Homecoming at Cal, 9 October 2010
Homecoming day, about 10:00 a.m. This set up is for the Bearbackers. I walked by en route to find rugby folks, not sure what I could do to make myself useful when I found them...
The Cal flag flying above the stadium.
Preparations for the game. I'm thinking I'm probably not supposed to be up here right now, but here I am. I just walked up like I always do.
Peeking past a fence at the torn up rugby field. Yep, someone called out just then to ask what I was doing there. Happily, it was someone I know. I told her I was getting into trouble, but she let me go. :) Anyway, I didn't see a gathering of rugby people up there, so I headed down the other side...
I spotted a banner on one of the Greek houses & figured I could walk around looking for more.
Sometimes the most useful thing I can do is to photograph stuff.
Then I started noticing the rugby guys in small groups handing out cards. They were such gentlemen, engaging the attention of passersby, then offering them a card & any explanation they'd like to hear.
I was not at all surprised by the excellent decisions about how to get the word out, the appropriate & effective execution of those decisions by everyone I encountered, or the genuinely concerned response of people receiving the information.
But as I walked amongst this amazing community, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of being immersed in a collective passion for something so many people care deeply about.
For what I'd say was a good, solid hour, everyone I passed in the streets was talking about rugby, discussing the situation amongst themselves, passing information to one another, consistently serious & concerned but not angry, simply spreading the word.
I walked over to see if there was a save rugby banner on Bowles Hall & couldn't resist this composition.
I think I've been spotted! Not that I was trying to be stealthy. More like unobtrusive. And I did go talk to one of the guys, earlier, & asked for a few cards.
Heh. These folks weren't overly interested. He's wearing a dark blue & yellow cap, but it actually says UCLA on it.
Most everyone else was eager to find out what's going on & walked away reading the cards or talking to each other.
Easily distracted by bright, shiny objects.
Another banner. I could've grouped them all together, I suppose, but I've decided to keep to my meandering chronology. It's easier, & more honest. I walked for over 2 hours, covered the same ground a few times.
My overdeveloped sense of coincidence has me wondering if the guy receiving this card could be the notably small hockey player I saw in the Cal Ice Hockey game the night before... highly unlikely, but these are the random thoughts that sometime cross my mind. Cal Ice Hockey is a club sport & some of their uniforms appear to be plain white jerseys with numbers made of electrical tape. More people should go to those games, & buy shirts & stuff. Ice hockey rocks.
I heard the plane go over 2 or 3 times before it occurred to me it might not be just another ad. While I was staring up at it & trying to time a good shot, a bunch of people around me followed my gaze & looked as surprised as I was.
I decided to go get a taco, & some frozen yogurt, since I hadn't had breakfast yet. I got distracted by this reflection on the way through campus.
And the Campanile seen by way of this path.
And I detoured up the stairs of Hearst Gymnasium & saw this.
Another reflection. By this time I'd already had a taco & I was trying not to actually juggle my frozen yogurt & my camera when I took the picture.
Eventually, I made my way back up to the stadium, this time using my ticket to get in, but heading to the East rim rather than to my seats. I ended up watching most of the game with Jerry, which was quite nice.
Another touchdown... we got 5 of them, & UCLA only got 1.
During halftime I walked around the outer edge of the stadium to see what I could see. Most of the high performance center is underground - underfoot, actually - but this part seems a bit obtrusive to me. I think I'd like the aesthetic on its own, but I don't like the way it blocks part of the stadium. I wonder if this could be temporary? It certainly looks concrete, so to speak.
The gate at the Southeast end of the stadium, where the visiting team's fans sit.
Distracted by a leaf, on my last trek down the hill for the day.
Then I heard the band coming down the hill, taking Bancroft by storm.
Pretty impressive, much moreso with the music but I only took pictures!
So, while we were talking during the game, Jerry mentioned the plaque on the steps of Sproul Hall & I said I guessed I'd better go see it. Of course, the plaque prompted me to look up this Mario Savio guy & I found a video of his 2 December 1964 speech. This is the last 30 seconds or so of his address:
"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part - you can't even passively take part - & you've got to put your bodies upon the gears & upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, & you've got to make it stop & you've got to indicate to the people who run it - to the people who own it - that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all."
Mario Savio