Cal-Stanford rivalry and The Big Game (Berkeley, Palo Alto: schools, university, live)

[edsg25]

Once one of the best and most traditional college rivalries in the nation, it seems that both the Cal-Stanford rivalry itself and, more importantly, the Big Game, are mere shadows of what they once were.

There has always been something special about Cal vs. Stanford...two schools in the same area, one public and one private, that were able to mix stellar academics of the highest order along with athletic competition. That the two schools paralleled each other's growth practically from their onset with Hearst and Stanford respectively pouring fortunes into each. Even the race to build a quality football stadium in the 1920's was Cal vs. Stanford.

So how about it, Bay Area:

• Is Cal vs. Stanford and the Big Game no longer very relevant?

• And have both rivalry and game lost a big hold they once had on the Bay Area?

[bigdave01]

The problem is that Stanford has been down lately; however, I think Harbaugh will change that eventually. Stanford actually won last year.

[hsw]

Agree...not a big rivalry at all...

But need to consider that over past 20yrs, Stanford's Engineering School has come to dominate the campus' identity and relevance and is somewhat dismissive of non-Engineering stuff....arguably been the smartest kids on campus for >40yrs....have now also become the wealthiest alums of (and biggest donors to) Stanford for past ~10-15yrs

Many/most Stanford-trained engineers (or Berkeley-trained engineers for that matter) aren't sports fans....most poor or less-accomplished engineers are known as "geeks" or "nerds" for good reasons

[artemis78]

Y'all have clearly never tried to go anywhere in Berkeley during the Big Game if you think it doesn't matter anymore.

Whether or not it matters, it nonetheless draws the masses and clogs streets around the stadium for hours when it's held in Berkeley. I don't know what the scene is like when it's in Palo Alto, though.

[minibrings]

My Stanford (Mom, 2 sisters, brother-in-law are alum) obsessed family is what made me chose to go to Columbia instead!

I was in class one day (true story):
Guy 1: says "we won"
I said: "won what?
Guy 1: "football game"
Girl 1: "we have a football team"?
I said: "we have a football stadium?"

It was nice to attend a university that was not sports obsessed.

[tangodoodles]

My relatives are obsessed. My cousin played for Cal way back when and now his son plays there and they have like sixteen season tickets. So yeah, to them it's a big deal and to my mom and the other people in my family obsessed with football it's a big deal but I don't think it is a big deal unless you went to either school, live near either school, or have relatives who went to either school. And even then, not every alum is that interested in it, only the alums who like football. Personally though, I root for Cal.

[krudmonk]

People don't really give a **** about college sports in the Bay Area.

[mrzod]

I like college football -- even though it wasn't very popular from where I come from.

It's nice seeing parents bringing their little ones to the game.

[Nella925]

Since everyone seems to be giving different answers, you really can not assume that it is not as important or popular as it used to be.

[edsg25]

I like to think of Cal and Stanford as far more than an athletic rivalry, but as an academic one as well. On the whole, the Bay Area is less interested in the Big Game than it once was, certainly less so than during the era when there were first one and then two NFL teams in the region.

Question is, including sports but going on beyond it, does the Bay Area still hold interest in the whole Cal/Stanford thing considering that these two institutions by their very special nature make the Bay Area one of the premiere sites in the country for higher education?