UNT fans: wanted to tip my hat and wish y'all the best. I drove my family up from Houston (yes, we're some of those much-maligned California expats) to root for our beloved Golden Bears, and all in all, it was a good experience from a fan perspective. Nearly everyone we encountered was friendly and good natured (with one exception - you know who you are, dudebro on the driveway into the Blue Lot), and the facilities were easy to navigate.
Those of you who follow P5 west coast sports at all probably understand that I mean it when I say that the issues your program is facing felt, well, familiar to a Berkeley guy like me. Cal's a school that has struggled mightily with fan enthusiasm/attendance, and struggled to assemble a meaningful team identity of late. We, too, have banked on an energetic young coach with promise and failed to see the desired returns. Any longtime Cal fan can testify that it's an experience marked by occasional flashes of brilliance, but mostly marked by a sense of pervasive mediocrity... and so it's been since the Eisenhower Administration. No, I haven't forgotten our brush with destiny in the mid 00s. I just forget what it felt like.
Anyway, it'll probably be a difficult season for us in the Pac-12, our last ever, of course. Things won't get easier in the ACC era. And it might be a long year for the Mean Green, too. Pain, felt. So I tip my hat in solidarity, and wish UNT faithful the best. Thanks for a fun weekend.
