What's Your Favorite Moment Of Old California Memorial Stadium?

That’s crazy. We must’ve been sitting right next to each other because that pick happened in front of me as well.

I also remember being part of the crowd to storm the field and almost getting stiff armed and bowled over by a very annoyed Joe Igber, who didn’t seem to be excited about the shenanigans and wanted to bone out to the locker room. He probably wasn’t too thrilled about only netting 49 yards on 21 carries, especially after gashing ASU the week previous.

1- 2002 – Big Game – getting the Axe back against Furd. What a game. 20 year anniversary of the Play. Great halftime show. Boller being carried on shoulders. The goalposts going down.
1A- 1991 – UW – Great back and forth game with a chance to win on the last play of the game. The loudest I’ve ever heard Memorial and a standing O at the end of the game. Sadly I live in Louisville now so I didn’t get to see 2006 against Oregon to compare the volume.
2- 1990 – UCLA – The team walking through the stands down to the field before the game. First win in 19 years against FUCLA.
3- 1991 U$C – Russell White revenge game against SC. 229 yard rushing. Seemed to almost break out for a TD on every KO returned. We destroyed them 52-30.

The other game that is probably top 3, though it didn’t happen in Memorial, was the Citrus Bowl in ’92. We absolutely destroyed heavily favored Clemson.

FWIW my best memories of Memorial have nothing to do with games, but with heading up there on weekends during the spring when the sun finally decided to come out and lounging in the stands, or kicking a ball around on the turf. I don’t know what it’s like now, or when any of you young whipper-snappers were there, but back in the ’80s Memorial was basically open in the off season (except for practice times), and we could go there as we liked.

Gamewise, well it starts and ends with The Big Game. #1 was The Play, #2 was the miracle win against $C back in ‘85, and #3 was Kapp’s farewell Big Game win.

Yep.

1. The first game I attended as a frosh in 1983. It was the first time I had been in a stadium that size, and to see the sport and the pageantry was great – things like hearing Cal cheers for the first time, being in a card stunt, walking with the crowd up to the game, etc. I’m pretty sure Cal lost, but Ron Rivera, J. Torchio and Gale Gilbert were there trying their best.
2. USC game 1985. I was at Cal during a pretty lean period, and this was the most exciting game I can remember. Marc Hicks, where are you now? I googled him and found this thread of people who remember better than I do. http://www.bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36051
3. Stealth visit April 2006. I had taken three youth from my WDC tutoring program out for a California college tour and we hit Berkeley late on a spring afternoon just after a rain shower ended. After a cursory tour of the academics, we headed up to the stadium, found an open door, and played frisbee on the field. Since I had stopped following sports for about 15 years, I was amazed by the new turf – science! Then we hiked up to the rim to watch the sun set through crystal clear sky over the bay. To remember when you were young and strong, with hopes and fears for the future, and to recall the times that we had; and to see the world through the eyes of the young scholars – the way I felt that day was a real sign that I was getting old.

In no particular order:
96 vs. Zona
02 vs. Baylor
02 vs. Furd
03 vs. U$C
06 vs. UO
06 vs. UW
07 vs. Tennessee

2006 Oregon
2007 Tenn
2004 ASU
2006 Furd
2009 Az
2008 UW
2008 Furd
2008 Oregon

It wasn’t a game at all, but a few years back they had these one-day events where fans could come and work out, run drills, and learn with the players. It was one of the highlights of my Cal sports history, running around on the field, in and around the stadium, in the film room, in the dining facilities. I got to see more of Memorial inside and out than most fans, and so that day gave me a lot of special Memorial memories.

September 7, 1991
California 86, Pacific 24

It was the total demolition of an inferior opponent. Mike Pawlawski threw for 6 touchdowns. Cal scored 12 touchdowns. Rally Comm ran out of ammo for the cannon. The student section chanted “we want a hundred” for the better part of the fourth quarter. Pacific would get the ball in their own territory and we’d encourage the defense with “Touchdown Bears!” Sure it was a ridiculous game, but oh so fun.

