We invest a lot of ourselves in our team. We care deeply about wins and losses and love to stay informed on even the minutest details regarding our football program. As a concerned fan, I’ve always been looking for ways to help our team. I once considered attempting to be a walk-on and I often observe certain traditions as well as superstitions - despite my better judgement - to 'help' our team. I was so invested as a Cal student, that had I received progress reports throughout the fall semester of 2007, I'm pretty confident the correlation coefficient between my performance, and that of our team, would have been one. As a constantly concerned Cal fan, I have always been searching for a way to help make our actions, as fans, actually beneficial to our team and its well-being. Finally, I came up with a possible and simple way for us to help our team.

Let’s stay positive during the season

Phrases like, "We should fire Tedford" or "Boo Maynard, you suck, put in Kline!" don't help our team AT ALL. Tedford, barring a scandal, will be our coach for this entire season, so rather than waste words on a discussion of his immediate future, let's have different, hopefully productive, discussions. Sure, yelling at a head coach (quarterback, d-linemen, etc) is cathartic but it really just causes us, as fans, to divide rather than unite. The more united we can be as a fan base, the more we can make an inclusive community. Psychologically, this is the same impetus for the "Team Matters" t-shirts that our players wear. Putting a group above the individual makes for a stronger community than a similar group of disparate individuals. The less divisive our fan base can be, the more attractive our fan base will be to our current players, future players, and maybe even future coaches.

I am not saying that we should suppress negative feedback, or that we should have fewer discussions about the current trajectory of our team's season, but we should be cognizant of fact that we keep trying to have rational discussions about which very few of us are rational. I love the University of California, and its athletic programs, and having a website that allows us to discuss the programs openly, intelligently, and intimately is somewhat of a dream come true. Let's make sure that we never forget that "[i]n a university, as elsewhere in the world, heart is more than head, love is more than reason. Hold fast to that love for the University. Stand strong, shoulder to shoulder, when you do its work. Cheer for her; it will do your lungs good. Love her; it will do your heart and life good."

Go Bears!