Idiots Write About Sports

This year we went to the Lair of the Bear, the California Alumni Association’s camp up in the Sierras. (It’s actually not 40 minutes from where I grew up.)
What makes this camp a Cal camp? Well, the script Cal is everywhere. Every pronouncement from a Camp official ends with “Go Bears.” The tent next to us was occupied by a lovely family, the dad of which turned out to be a former Cal starting quarterback. One evening we got a presentation from Jim Michalczik, the Cal offensive line coach.
And then there’s Mike White. We get to camp to check in, and a gray-haired gentleman who seems eerily familiar shakes my hand and says, “Welcome, I’m Mike White, and I’m the camp manager.” That Mike White? Former Cal coach, Raiders coach, football coaching lifer?
That’s the one. This year, Mike White — a former staff member at the Lair of the Bear when he was young — is running the show at Camp Blue. (And no, there’s apparently no way that Al Davis can fire him from this job.)
All the Cal stuff aside, it was a great experience and we’re going to go back next year. The kids loved it, and there’s something to be said for being cut off from e-mail and cell phone service for a week, out in the clean air of the mountains.
But if you ever go to the Lair of the Bear, be warned: You will find someone, perhaps many someones, who will make you question your true commitment to Cal Football. I told a few people the story of how my family has had season tickets since the ’60s. They were impressed. But when they asked, “So are you going to the Tennessee game?” I had to sheepishly answer, “no.”
“Man, you gotta go!” said the former Cal QB in the tent next to ours. I felt a slight amount of shame. But, I mean, Tennessee? Sure, that would be the experience of a lifetime, but am I really going to fly away to Tennessee just to see Cal play the Volunteers in front of 100,000 screaming fans?
Turns out that I am. And I’m even taking Phil with me. But that’s the topic of another blog post.