Big Game 2002 – Tightwad Hill – My first year at Cal and my first Cal game ever. I’m on the upper part of Tightwad. The game ends, you can see fans rushing the field, everyone on the hill is going crazy. At this moment I scan my surroundings to take it all in. Down towards the bottom of the hill in clear sight is some kid decked out in Cal gear gripping a fence and absolutely puking his brains out, struggling to finish up and keep his feet so he could go celebrate. It was an awesome sight! It was one of those “..priceless.. Mastercard” moments, as spoofing those commercials was the in thing at the time.

Score another one for “The Marathon at Memorial.” It is a memory that will live with me always.

I’m still a sophomore, so I only have memories from the past two seasons.

1. 2009 vs. Arizona: First close win at home. There had been blowout wins vs. Maryland, EWU, and Wazzu; a blowout loss to USC; and a depressing loss to Oregon State (they’ve taken out a key part of our offense for the past two years!), so this game had by far the best crowd I had experienced so far. Some students rushed the field, because it was sort of an upset as Arizona was ranked in the low teens, IIRC. I wanted to rush the field as well, because I had no idea if I would ever get that chance again (I’ve been brainwashed by you Old Blues already!). Fortunately I got my wish fulfilled the next week in the Big Game, which will forever rank as one my top Cal football memories of all time.

2. 2010 vs. Oregon: Even better crowd than 2009 vs. Arizona, but it ranks lower because of the result. Still, it was an amazing performance by the defense, the best that any team did against Oregon this year. Yay, double digits! I still wonder what would’ve happened if Giorgio doesn’t false start or if Kevin Riley hadn’t been injured.

I’ll get off your lawn now.

So I chose the 1990 game vs. Ucla when Cal broke the long losing streak. But if I’m to expand the universe of favorite memorable moments I witnessed in person, all of these come to mind.

In chronological order:

1. Big Game 1988: My first Big Game. When David Ortega intercepted a pass late in the 4th quarter of a tie game was, to this day, one of the most exciting moments I’ve experienced at a Cal game. (That memory is juxtaposed, obviously, with the downer of the blocked FG to end the game in a 19-19 tie. That one is not a “favorite” memory, but the interception by Ortega is.)

2. 1989 vs. Wisconsin: The advent of the seal clap, when we mocked the Wisconsin fans (who used the clap). Hilarious fun.

3. 1990 vs. Miami: Russell White’s first touch at Memorial Stadium was a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD. It was an electric moment in the stadium.

4. 1991 vs. Pacific: The 86-24 Cal win. The memorable moment was the cannon running out of ammo. The student section improvised by yelling “BOOM!”

5. 1991 vs. Purdue: Russell White hurdles a dude. That was cool.

6. 1991 vs. Washington: Three moments from this game stand out for me as favorites. First, during pregame warmups, an early arriving (?!?!?) student section yelled, “Hey Coach Snyder…WE BELIEVE!” Second, the epic 68-yard TD run by Lindsey Chapman was awesome. Finally, the ovation that our fans gave the team when our last ditch pass fell incomplete was memorable.

7. 1991 vs. USC: We won 52-30 (and it was not as close as the score would indicate). But what I remember is the student section’s audible singing when USC’s band played Tribute to Troy: “Is that…the only song you know…It’s boring and it’s slow….We really wish you’d go…”

8. 1993 vs. Oregon: The moment we made the 2-point conversation to cap the 30-point comeback and take the 42-41 lead. Epic.

9. 1994 vs. Washington State. Two words: Ziv Gottlieb.

10. 1996 vs. Arizona: The moment that Arizona’s fake extra point play failed in the 4th OT, giving Cal the win. I had no voice left.

11. 2004 vs. Oregon: “The drop,” which made it seemed like we were destined to go to the bowl I cannot say out loud.

Then the mega-comeback vs Oregon.
Then Win One for the Zipper.

I think it is true that the victories were sweeter when they were rarer.