beard, and girly sunglasses that looked badass on him. He did smile eventually once he warmed up to us. Cuteness factor only 5 out of 10, but 10 out of 10 badass factor.

Kittwin: Are you serious? That's way harsh, Tai! (For any guys reading this, that's a Clueless reference. That's for all your Simpsons references.) I give him a 7, at least, for his attitude, his shaved head, and his awesome tsunami bicep tattoo. Also I believe he's not so badass as he pretends to be, as he totally broke character and blushed when we tried to get him to reverse angle on his demo so we could take pictures of his ass.

Demo the reverse angle? Hey, I think they want to see my ass!

RemorsefulBruinBabe: And please note that while he blushed at first, he totally reversed his angle. Modesty, my ass! Well, his ass...wait, am I being inappropriate?

AndBears: Michael Costanzo was a bad-ass but I'm sure he's a teddy bear inside, I'll give him 8.5 of 10. But I have to say, I really enjoyed his station and his coach: Tosh Lupoi - Defensive Line, a really sweet cute young coach who taught us how to get in the proper butt-in-air stance, which RemorsefulBruinBabe will be demonstrating on demand. They also had my favorite 'ball on stick' toy to train us not to flinch until the ball (and only the ball) moves. Then we hit a bunch of stuff, some with body hits some with slaps, which was REALLY fun. Hey guys, send your ladies to the huddle where they really can learn how to tackle and slap!

From the people who brought you Hot Dog on a Stick, the newest accessory craze for the blind and football obsessed.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Oh so THAT'S why the ball was on the stick! I was a little confused, but I thought it was a hilarious little toy. I am so stoked for football season!!! You're so right, Kittwin; I might (ha. unlikely!) understand what the boys are talking about this year with their technical sports jargon, but I'll have more fun watching my new favorite football players run up and down the field in their tight pants. Oh, how I love football uniforms. :-) Tosh (Toshie?) was very sweet, but I'll have to give him a 7.5 on the cuteness scale.

OskiWeeWee: Seems totally inappropriate to rate a coach on the cuteness scale, so I'll hold back. ;) He did put up with us crazy over-hydrated girls...

Kittwin: What do you mean it's totally inappropriate to rate a coach on the cuteness scale? Where did you get your information? Tosh gets a solid 8 from me! You can say it's for his "coaching abilities" if that's your thing. I mean, look at this picture, I'm totally thinking, wow, Tosh is a solid 8! Maybe an 8.5 for being so tall!

Aww, Tosh is so dreamy! Those dimples! That perfectly square head!

RemorsefulBruinBabe: And seriously, OskiWeeWee, coaches can totally be rated on cuteness! I also totally thought that both the recruiting guy and the video tech were cutie patooties - especially earning cutie pie brownie points for trying to seriously tell us something (um, they try to recruit guys who are smart and funny and good at football...or something...and...um, they swap videos with other teams in the pac-10...) while we just kept "hydrating."

OskiWeeWee: OK, OK, I'll be inappropriate! Jeez! While I don't think Tosh is quite as dreamy as Kittwin clearly thinks, I will give him a 7. That's right, a lowly 7. :) But, he was a good sport.

Totally not attacking Tosh

AndBears: For those taking notes, that would be Andrew McGraw - Recruiting Assistant (also Cal Band alum!) and Matt Fox - Video Coordinator. We learned that our facilities are definitely a key recruiting fact that other schools (U$C, Oregon, UCLA) like to use against us and that Pac-10 schools are required to share film and must be there 10 days in advance of the game.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Thanks for clearing that up, AndBears. You must have been less hydrated than I was.

Trying to pay attention to Andrew McGraw at the recruiting/hydration station

OskiWeeWee: Before moving on, check out the TV - it's a bear on a golf course! OMG!

OK, #34: Placekicker Jordan Kay. Super nice and totally distracted when we started taking pictures with him while he was talking. We told him just to keep talking, but somehow he felt that was rude. How sweet! :) I have a special affinity for kickers, coming from a soccer background, so 8 out of 10 on the cuteness scale. ("Really?" asks Zoonews. "Yes, Really!")

Nice legs Mr. Kay!

BearBallCarrier: Jordan Kay, 10 out of 10! He should take off that helmet more! Oh so hot. I stand by it.

AndBears: To make this scale more probable, I'm going to have to agree with zoonews, as ridiculous and unbelievable as it is. I would only put Jordan Kay on a 7. He's nice, and totally a good sport with all the interrupting we did, but he just doesn't do it for me. Great, now I feel like a traitor because I want to jump him slightly less than our other fantastic Bears.

Kittwin: I agree with zoonews and AndBears, you people are crazy. Kay is generously a 7, but I have to deduct a point for his goofy I'm-playing-the-jerk-in-an-80s-movie hairdo. Also he is what us tall people like to call "not tall."

