The Thrill of Victory!

This past Saturday my friend Derrick invited me to join him in Palo Alto at the Stanford/USC football game. Just a few weeks back I attended the Stanford game on a late Saturday night against Wake Forest. This game was the ABC broadcast and started at 5pm (not 8pm!).

The scene above is what unfolded after kicker Nate Whittaker's 30-yard field goal crossed through the middle of the uprights with no time on the clock giving Stanford a 37-35 nailbiting victory over the might Southern California Trojans.

We just about lost our heads rooting for Stanford to win this game. It went back and forth in the second half after a 14-14 first half. Stanford outscored USC 23-21 in the second half in what turned out to be a HUGE victory for the home team. It's the third time in four years the Cardinal have defeated USC under Coach Jim Harbaugh.

Derrick and I met up with one of his co-workers, Bryan (a fantasy footballer) and we headed down to The Farm on Saturday afternoon. The weather was gorgeous. Both teams looked crisp during warm-ups, but that crispness quickly faded during the game as it turned into a shootout featuring two teams that could neither tackle or defend the pass. USC wide receiver Robert Woods had 224 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on the night. Trojans QB Matt Barkely passed for 390 yards.

Stanford's QB Andrew Luck led his team on the game-winning drive with about a minute on the clock. He was 20-of-24 in passing on the night and threw for practically 300 yards himself.

It has been a lot of fun to attend Stanford games. First of all, their stadium is practically brand new and has lots of creature comforts: great seats, clean and spacious bathrooms, plenty of options for food items to choose from, and plenty of parking.

On top of that, my friend from school (a former parent of a student I coached in flag football) is the concessions director for Stanford and she is always happy to comp us food and drinks whenever we attend the games. Derrick and I enjoyed a few rounds on the night which made the game all the more worthwhile.

It seems strange that I'm enjoying Stanford football as much as I have been considering how big of a CAL football fan I've been all of my life. I'm basically sleeping with the enemy here. As you can see, I was fortunate to bump into a couple of Stanford band members (not that I'm particularly crazy about their band). But I must say, their football games have been a blast to go to and I've really enjoyed the hospitality and kindness shown by friends in attending these games.

My heart is still with CAL and I look forward to attending the games with my mom when I'm able, but lately, I must admit that I'm starting to get more and more enthusiastic about Cardinal ball as well! What's going to give?