Ducking an Egg in a Trip to “The Farm”

By: Ted Kaiser
Football Review Daily

Every now and then I will share some experiences from the college football scene through recounting road games and bowls. Each game and location has its own unique flavor. This is the first of several articles that will take us from LA to the Bay Area to Nebraska to Miami and more. As a big time USC fan, most of the games include the Trojans, but I’ve had the chance to visit many schools and will get to more in the future.

There is no better USC football experience than “The Weekender” aka the annual migration of Trojans up the freeway to the Bay Area to watch the game against Stanford or Cal. The 2004 season saw the Trojans get off to a 3-0 start after capturing a share of the national title in 2003. But this year there was visions of an undisputed championship and the trip to Stanford was expected to be just another W on the way to Miami.

Just one year before, the Weekender had turned into a disaster with a triple overtime loss at Cal. Most SC fans went straight home after the game, others drank their sorrows away in silence. Nightmares of Hershel Dennis fumbling inside the five-yard line in overtime still haunt Trojan fans to this day. With those memories in the back of our minds, my friends and I loaded up the car and drove up Interstate 5 to San Francisco. If you ever go to a game at Stanford, it is highly recommended that you stay in the city and not in Palo Alto. There is a reason the school is fondly nicknamed “The Farm” by the USC faithful. While Palo Alto is a beautiful town, the nightlife leaves something to be desired and if you are looking to have some fun, stay in San Francisco and make the thirty minute drive on gameday. Fair warning: if driving up I-5, prepare for the smell of cow manure to last about 1/3 of the drive because contrary to popular belief, most of California is rural farmland.

After sitting through Bay Area rush hour traffic, we arrived at our hotel, if you could call it that. The name of the place escapes me, probably because I would never stay there again after enduring the stained and smelly bed sheets, disgusting shower, and a few unmentionables strewn throughout the hallway. Of course, being in college at the time, we tried to save money, but this was not what we had signed up for. We hoped this was not a sign of things to come for the weekend. Otherwise, Friday evening in San Francisco was a good time, complete with dinner, a USC Pep Rally in Union Square, and a trip to the bars.

Gameday came quickly and the later start time allowed for a few hours to tour the city. Quick visits to the Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard Street were a must for me in my first trip to San Francisco. Soon it was time to head down to Palo Alto. Because we opted to the tour the city, there was little time for tailgating, but that ended up being a wise choice. The tailgate scene at Stanford was pretty dull with only a few BBQs throughout what seemed like a giant farm for a parking lot. Here I thought “The Farm” was a silly stereotype, but the area around the stadium was in fact a giant unpaved area with trees.

The walk to Stanford Stadium seemed like a mile and the overall atmosphere was pretty quiet. Not much was expected of the Cardinal that year and the stadium renovation that was expected to draw fans wasn’t going to be ready for another two seasons. We got to our seats which were the old wooden bench style. It was not too difficult to imagine the number of times drunk students might have fallen between the wooden rows. But the stadium had a small town charm to it and the beautiful setting was relaxing on the cool, crisp late afternoon.

The relaxation would quickly turn to trepidation in the Pac-10 Conference opener. With the Cardinal fresh off a bye week, they held a stunning 11-point lead at halftime thanks to a touchdown on the final play of the second quarter. The USC halftime locker room was an emotional moment with seniors such as defensive end Shaun Cody speaking up and getting the team energized for the second half. In the stands, a state of panic had set in. How could this happen again on “The Weekender”? What about the plans for Miami? Why are we playing so bad? Outside on the concourse, Stanford fans started to show some life with some mild trash talking of the SC contingent. My friend, an avid gambler at the time, scrambled to find out what the second half line was by making a few phone calls. Upon hearing the line was minus-7, he turned to us for advice.

“Should I take it?” he asked.

“Heck yes!” several of us responded.

Just like that we went from feeling sorry for ourselves to being completely fired up for the second half. There was no way we were going to lay an egg at The Farm. We came to Stanford expecting a cakewalk and a boring game, but the play of the Cardinal and a few playful yaps from the opposing fans had woken us up. Fortunately, the Trojans woke up too and went on for a 31-28 victory thanks to Reggie Bush, Lendale White, and company.

The post-game celebration was back in SF at Fisherman’s Wharf, a great little area with restaurants and bars. As we were waiting in line for one bar, a couple in their 50s and their college-age son were walking out. We asked “The Murphy’s” how it was and they said it was okay, but to come with them to this great little bar down the street called the Buena Vista. To our surprise, this kind and apparently financially well-off family, proceeded to buy us several hundred dollars worth of drinks. A few beers, car bombs, and wild turkeys later, the night was a success. Sunday’s trip home to LA down the must-see scenic Pacific Coast Highway was a happy one. “The Weekender” was over and SC was a step closer to going to Miami.

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Ted Kaiser writes about his college football experiences in an exclusive series here at Football Review Daily.

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