Well, we all know how the Maryland game went - hot, humid, muggy, and disappointing. But, all was not lost. Those of us who went to the game had a blast cavorting around DC, visiting the various establishments of the alcohol trade, and meeting many more Cal fans than you might expect to find concentrated 3000 miles away from our shining campanile.

At least the game started to get exciting in the fourth quarter. I'm convinced that the team started playing well once the cloud cover made it about 10 degrees cooler, and while that's no excuse for the first half, being there and bringing back the repressed memory of the suburb of hell that was College Park Maryland that day, I would personally completely understand if that were the case.

But, in the end, all I came home with was a Washington DC shot glass, a Maryland Terrapins frisbee that I found on some lawn, and an unsatiable craving to make soup out of the Terrapins next year in California, where we have weather fit for this planet and not the center of the sun. It turns out that Terrapin soup actually exists, too (I'm guessing it's just Turtle soup with this specific variety of turtle, but it works for me):

Mmmm kay, I'm glad I will never eat that, but I am also glad that it exists. What kind of mascot is a Terrapin anyway? I think mascots should be ranked based on the ability to make a soup out of them. Bear soup? I think not. Terrapin soup? Yessir.

Anyway, here are some photos I took at the game. Enjoy.

They actually spelled Berkley (er, Berkeley) wrong on the tickets. Glad I didn't go to that school...

A missed touchdown pass before the half, which led to...

The missed field goal that bounced off the left goalpost. Ugh.

I happened to catch the moment pretty perfectly, here's a crop of the above image:

Damn. Definitely on the wrong side of the post there.

There was a great turnout of Cal fans, all decked in blue and gold. It was way too similar to a Big Game between the two colors and the line between the sections was very distinct. Halftime came and went, then the third quarter, and still no touchdowns.

Finally a touchdown! Riley completes to Morrah. The three touchdowns this fourth quarter were some of the first excitement for the game for the Cal section, and spirits started to lift. These touchdown drives had everybody thinking "why the heck couldn't they do this from the start?"

Notice how there's finally some shade, as the clouds come out. It started to look a little like Berkeley and suddenly the Bears came out to play, but sadly, too little too late.

Awesome shot of Calvin making a jump to catch this 15 yard pass in the 4th quarter on the 3rd and final touchdown drive. Cal was finally looking like they knew what they were doing...

And there's that final 10-yard touchdown pass to Tucker. Go Bears! Nice drive. There was some semblance of hope in the air.

But, the onside kick was recovered by the Terrapins and the game died down. Final score, 35-27 Terrapins.

Cal Band Great! All Hail and Lights Out are played in a somber mood.

Time to trudge back to the metro stop. Apparently it would have been a good idea to wait for the metro shuttle bus, despite the half-mile long line, as the walk to the metro seemed to hurt more than the game itself. It was fun being harassed by Terrapin fans though; always fun to confuse them. "Cal Sucks!!" "Go Bears!" "..... Cal Sucks!" "Go Bears!"... .... .... (drives away slowly).

Go Bears! Beat the Terrapins next year! And don't ever take the weather in the bay area for granted - it truly is some of the best around.