Getting Ready for Big Game Week

It may be October, it may be 80 degrees outside, and there may not be a bonfire this time around, but it is nonetheless Big Game Week. This rivalry is too special and too historical to let a scheduling change take anything away from it.

As recently as a decade ago, there was a chain-linked fence that needed to be erected to separate the two teams’ fans at Memorial Stadium. Recently, however, it seems as if the Big Game has lost some of its luster. It probably doesn't help that Cal and Stanford have alternated between being really good and really bad (and never at the same time) over much of the last 20 years, making for lopsided matchups on paper and less head-to-head conference significance.

During the Tedford era, I can easily point to games against USC, Oregon and Tennessee as the most meaningful and anticipated games of the year. But even so, one of the toughest losses I’ve had to stomach was in 2007 when Stanford upset the Bears to snap Cal’s five-game winning streak that many of us had taken for granted. And probably the best Cal game I have ever attended in person was the Bears 34-28 win at Stanford Stadium in 2009. There is something special about the Big Game.

Even with Cal fighting to stay relevant in 2012, and Stanford controlling their destiny for a Pac-12 Championship berth with only one conference loss, I was surprised to see the Cardinal only favored by 2.5 points. As we all know, anything can happen at the Big Game. Perhaps now that the Bears have very little to play for except pride (and an appearance at AT&T Park in December), Cal fans will once again get properly fired up in what should always be the biggest game of the year. Even on a warm October day.