The Play

Stanford won today against Cal Bears with a comfortable margin of 23 to 13.

 

Thank God they did not have to send their Marching Band into the field to stop Cal Bears from winning the game as in 1982. HeHeHe.

 

It was November 20, 1982. Stanford against Cal at the Cal Berkeley Stadium. Stanford Cardinals were leading 20-19 with only 4 seconds to play. The Cardinals flooded the field to celebrate and the referee ushered them back to the bench.

 

Now with only 4 seconds left, Cal had possession of the ball.

 

Stanford’s band, assuming their team has already won, started marching into the field. The Cal Bears made several backward/lateral pass among their players and ran through the Stanford Band to make a Touch Down and win the game 25-20.

 

This last play by Cal Bears on that day (November 20, 1982) is the called “The Play”,

 

“The Play,” as it became known remains one of the most famous in college football history.   Here is the YouTube of that last play.

 

Those Were The Days

When I used to work in San Francisco, I had to cross the Bay Bridge in Highway 80. It is crowded during commute hours (at all times now). There is a special lane for cars with 3 or more passengers. I lived in El Cerrito and it would take about one hour and 15 minutes to reach my office. Thru car pool lane, I could reach my office in 25 minutes.

 

People who drive cars and don’t have 3 passengers in their cars will stop at the bus stop or the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station to pick up passengers. I used to go to the bus stop and everyday different people in different model cars will pick me up and drop me in my office.

 

 

One day, a stretch limousine stopped and the driver asked me if I wanted to go to San Francisco. I agreed and took the back seat. In the front was the driver and his wife. They both run a funeral home in San Francisco. He had 4 stretch limos for use during funeral services.

 

He asked me if I would like to be the third passenger every day. I agreed. He used to live very close to my home. He said he would pick me up at my home every morning and drop me off in my office. He thought I was doing him a big favor by being in his car as a third passenger.

 

Ricky (the driver) was a big showman. When we reach our office, he would ask me to wait in the car. He will come out of the driver seat, open the back door and let me out. When I get out of the limo, he will give me a big salute and bow slightly and say “have a good day sir”. Just to make fun so others who are entering the office building notice that.

 

One day when he was doing that routine, my Regional Vice President (Number 1 man for the entire Western Region) who was entering the office noticed that. He asked me if I was coming from the airport. (Side bar: Managers are allowed to go in limousine to and from the airport.) I said I am coming from home. He had a puzzled look. He asked coming from home in a stretch limo? I said yes and this is how I come every day.

 

He stared at me for 10 seconds and said “I think I am paying you too much money”. He then entered the office.

 

I went to office like this for 3 years until they transferred me to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Big Game Postponed

Last week I wrote about the Big Game to be played today, November 17, between Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley.

 

U.C. Berkeley Football Stadium

 

Today’s game has been postponed due to poor air quality caused by wild fire smoke. This game has been rescheduled for December 1.

 

This is the second time in history the Big Game has been postponed. The only other time the Big Game was postponed was in 1963, the day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

 

This is not a sarcastic question. I am really curious. Do you know of any game/match being postponed due to any tragic event?