The Crossroad
Will We Finally Seize the Opportunity,
Or Will We Let it Slip Away Once Again?
Li Tai Fang
July 18, 2004
Right here, right now, California has a chance to seize the opportunity to propel itself into the club of football powerhouses. Cal is on the right course to that destination, however at this crucial period, failing to act decisively can easily derail what has been built for the past two years.
For much of the past 50 years, California football program has been a national laughingstock, being the only Pac-10 team who has failed to appear in the Rose Bowl since 1959. As such, she is hardly worthy of a membership in the "Conference of the Champions." The sole purpose for Cal's membership in the Pac-10 has been to serve as tackling dummies for the other 9 member football programs, fueled by apathetic administrations and a horrific history of hiring poor coaches, unable to take advantage of her natural advantages of being in California and the only power conference in the West.
Every dog has its days, and our fortune on the football field changed in 2002, when the higher-ups in the power finally did something right with the football program by hiring then Oregon's offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford. Misery turned into excitement literally overnight. Sustained overachievement in his second year makes Jeff Tedford one of the hottest coach in America, and as such, every struggling football program in search of a new coach will turn their radar toward Berkeley. In addition, Jeff Tedford's contract with Cal includes a clause stating that if the ground has not broken to renovate Memorial Stadium by end of 2005, he can void the contract.
However, it is far easier said than done to renovate Memorial Stadium. The Memorial Stadium has seen no major facelift in 1923. To make matters worse, it was built right on top of the Hayward fault, which makes it very susceptible for destruction during the next major earthquake. The California Memorial Stadium was built to resemble the Roman Coliseum in terms of architecture. However, due to the lack of caretaking for the past 80 years, it is due to resemble the Coliseum in another way: it looks like it is about to crumble. The cost for such retrofitting project was estimated at $140 million, not a small amount by any means.
"People used to ask me if I bled blue and gold, and at first I didn't, but now that I have invested my time and energy, as well as blood, sweat, and tears, I now feel I am committed to the Cal football program." These are words of Coach Jeff Tedford, who has also stated repeatedly that he loved coaching college football far more than professional football. However, without a stadium and practice facility comparable to other Pac-10 football programs, Tedford would be in a disadvantage recruiting for athletes, and thus a disadvantage competing to win football games. He may be patient enough to wait for University of California to take the necessary time to this project done, but like all productive people Tedford will not accept inaction. However, not having secured enough funding to formally plan this project, inaction is so far what it appears to be.
As it seems, there is only one thing that needs to be done to keep Tedford's in Berkeley: the rebuilding of the Memorial Stadium, and thus only one thing to secure the long-term success of California football program. However, to complicate further the already complicated, Cal is in the middle of searching for a new chancellor to replace Robert Berdahl, who has been supportive toward the Athletic Department. Athletic Director/Crew Head Coach Steve Gladstone, who made the hiring of Jeff Tedford, announced that he would step down as the athletic director to concentrate to coach men's crew team. Cal is seemingly in a power vacuum at this moment, without a long-term athletic director and chancellor.
Can we show our true strength to overcome these difficulties and chaos and get things done, or will we fumble the opportunity once again? For the entire athletic department, this will determine her future. May we finally seize the opportunity and join the fraternity of the football elites. Every son of California is watching. Go Bears!