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Seriously, guys. He looked like a little spiky-haired adolescent. Cute, but more like your friend's kid brother than a crush-worthy hunk. Maybe I just like my men with a little more facial hair though...

BearBallCarrier: Woot, he's all mine! The hair adds like an inch. See, now it makes sense.

OskiWeeWee: Every inch counts! (That's what *I* said!)

Jordan Kay, a 10? You be the judge! Kay says, "Hey Bro! I'll kick this ball!

OskiWeeWee: #10: Linebacker Devin Bishop, little brother to Desmond Bishop (we got them confused last year, but we got it this year!). Very open to taking pictures. Cool shades - Mr. Cool - 7 out of 10 on the cuteness scale, although I would say he's more "hot" than "cute". Nice butt!

AndBears: I do think Devin Bishop is awesome. I later stalked his locker. Why go for the obvious ones like Riley and Longshore!?

Are you SURE he's not a tight end? Damn! Devin says: I got it and you like it.

OskiWeeWee: #56: Linebacker Zack Follett - so goofy!! 10 out of 10 on the goofiness scale. Very helpful and I can't believe he's the awesome player that he is, but I'm glad that he is. Meeting all of these players makes you realize that they are just regular, young, college guys. Cal fans expect so much... too much?

AndBears: Zack Follett also showed us this crazy padded thing with a helmet. So, as a linebacker you need to respond quickly and push back using only your hands and they had this pad with two sides and a helmet on top which when you slid the helmet to the right, the right-pad would pop out. They practice pushing back one side using only their hands which apparently takes 300 lbs of force!?! That's pretty damn strong! Needless to say, we could not do it. It was hilariously pathetic.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: I didn't get a chance to try that one, since we spent so much time taking pictures while they were explaining, but I bet I would have been really, really good at it. Oh wait, it looked really, really hard. Or maybe I'm thinking of Follett's buns of steel. A while ago, I wondered why they don't make a Men of Cal Football Calendar...of their butts. I am now wondering more than ever.

BearBallCarrier: I barely recognized him without the crazy hair. He was #1 on the list of players to be there. Well, #2 behind my former BF DeCoud, of course. Goofy works for him, I bestow an 8 upon his adorable head.

Buns of Steel not pictured

OskiWeeWee: #22: Running Back (different from Running Wolf) Tracy Slocum. L-O-V-E the little dreads, they will definitely increase the cuteness factor. He tried to jab us with a boxing glove while we ran over these triangle things - how mean! He was willing to give hugs (bonus!) while also looking adorable. 9 out of 10 on the cuteness scale!

Slocum is ready for battle, but the mighty leaping powers of the female were not to be challenged!

OskiWeeWee: #51: Center Alex Mack. We are sooo glad the Mack is Back, baby. (That must have been said a million times.) Even though he's quite a big dude, he has boyish charm. He LOOKS super sincere and nice and he really is. He must take on an alternate personality when he's out there protecting the quarterback. 8 out of 10 on the cuteness scale - truly love this guy!

You can run, but you can't hide...

RemorsefulBruinBabe: I definitely stalked Alex Mack a bit, but that's mostly because CBKWit likes him so much (ask him about the 2007 Washington State game), and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about (although it occurs to me know that he probably likes him more for his mad skills than for his cuteness. or maybe not, I don't know). You can't tell from that picture, but I was totally chasing him too (chasing football players seemed to be a theme of the evening).

AndBears: I can't believe you left out the best part about Alex Mack!! He can lift 375 lbs from floor to shoulder and uses the largest dumbbells in the weight room at 175 on each arm!!! Not to give away too much but that's one of me on each arm and some change! That's CRAZY!!! I'm not making this up, this info came from John Krasinski - Head Strength and Conditioning Coach.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: No way! I never heard that!!! When did we get that delicious nugget of information? (also, John Krasinski?)

AndBears: That was in the weight room after re-hydrating. I believe you were holding your own bottle of wine at that point.

Kittwin: Something like this?

She's clearly thinking, "step off my wine, biatch!"

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Oh. Right. Moving on...

OskiWeeWee: Last, but definitely the best, #13 Quarterback, the one, the only... KEVIN RILEY!!! (Crowd goes wild!) All the hype is definitely deserved! I asked one of my "inside guys" how the players were picked for the huddle: very selectively by the coaches based on their ability to interact with people and that they won't get in trouble. They see it as a reward! That's right - they like us! Oh, and they also get paid

My question to my inside guy: "Was it strategic to have Riley and not Longshore out on the field?" Apparently not as Longshore was out of town - but having Riley there definitely did Longshore no favors. Riley was sweet, funny, interactive, and seemed to genuinely like hanging out with us (as you can see by his goofy pics). If we weren't sold before, we are definitely sold now! Slam dunk 10 out of 10 on the cuteness scale!!! He's my fake boyfriend. Ladies, hands off!

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Personally, I am now a huge Riley fan. Sorry, HydroTech, but Longshore didn't show up (as OskiWeeWee noted, supposedly he was out of town...whatever.), and Riley was just so charming. Ok, maybe Tedford's worried that he's not "serious enough" or something (says CBKWit), but he didn't seem to mind when we chased after him for pictures instead of learning to throw (or whatever it was that he was trying to teach us), and that gives him brownie points in my book. When I pushed that "sled" of dummy football players, I did it for you, Riley! (Please love me!) And I know I wasn't the only one that thought his little band-aid was just adorable - I heard the collective female sigh ("He got a mole removed? AWWWWWW!") from a crowd of very well-hydrated ladies.

OskiWeeWee: LADIES, HANDS OFF! HE'S MIIIIIINE! (We are already facebook friends. That totally proves it!)

Riley gives us the thumbs up. Right back atcha, kiddo.

BearBallCarrier: Even with that weird band-aid on his face, super cute. Rates an 8 in my book. Longshore would get a 5. He should think about coming to the huddle sometime. I'd add another point just for that. I also wished Longshore was there for a side-by-side comparison.

Kittwin: Riley gets a 10 from me! I've always been a Longshore apologist, but Riley is adoooorable. I don't mean to brag, ladies, but Kevin totally took me to the prom! I have photographic evidence! (BearBallCarrier went with Drew Glover.)

Prom 2008: A Wonderland of Blue and Gold.

AndBears: 10 of 10, easy. Good hugger too. Also, I heard a rumor that Longshore recently got married, as recent as this summer. Maybe someone can confirm or deny that rumor, but is it creepy to rank a married player? Does that put him off limits? (she said, ignoring her own husband Rags...)

BearBallCarrier: He was engaged last year, so I would say that's probably true. I guess he stopped waiting for Jessica Simpson to show up.

OskiWeeWee: Thank goodness I don't have to start lusting after Longshore and I can keep lusting after Riley. BFF!

Kittwin: I believe you've missed several players, OskiWeeWee. For instance, how can you not mention #72 Offensive Lineman Mitchell Schwartz? I know he redshirted last year, but come on, the hair alone must be worth an 8 at least! Plus he could push those tackle dummies around like nobody's business!

AndBears: And he's the one with the size 18 shoe! You know what they say about guys with big feet... big socks...

Photo does not contain size 18 shoes.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: And we haven't mentioned yet that there were some totally creepy guys in the stands, watching like pervy stalkers as we tackled and passed and drank our way to women's huddle glory. So awkward. Especially when we realized that they were our husbands and boyfriends. I guess they didn't trust us with the studly manly men of Cal football?

Kittwin: Luckily my only boyfriends are my fantasy football boyfriends, so I was only embarrassed for you guys. But to give them some credit, at least they did not hover around the reception like some of those sad menfolk who looked like they had no idea what to do without their wives, even for a few hours! That should not be allowed! And, also, I wouldn't trust you with the studly manly men of Cal football either!

AndBears: Yes, watching from the stands with a high-powered zoom is way less creepy. We were pretty sure they weren't going to kill us, but not sure what they'd do with the evidence they were gathering... eww... But I suppose that's what you'd expect from the guys who brought you Stalking Ben Braun (the slideshow). I'd like to say - in the tradition of Freud - that they have 'vagina envy'.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: I totally agree, AndBears. I think they were less worried about us with the football players than they were jealous that they were not down there on the field too.

OskiWeeWee: Stalkers Suck Balls!

Boy those distant figures look familiar...

AndBears: So, we left out lots of fun players and definitely those smart and patient (oh, oh so patient) coaches, and we didn't even mention the ref we talked to! But we did play football, and learn football and feel-up football... so I think it was a very good day. Thanks for the Women's Huddle, Cal Football! Now, will you call us in the morning?

Fun was had by all...some more than others.

Church of Football

AndBears — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:14:06 -0000

There are the obvious relations between church and football. Many people gather to pray on a particular day of the week, sometimes making sacrafices to hygiene for the sake of luck. What I'd like to talk to you about today are the fundamental structures of these two institutions that make football the religious experience that we know it is. Both institutions are geared toward keeping and instilling faith into their respective worshippers and do that very successfully by appealing to innate social responses. So let's take a look at those social responses in the setting of football and the identity of the fans, then we can look at specific Cal traditions to see this in our own Memorial Stadium.

Both institutions take advantage of conditioned responses by the power of sacred locations and sacred music. First of all, Memorial Stadium is sacred--yes, sacred with drunks and overflowing toilets, but still sacred. The feel of the wood benches, the view of the field from your seats, the smell of sun, sweat and booze, and if you're lucky, the bouncy feel of momentum turf beneath your feet. You probably have very strong feelings about memorial stadium. Now, what makes it so holy? I think it's because the perceptual concept is not muddled up by the mundane; its only purpose is football. Every Saturday (or so) in the fall we all have a visceral reaction to the events on the field where the importance of it all is reflected in your heart-pounding, which releases adrenaline, cheering, which releases dopamine, and generally the whole experience being reinforced by 70,000 fans. You associate this importance and these emotions with this place.

