When I watch College Game Day at a Southern School or I see the students at Cameron Indoor Stadium jumping around I get sad and jealous for a second. Why? Because out here in California, sports are more of a casual thing for most people; something you do when you don’t have anything else to do. Yeah, there are rabid diehard fans, just listen to KNBR on your AM dial, but they are not as obsessive or loyal as fans, lets say, near and east of the Mississippi, where sports is either the religion or pretty damn near close.
Stanford was just treated to one of the greatest college QB's ever and soon to be number one pick in the NFL draft, but does that get even a yawn? Nope. I would say the Andrew Luck fandom of appreciation was tepid at best. When people bashed Luck for playing in the Pac 12, not a competent or competitive league like the SEC or Big Ten, I didn't hear much griping from anyone around here. If someone had badmouthed Cam Newton the year before, oh wait, they did and the people of Auburn rose up and defended their embattled QB as if they were a momma bear protecting their cub from an attacker. When Reggie Bush happened down south, USC people were pissed... at Reggie. Both men were in similar scandals, but one institution protected their own and one has wiped all memory of their one time Heisman winner off the books. Reggie Who down at SC. (As a Notre Dame fan you cannot wipe the smile off my face right now. Stupid Bush-Push)
What we Californians don't understand or just take for granted in our college ranks is that sustained greatness will not last out here. They try and try out here, but kids are drawn to rabid fan bases; where the kids camp out for a week to get good seats, stadiums are filled to the brim with 80,000 plus fans that know the name of the backup's backup, and most importantly where coverage will be nationally televised on Saturdays; something that USC will get back, but what about its Pac-12 state brethren? Probably not and a big reason is because the fans lack of interest, even if the teams are good.
We are so laid back in California as fans that we allow the East Coast bias to take place. We know, see, hear, and feel all the pundits, media members, fans, and coaches, all of them put their nose in the air like they were Judge Smails dismissing the uncouth Rodney Dangerfield from the country club. The West Coast will never ever get the respect it deserves, whether it is a Stanford in the college ranks or the Niners in the pro ranks, the East will bar the gates of their country club to these soft, pretty boy, flyboys that dare try to enter their hallowed circle. And it pisses me off to no end.
Hey, out here in the west, our sports adhere to the same rules in that we have uniforms, stadiums, referees, and players wear the big boy pads and lace up the high tops just like other programs, albeit in nicer weather and Phil Knight enhanced uniforms. Oh, and the most important part is these boys' can play, trust me on that one. (Or you can just watch the NFL draft or wait till the tourney to be shocked) It's almost as if it is a total surprise that a west coast team could possibly be good, seeing as we recruit the same players as the rest of the country, and when a team succeeds it is almost as if the east coast patronizes us with a tussle of our hair, while telling us "Good game, sport." The west coast is almost viewed as the WNBA- insignificant and lucky to be around.
Maybe we are not a fanatical fan base out here in the west due to our geographical surroundings that can have you hitting the slopes, taking a hike in the mountains, laying around on the beach, or wine tasting at one of the 8,000 vineyards long the coast. Last year, when I went to the Rose Bowl and the Wisconsin fans got off the bus, I would have sworn they thought they had arrived in heaven. It was in the 60's, cold for Californians, but with the sun out and no snow in sight, Badger fans were in hog heaven- shirts off soaking in the January warmth of California as they danced the night away, well, until they lost (Sorry, fellas. I'm sure you will get me back). But even after the loss the fans were making plans for Disneyland, Hollywood, or a trip to San Diego. What Loss, right? I would bet that some people never made it back to Wisconsin after that trip.
Hey, I wish sometimes I lived for a season in South Bend or Alabama for football to see how real fans conduct business a week before a showdown with Michigan or Auburn. I wish I could live in Bloomington or Lexington for a season of hoops and see how the fanatical live. But remember that I only get jealous and sad for a second, watching the crowds and games of another time zone, until I think of what I have here tat the end of the day in California- swimming pools, movie stars, driving distance from Tahoe, Vegas, vineyards, amusement parks, the beach, the snow, gambling, horse tracks, medicinal marijuana, indie concerts to use your medicinal marijuana, and awesome weather throughout the year. Yeah, we may not wave the pompoms waving vivaciously enough or cheer as loud as we should, but with all of this going on around you, can you really blame us?
California, where it is all happening. Sports teams included.
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