10-17-2012, 09:07 AM
You're right. BG should be the last game of the season. I assumed that this year the formation of the new mega-conference (I would prefer a Pac Eight) disrupted the normal scheduling. The rivalry is still there, but it's a better rivalry when the season ends with BG. Sticking ND on at the end, while probably unavoidable if we were going to play them those years, was bad enough. Putting it in October and playing UCLA on November 24 does tend to make BG just another game. I hope the people that set the schedules realize that this isn't good for Stanford or C*al.
On the topic of rivalry games more generally, there's a great movie called "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" about the Game of 1968, where Harvard made a miraculous comeback to tie Yale's dream team that included Brian Dowling and Calvin Hill. Usually it's torture listening to coaches and players talk about the game. ("Yeah it was a great effort and our kids really hung in there" repeated with slight variations ad nauseam.) The player commentary in this film, by guys talking about it 40 years later, is as good as the game was itself, full of insights about the 60s (Tommy Lee Jones recalls life as Al Gore's roommate), being a football player and (most relevant for fans) the life experience of investing a lot of emotional energy in football. The game affected the players on both teams -- and probably everyone who saw the game -- for the rest of their lives. People remember it, as we do some BGs, the way we recall where we were when we learned JFK had been assassinated. Ironically, a Yale player whose memory is comically faulty about things he himself did in the game shows an understanding of what football means in life terms (and by extension what being a dedicated fan means) that's probably the best I've ever heard. There are interesting parallels with the Big Game. It's the best sports film I've seen, with only one disappointment. Calvin Hill, the best player on the field, isn't in it. Still a tremendous movie. If you haven't seen it, give it a try.
On the topic of rivalry games more generally, there's a great movie called "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" about the Game of 1968, where Harvard made a miraculous comeback to tie Yale's dream team that included Brian Dowling and Calvin Hill. Usually it's torture listening to coaches and players talk about the game. ("Yeah it was a great effort and our kids really hung in there" repeated with slight variations ad nauseam.) The player commentary in this film, by guys talking about it 40 years later, is as good as the game was itself, full of insights about the 60s (Tommy Lee Jones recalls life as Al Gore's roommate), being a football player and (most relevant for fans) the life experience of investing a lot of emotional energy in football. The game affected the players on both teams -- and probably everyone who saw the game -- for the rest of their lives. People remember it, as we do some BGs, the way we recall where we were when we learned JFK had been assassinated. Ironically, a Yale player whose memory is comically faulty about things he himself did in the game shows an understanding of what football means in life terms (and by extension what being a dedicated fan means) that's probably the best I've ever heard. There are interesting parallels with the Big Game. It's the best sports film I've seen, with only one disappointment. Calvin Hill, the best player on the field, isn't in it. Still a tremendous movie. If you haven't seen it, give it a try.