You also associate your experience with the music that accompanies the scene. (Think of it like Christmas music, you only hear it once a year, and love it or hate it, I bet you have the same reaction to it every year.) Music has been used over centuries in almost every religious group to solidify relations to and importance of events. Just as in church, in Cal traditions you might even notice different styles of music to envoke solemnity or celebration; either Hail to Cal or Palms of Victory respectively. We also have holy persons and holy days. Everyone knows Tedford is god, but there does seem to be a hierarchy of holy football persona -- from AD to water boy. Complicated and unseen relationships of these saints can be honored and discussed by the masses. Deities exists such as Andy Smith, Pappy Waldorf, and Marshawn Lynch. Current players and assistant coaches may be working their way toward sainthood right now. As for the holy days, we all know Big Game is the holiest day of the year with its own special chants and traditions. Minor feast days might include Homecoming, the first game of the year, or the first day season tickets go on sale. The game traditions that we see every game day act to solidify our faith as well as our group identity as Cal fans.

The most important part of the group identity is, well, the identity; the rules and beliefs that define the members of the group. These are the kind of rules that state "thou shall not harass opposing fans while they are in line for the toilet" and "thou shall not wear red during Big Game week". Often this is most easily shown (and defined) by an 'us versus them' frame. Many groups are only defined after tossing out the undesirable actions and then seeing what the group finds desirable. When you travel to U$C, and you see 8-year-olds cursing at you, I hope this helps to show what is 'undesirable' in a fan and that part of the Cal fan group identity is a sense of class and restraint. Our differing group identities may explain why the University of Oklahoma Alumni Association makes about two to three times more money on apparel then Cal. It's because to be a "Sooner" you wear Sooner clothing, apparently constantly. Here at Cal, we don't believe that you are only a Bear fan. You can be a Bear fan on Saturday, a 'Niners fan on Sunday, and an A's fan on Monday. What's great about these rules are that they are self-policing within the group; make a mistake and you are corrected by your fellow fans (see chant "Take Off that Red Shirt"), do well and you are given peer support.

Besides personal experience, groups are also defined and connected by the history or narrative of the group. Cal certainly has a rich and telling narrative that, until now, has been only told in pieces and on an individual basis. Those with 'book-learnin' call this mnemonic tradition which includes what we remember as well as how we remember it. This means we remember sensory experiences (feel of the seats) as well as remember it through the interpretation of the group (U$C always cheats therefore...). The interpretation of information is very important -- it gives us a way to place emphasis and importance of some actions over others. The Cal narrative would explain why most Cal fans feel pretty confident that Pappy Waldorf is a more legendary coach than Jack Clark. Also, my husband Ragnarok reminds me that the name Pappy sounds very cuddly while Jack Clark gives kids people nightmares. In case you were wondering, it's because of this sociobiographical memory that accounts for the pride, pain, and shame we feel in reaction to the group history -- even to events before we were born. Basically, all of these different areas give us a concept of a Cal fan -- and lord help you if you do something that clashes with that concept.

Now, what you may not consider with all these game day factors, is that the University is very aware of them. Each department's marketing works very hard to take the handful of recognizable Cal artifacts (Campanile, Oski, Walking Bear) and turn them into a unique, but familiar, identifier for each different campus entity (Haas, Boalt, Optometry School, etc...). So when the Director of Gameday Experience (Megan Mosness) decides that we need more piped in music, it's with consideration of what Cal fans expect versus what money it will bring in. Now, I think what makes the piped in music especially obnoxious is that it clashes with our concept of being a Cal fan -- we love our band and we don't sell out. Traditions that stick are aligned with our concept of Cal. This may be one reason that we stopped using live bears as mascots; our concept of Oski was more classy and less vicious (besides the obvious maiming lawsuits). Along those same lines, some traditions match far too well to get accepted into tradition. In 2004, the Cal Band held a contest for a new Cal song. They picked California Triumph, a great song that felt to them "like a Cal song". It did, but it hasn't been accepted by the fans. Not because it clashes with the concept but because we already have songs that fit that meme (any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea). In a language, a new word will not replace an old word unless that old word changes meaning leaving a meme gap. For example, I hate the "Roll on You Bears" chant. It's dull and depressing. But it stays because it fills a specific need in the culture.

I hope that this is interesting. We live in a tiny Cal fan universe governed by social rules imposed by our history and enforced by our friends. In closing I'd like to add to go with this church of football, we also have our own words of prayer. Go Bears.