Cal has spent more than a year giving Memorial Stadium a face lift. Much of it was sorely needed but I find it more than a little sad that anything had to change. Memorial Stadium opened in 1923 for the Big Game against Stanford. It's been one of the best venues in college football ever since. This work being done had best not change that.
I was first introduced to Memorial Stadium in 1975. It was magnificent. Like a dream, everything was perfect. I'd never been to a football game at that level. I'd only seen little high school stadiums before. TV in those days never approached the justice deserved of the stadiums, the football fields and the games played in them and on them. Midfield seats made it all impossibly perfect. I even felt that I could feel the presence of Andy Smith and Pappy Waldorf, the Wonder Teams, Jackie Jensen, Les Richter and Johnny O. Following in the mist of those that came before, new Cal legends Chuck Muncie and Wesley Walker were on the field that day. So was quarterback Joe Roth. Little did we know then that Roth would have only a handful of games left to play. He would play them like few ever have. Cancer would take Joe Roth way too soon. That entire day felt scripted just for me. Everything changed. My love of football was born that day in Memorial Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment