What’s the goal?
(Written by kencraw)
(This post is a bit of a “brain dump” because I don’t know exactly what I want to say, but I feel oddly compelled to write it)
What’s the goal of Cal Football? Or perhaps more precisely what is each of our desire for Cal football?
Of course one could easily just resort to an answer like ‘to win the Rose Bowl’. Of course you can substitute or add your favorite level of on-the-field success whether that be as lofty as a national championship or meek as bowl appearances most years.
But why? What’s the point of all of this? What do we accomplish by seeing the team win? I mean, I don’t personally achieve anything, with the possible exception of perserverence, by watching Cal football games every year until they accomplish the above determined goal. So is it just a desire for the emotional high of witnessing something you’ve been desiring for years? And if it is, what are we willing to sacrifice to get that emotional high?
In thinking about this I started thinking about the sacrifices I’m making for this goal. For starters, every year I give a couple thousand dollars to the program so that I can sit in the stands and witness the specticle. For my family, it’s a HUGE percentage of our entertainment budget, so much so that it creates a minor strain come budget time. (Have I mentioned how much I love my wife and how supportive she is of my desires?)
But it’s not just money. There’s time, the 100’s of hours that have been poored into this blog over the last few years and in the side-job of writing for Rivals to get press passes and access to the players. Not to mention the time of actually going to the games or making time to watch them on TV when I don’t go to the games. Plus the wear and tear on my cars, which I put over 9000 miles on this year chasing the Bears around. Then there’s the emotional investment, that my heart genuinely hurts when I witness a heart-breaking game. There’s the hours I spending thinking about the games and the team.
So what is it that I desire for these sacrifices?
One thing my mind continually drifts to is the joy of taking my family to the games. It’s something that my boys and I cherish as a common activity. Some people go hiking or take the boat out on the lake. My family goes to Bears games. I must admit that this portion of it is huge for me. It’s a family activity, one we can cherish for years.
But the reality is that it was just as much a family activity when the Bears were 3-8 or even the dreaded 1-10. As such, it’s clearly not sufficient that the team just show up on Saturday and play. I enjoy myself a great deal more these days despite the fact that I’m not as close to the 50 yard line as I was 10 years ago and I have far less room than I ever did before.
So winning is important, there is no doubt about that.
But what else is important? Just that the games are fun to watch? How about the players and the coaches? What matters about them? Just that they win? Or perhaps just that the games are fun? What about integrity? What about promoting the school? What about giving 85 kids scholarships (really it’s more than that as the football program funds a bunch of other sports programs too), many of whom would have trouble affording college otherwise? What about the academic exemption that allow kids with less than perfect grades to attend Cal, is that important?
The more I think about it, the more I think it is a huge ball of intertwined spaghetti that can not be pulled apart. It’s ALL of it. It’s about family and about the team. It’s about winning and having a good time. It’s about the school and the fans. It’s about helping the players/students and about asking for something from them. It’s about all of us being part of something that is bigger than ourselves, something collective for us to put our hopes and desires into.
I guess my overall point is that while I like a winning Cal football team, it’s just as important to me that Tedford is a class act and that the kids playing on the field are getting a real education. It’s important that it build up the University. And to repeat, it is important that the team strive to win and take the steps to evolve and improve itself so that it does win in the long term. We all want a Rose Bowl before we die…
…but let’s not forget that’s not all we want.
GO BEARS!
January 27th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
For something that was a brain dump, it was very well spoken. You articulate feelings that are difficult to explain at times. I’ll print this out for my girlfriend for each time she asks me why I’m skipping out on a date to go to a Cal game. Go Bears!
January 28th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Well said, Ken, and a nice reminder about what this is all about. Most times, I try and avoid pondering why I spend so much time and energy rooting for our Bears, because when I do, a number of contradictions and complications arise. It sure is easier to enjoy the beer and the football and to leave it at that, though I recall that someone once said something about ‘the unexamined life’…
January 28th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Great read Ken. I’d throw in there that it is the context of all those things, i.e. family, winning, etc., that drives most long-time Cal fans. We have a lot of pride in this program and this school for its balance of academics, athletics and character. The goal is watching that school and program put a great product on the field without compromising those things. I think all agree that Cal fans are a unique bunch, in that we really don’t want to “win at all costs,” i.e. become a football factory.
Tedford has turned us into a winning program, but he’s preserving what makes Cal great – balancing athletics and academics and character and that Berkeley quirkiness. The goal is perpetuate that, enjoy the ride, and hopefully continue to elevate the success.
January 28th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
The goal always has, and always will be, to annoy dad greatly.
January 28th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Hear hear! I’ve found myself much more able to enjoy Cal games when I focus on the positive. As much as a 9-4 season may underwhelm people, I loved last season for a variety of reasons, one of which was going undefeated while playing in the Bay Area. But even when we lose it’s a great time out and easy to root for a good team, a good coach and good kids.
January 31st, 2009 at 8:48 am
Excellent reflections Ken. I love the Bears. My wife and I stood and yelled in the student section long before we ever realized that we loved each other. I drove to LA in 2004 with 4 other students in a car meant to seat only 4. The University of California Berkeley is incredibly important to me, and Cal football is one of the most tangible and fun ways to experience Cal after one no longer gets to attend lectures.
But there is such an emotional investment in sports. We get so pumped up about a game that we really have no control over. I find myself hoping that high school students from Southern California will have the wisdom to see that Cal is the best place for any college student to be. Each year I hope that 20 year old kids that I have never met will get us to the Rose Bowl so that I can feel vindicated in my love for Cal.
Oh well.