[cardcrimson]

I didn't attend either school, but I have had family at both...one granddad at Stanford, one at Cal. I've been attending Cal v. Stanford games since the 1970s. My roommate in between college and marriage was a Cal grad and still a good friend.

They're both great institutions, approaching the education business in similar yet separate ways. I have two sons in essentially the same boat. Very similar, but with categorical differences. And I would have been delighted and proud if they had attended either school.

I have been a Stanford athletics fan for half-a-century, and I always will be, despite conference moves or temporary administrative errors in judgment. I'm a Cal fan to the extent that I want to see strong Cal teams play strong Stanford teams...that's always the best.

I would far prefer Cal and Stanford to remain in the same conference. They are essentially perfect rivals. Similar enough that you get up for the game/match, and different enough to make it count. And I expect that Cal and Stanford...like USC and UCLA...will make every effort to remain together. Hopefully it happens.

Incidentally, I'm still a fan of UCLA. Both my sons are in long-term relationships with two wonderful women who are UCLA alums.

Not as big a fan of USC for a variety of reasons, starting with the constant, SEC-like cheating. I stipulate that it has strong academics, particularly in certain disciplines. My sister's three children all attended USC and my cousin attended USC for a semester before transferring to Reed. So in an effort to be fair and balanced, I encouraged both my sons to consider USC as an educational option. Older one said "I'd rather go to a junior college." Younger one agreed -- reluctantly -- to tour the USC campus with me. We were on the campus for all of 11 minutes before he turned on his heel and said "I'm not going here."

Losing a close rival means you lose something important. If they end up in different conferences, I hope they maintain the all-sport rivalry, which dates back to the 19th century.

In general, it means a lot. In practicality not as much as it once did. I've given up going to Berkeley for games years ago. My wife was new to California (the state) and we went to Big Game in the mid 2000s. It was also Iron Bowl day and she was wearing Crimson. The amount of profanities hurled at the both of us, and the food hurled our way, as well, was unbelievable. And we were just walking down the street wearing two different shades of red. What was once a good natured rivalry has lost something. . . ..

[cardcrimson]

I didn't attend either school, but I have had family at both...one granddad at Stanford, one at Cal. I've been attending Cal v. Stanford games since the 1970s. My roommate in between college and marriage was a Cal grad and still a good friend.

They're both great institutions, approaching the education business in similar yet separate ways. I have two sons in essentially the same boat. Very similar, but with categorical differences. And I would have been delighted and proud if they had attended either school.

I have been a Stanford athletics fan for half-a-century, and I always will be, despite conference moves or temporary administrative errors in judgment. I'm a Cal fan to the extent that I want to see strong Cal teams play strong Stanford teams...that's always the best.

I would far prefer Cal and Stanford to remain in the same conference. They are essentially perfect rivals. Similar enough that you get up for the game/match, and different enough to make it count. And I expect that Cal and Stanford...like USC and UCLA...will make every effort to remain together. Hopefully it happens.

Incidentally, I'm still a fan of UCLA. Both my sons are in long-term relationships with two wonderful women who are UCLA alums.

Not as big a fan of USC for a variety of reasons, starting with the constant, SEC-like cheating. I stipulate that it has strong academics, particularly in certain disciplines. My sister's three children all attended USC and my cousin attended USC for a semester before transferring to Reed. So in an effort to be fair and balanced, I encouraged both my sons to consider USC as an educational option. Older one said "I'd rather go to a junior college." Younger one agreed -- reluctantly -- to tour the USC campus with me. We were on the campus for all of 11 minutes before he turned on his heel and said "I'm not going here."

Losing a close rival means you lose something important. If they end up in different conferences, I hope they maintain the all-sport rivalry, which dates back to the 19th century.

In general, it means a lot. In practicality not as much as it once did. I've given up going to Berkeley for games years ago. My wife was new to California (the state) and we went to Big Game in the mid 2000s. It was also Iron Bowl day and she was wearing Crimson. The amount of profanities hurled at the both of us, and the food hurled our way, as well, was unbelievable. And we were just walking down the street wearing two different shades of red. What was once a good natured rivalry has lost something. . . ..