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By Dan Lowe ...with Cal trailing 17-10 and deep in their own territory, Washington's vaunted defense is showing a blitz.... Pawlawski hands the ball off to Lindsay Chapman, and he breaks through a gaping hole in the defense! All the Huskies can do is follow him into the end zone as he scores to tie the game. The Bears could be heading for the Rose Bowl!" At least, that's how I called the play that memorable fall day in 1991, as the Bears showed their greatest promise in decades. I was born with blue and gold in my blood. My grandfather was a pitcher for Cal in 1928 and met my grandmother when they were both students. Thirty years later, my parents, too, met at Cal. As a child, one of my favorite outings was our family's annual trip to see a Bears football game. Dressed in Cal garb from head to toe, our family cheered for the team with undying enthusiasm. Despite all this, my four older siblings all chose to attend schools other than Berkeley, and it fell to me to continue the Cal family tradition. Luckily, Cal was the only school I ever really wanted to attend. When my application was accepted, my grandparents, parents, and I all breathed a sigh of relief. As a freshman, I eagerly picked up my football season tickets and anxiously waited for the opening game, sitting for the first time in the middle of the student section. Although the games from my freshman to junior years were often exciting and entertaining, the Rose Bowl always seemed far beyond our grasp.  That all changed in 1991, when Bruce Snyder's team blew out UOP 80-24 in the first game of the year. This team--with Mike Pawlawski, Russell White, Lindsay Chapman, Sean Dawkins, Brian Treggs, Mick Barsala, and company--was out to do something special. The Bears entered the national rankings for the first time in over a decade. Then, Doug Brien's last-minute field goal in Pasadena led to our stunning defeat of UCLA. Much to my amazement, Cal kept climbing. By the time the Huskies came to town, Cal held an incredible #7 AP ranking. The Bears were the talk of the land. The winner of this game would have the inside track to the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl?! My grandparents had experienced it in 1928. My parents were students when Cal went in 1959. Was my generation due for a trip down south on New Year's? The week before the game, a buzz enlivened the Cal campus like never before. Shirts with "The Battle for the Roses" printed on the back sold like wildfire. The media joined in the frenzy: CNN's top story told of the Bears' football team finally breaking into the top 10, where Cal had long resided in academics. The night before the game, my friends and I spotted Brent Musburger at Spenger's. This was the game of the week: two undefeated teams playing on national television, called by ABC's top commentator. This was an honor usually reserved for pigskin powerhouses in Florida, not for Cal. That fine fall morning, there was not an open seat to be found when the vociferous Husky contingent crowded alongside the Cal faithful. As the Bears and Huskies fought it out, I don't think the crowd sat even during halftime--it was that exciting. Some predicted that Cal would be completely shut out by the seemingly unstoppable Washington defense, yet the halftime score was 10-10. Then the momentum turned Washington's way. They scored, and had Cal pinned deep in enemy territory. And then Lindsay broke free and sprinted up the middle on that awe-inspiring run. The stadium roared like never before. Brien kicked the extra point, and the mic man led the crowd in a rendition of "Go...Bears!" that was undoubtedly heard from the Farallon Islands to the Central Valley. People covered their ears with both hands. Every Cal fan in the house truly believed we could beat the Huskies, and every vocal cord was stretched to lend all available assistance. I think the reverberations ricocheted around Strawberry Canyon well after the ensuing kickoff. The Bears kept hope alive, right down to a last-ditch pass deep in Washington's territory that was broken up by the legendary Husky secondary. We gave it our all, but the game ended 24-17 in Washington's favor. As the final seconds ticked off, the entire stadium gave the two teams a standing ovation for one of the finest performances in Berkeley sports history and, without a doubt, the finest sporting event I have ever attended. So, the Rose Bowl trip would have to wait. With Jeff Tedford now at the helm, the Bears are showing the greatest promise in quite some time. I just hope I don't have to wait until my 15-month-old daughter is attending Berkeley before I can head down to Pasadena myself. |
We invite alumni to write about their Cal experiences for “Recalling Cal,” California Monthly, Alumni House, Berkeley 94720. Contributors will be paid $100 upon publication.
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