When it comes to USC, the past is all Cal has (and it's time to get over it)

What do these three games have in common?

• Game 1: The luster of this game wore off as September and October turned into November. At one point, it seemed destined for this game to be THE game of the year. Both teams at one point were ranked in the top 5. One started as the preseason No. 1 in the country. The other rose all the way to No. 2. But losses to inferior teams at home (one to Stanford; the other to Oregon State) sent the teams tumbling. But both were ranked when the two met on a Saturday night in November. It was a cold and rainy Saturday night, with a constant and steady stream of light rain and with the darkest clouds making the scene even more dramatic. The home team hadn’t beat the away team in four years. It wore special throwback uniforms that year to honor a former great. It was looking to redeem a season against a huge rival. It got close. With three minutes left, the home team was down by a touchdown, and had the ball in enemy territory. But the quarterback—who struggled all season—could not hit his receiver and threw an interception to end the upset bid. The crowd of 72,000 was stunned, but not surprised. Remember, it was only a month ago that they were the No. 2 team in the country and saw their national title hopes crushed on a decision by a quarterback.

• Game 2: Revenge was on the mind of the home team here. Revenge and protecting what it believed to be theirs. It was a year ago that the visiting team ended the home team’s run for an outright national championship. And now they meet this year, this time in front of their 90,000 fans in a historic venue. The game was between two top 10 teams, as the visiting team slowly rose in the rankings, due to the play by its understated running back and its Quarterback who would become an NFL superstar. The game itself was amazing, especially for that said Quarterback. He completed his first 23 passes, tying a NCAA record and breaking a school record. But he couldn’t complete the passes that counted. The visiting team had 1^st-and-goal on its opponent’s 9-yard line. There were less than two minutes left and it was down six points. First down: the Quarterback is flushed out of the pocket and throws an incompletion. Second down: the Quarterback is sacked. Third down: another incomplete pass. Fourth down: an open a receiver in the end zone, a slip, and another incomplete pass. The visiting team outgained the home team 424-205 in total yards. It wasn’t enough. The home team avenged its loss from the year before and went on to win the outright national championship.

• Game 3: Both teams are facing resurgences. The visiting team is ranked No. 3 in the country for the first time since 1988. The home team finally has a heart beat after winning just one game two seasons before. The game is an epic one, so epic that the words written here would fail to do it justice. You might as well watch the whole thing (via Youtube), or at least watch the highlights. Just know that there were three overtimes. There was a turnover, three missed field goals, two touchdowns, and a nervous home kicker to win the game in overtime. The home team won, 34-31. The visiting team would have to settle for a share of the national championship this year. The win would be a program-maker for the home team.

So, what do these games have in common?

All three games have become folk tales in the mythology that is Cal football. All three games have to do with almost beating (or actually beating) the standard-bearer in the Pac-10/12 Conference, Southern California. And Cal fans can’t stop talking about these three games.

Game 1: Nov. 10, 2007, USC at Cal, Cal loses 24-17.

Fan’s reaction: Nate Longshore really sucks.

Game 2: Oct. 9, 2004, Cal at USC, Cal loses 23-17.

Fan’s reaction: FIRST-AND-FUCKING-GOAL FROM THE NINE!

Tyler Fredrickson with the game-winning field goal in 2003.

Game 3: Sept. 27, 2003, USC at Cal, Cal wins, 34-31

Fan’s reaction: BEST. GAME. EVER.

That 2003 game is especially held in up lore around the Berkeley campus and among Cal fans/alums. It should be. It’s been nine years since Cal last beat the Trojans. The pregame video can be recited verbatim by some Cal fans. It was also the game that put the Bears into the national consciousness.

The other two games highlight the ultimate “What If?” What if the Bears and Aaron Rodgers beat USC in 2004? The Rose Bowl for the first time in almost five decades? Forget the Rose Bowl, there’s the BCS title game.

What if Longshore didn’t throw that interception? A season redeemed? At least there wouldn’t have been that historic downward spiral Cal had after being ranked No. 2 in the country in 2007.

You know what though? It’s time to get over it all. It’s time to stop looking at the past, either with nostalgic bliss or regretful misery.

But in sports, it’s tough to stop living in the past. It’s especially tough when a rivalry has been decidedly one-sided after being pretty even for a handful of seasons.

And then of course, Cal’s “rivalry” with USC has never been a rivalry. It’s been more like pip-squeak trying to prove itself and failing. The Bears have two wins over the Trojans since 2000—with one being at the Coliseum in 2000.

Let’s just get used to that underdog roll. Let’s just go into every game expecting to not win. Let’s not look at the past and view them with rose-colored glasses. Let’s not have any expectations, based on previous experience.

Isn’t that what made the win in 2003 so great?