I went to the Cal-TN game on Saturday, a game in which Cal played excellent football and won, 45-31. They’re going to be a real force in the PAC-10 this year. Tennessee’s offense did pretty well, though they did stall on a couple of crucial drives in the 4th quarter. Tennessee’s defense gave up the most points in a non-overtime game in 12 years or something like that.

So taking nothing away from Cal. DeSean Jackson has mad skillz. Nate Longshore hit the passes he needed to. They completely out-played the Volunteers.

But Cal stadium is a mess. My biggest peeve is that they were playing loud, very loud, music over the stadium loudspeakers while UT was lined up to run an offensive play! Tennessee used a no-huddle offense for most of the game, and so the noise when Ainge came up to the line played a critical role in check-offs. And if the fans were actually that loud, more power to them. But the loudspeaker was playing “We Will Rock You” when Ainge was calling off to his receivers. That’s cheating, morally, if not legally. There were several folks around me who were yelling about the same thing.

The crucial 3rd down play at the opening of the 4th quarter, when the Volunteers had to settle for a field goal, was especially bad. The music was playing AND they had microphones on the crowd so their yelling got amplified. That’s really pathetic, Cal.

They played AC/DC during the kickoffs, including after the ball was kicked. That’s just wrong.

And the number of advertisements, well, I feel sorry for the announcer, to make him read all those. We’re hearing ads for dental service while the referee is trying to call a penalty. That’s really bad. In short, Cal Memorial Stadium is pathetic. It’s sad. You don’t have the professionalism to host a good game.

The amusing anecdote of the day was due to the toilet situation. Evidently, Cal doesn’t know how to build a stadium with adequate facilities for 72,000 people. So there were port-a-potties back behind the fences. A lady close to me was overheard to say, “Those bathrooms are horrible. Even Alabama has outdoor plumbing.” Just so you know, there is no greater put-down than to be compared negatively with Alabama.