CGB Hall of Fame: Joe Igber v. Tyson Alualu

More hot CGB Hall Of Fame action!  Joe Igber v. Tyson Alualu.  I'm voting for Joe Igber, because I interviewed hm once for Cal Band HistoryComm and he was so nice.  But I think Tyson Alualu will win.  And perhaps he should, he is a really great player.  226 yards in the 2002 Big Game are tough to say no to, though. 

Well, let's get started.

Joe Igber beat Tyson Ross and MIchelle Granger. 

Tyson Alualu beat Sean Dawkins and then Patrick Christopher. 

So, vote!  Voting ends on Friday at noon PST.  You can see the entire bracket here.

Joe Igber

I'll let BearStage talk about Igber.

Joe Igber. My all-time favorite Cal running back. Often overlooked, his name litters the pages of Cal’s record books.

- His 3,124 career rushing yards are the third most in Cal history. Only Russell White and Marshawn Lynch can claim more.

-His 2002 rushing total of 1,130 yards was the 3rd highest single-season total in Cal history (at that time)

His greatest performance: a 226-yard, one-touchdown performance in the 2002 Big Game, which Cal won 30-7. Not only did he set the record for most rushing yards in the history of the Big Game (which still stands), he helped bring the Axe back to its rightful home after a painful 7-year drought.

These accomplishments alone should be enough to garner him consideration. And while these are all great reasons to appreciate Joe Igber, I’m most impressed with him because his career typified what we strive for Cal to be. You see, Igber somehow managed to balance the workload of a star Pac-10 running back with the workload of becoming a civil engineer.

Now, most people can barely handle one of those challenges. We all know how time consuming and stress inducing engineering majors are – between physics/math/engineering courses, labs, projects, research (if you’re ambitious) – it’s more than enough for most of us. UC Berkeley is one of the best (and toughest) places in the world to study engineering. People come from all over the world to study engineering at Cal, and that reputation is well-deserved, and it was the main reason that Joe Igber decided to come to Cal in the first place.

Also, we’ve all heard about how much time, sacrifice, dedication it takes to play Pac-10 football, let alone be a starter – the practice, the training, and weight rooms, the film, the travel. Add to the that the pressure of being the star running back, and you’ve got yourself a full plate that very few have the patience and focus to handle.

On top of even that – to perform at the level that Joe Igber did, to set records and do things on the field no Golden Bear has ever done, while handling that academic workload – it’s just ridiculous.

Joe Igber is that rare combination, the very best of both of Cal’s worlds – an amazing athlete and an impressive scholar. As such, I nominate him for the CGB Hall of Fame.

(Bonus: follow this link for incredible pictures of Joe Igber from Life magazine)

Tyson Alualu

In Remembering the Seniors, Hydro recalls his personal memories of Tyson.

While working for the team, I often worked with the defensive line.  On one sunny day, some of the more senior defensive linemen were having a little chit chat between drills.  Coach Delgado was firmly shouting out orders to players currently in the drill, and Abu Ma'afala, Nu'u Tafisi, and Mika Kane had just popped out of the drill.  They had been talking about who among the defensive linemen, will become either really really good or become an NFL player.  Between labored breathes, and with eyes fixed afar in thought, they pondered their nearby comrades in blue practice shirts and shorts. 

Somebody mentioned a few people, and those names didn't really garner much response from the others.  But then somebody, and I think it was Abu, suggested Tyson Alualu.  I think he said something like, "I think Tyson has a good chance."  The others immediately agreed with "yeah, Tyson."  It was unanimous.  The others weren't agreeing to agree, they were agreeing because they really believed Tyson Alualu would be the next great one. 

Tyson wasn't there at the moment.  I think he was in the drill itself.  He didn't hear those words, but I did and stored that memory away for today. 

I've written about this before, but for those of you who have ever done something enough to know what it takes to be good at that something, you know you can judge the talent and potential of others at becoming good at that same task.  For example, and I'll use myself, I grew up playing a musical instrument.  I turned out to be decent enough to make a few honor bands.  I knew who was good, and who wasn't.  I knew who had potential to be a pro, and who didn't.  Those experiences I had helped me judge others, and that's exactly what was going on in the conversation between Tafisi, Ma'fala, and Kane. 

Upon hearing those words, I made a distinct effort to keep an eye on Alualu from then on.  I'd be stupid not to since his teammates pegged him as the one of the next greatest ones. 

This story I am relaying to you occurred in 2006.  Tyson Alualu was a freshman in 2006.  The elder defensive linemen picked him out as a freshman.  They could see the talent and potential that early.  It was that obvious.