A Commentary on the CAL/USC Rivalry

So today I was taking the bus from work to my house and since I go to Cal (UC Berkeley) I couldn't help but notice the USC fans and Cal fans on the streets of Berkeley. I was standing near some Berkeley students on the bus. And the bus passed a lot full of USC fans tailgating before today's game.
One of the Berkeley students near me said, "Look at those USC fans. I bet they don't even know what a bus is."
And one of his friends said in reply, "Yeah, they're probably thinking, 'Where are all the SUVs?'".

And I it instantly struck me, the multiple layers of the rivalry Cal and USC has (even now I must stop myself from writing U$C, so ingrained is this rivalry- so ingrained is this rivalry in me). I think about the colors of USC - red and gold and I think about the colors of Berkeley- blue and gold. Red symbolizing power or as an elite color or anger "seeing red". Blue as symbolizing "blue blood" or truth or calm or peace or sadness "I'm so blue". Very different, yet kind of similar. But anyway, I think about the origins of the Cal colors- which were borrowed off of Yale's blue and gold (according to tourguide lore). And I think about what blue is supposed to symbolize- Yale, the rich white men who founded those Ivy Leagues back east.

I think about Cal's other rival- Stanford University (ha, even now my fingers itch to write "Stanfurd"). Which is similar to USC. A private school. One of their school colors is red. Yet, I think about Stanford and I'm not sure USC and Stanford are so similar. I read somewhere that most (or at least more than Berkele or USC possibly?) of the students enrolled in Stanford are actually on scholarship. And to boil it down- most Stanford students do not care. Maybe it is just the ebb and flow of football teams, but sometimes Cal is on top and sometimes Stanford is on top. It is an inevitability. Yet, I feel a distinctive "underdog" vibe when I think of Cal in terms with USC.

When those Berkeley students talked about those USC fans- I looked at the lot where they were tailgating. Indeed, there were SUVs in that lot and a disproportionate amount. I remember as I walk through Berkeley if I see anything as nice as a Mercedes, BMW, or heck even a Lexus or Volvo newer than say 2005- I think to myself "is this car lost?". Not that I think Berkeley is quite so working class next to USC's power elite class. I think more that Berkeley owns the idea of "shabby chic"- "yes, we maybe well off, but we don't flaunt it. Would you like to see my Prius?" I joke perhaps, but that is true. And to say of Cal itself, well some departments are quite rolling in the dough, while other departments (cough humanities cough) are quite the little orphan asking "please sir may I have some more?". But I digress.

I wonder- is the Cal/USC rivalry steeped in class? Or do I just not see that Berkeley students can be as rich or as privileged as USC students (or alumni). Yet, perhaps I am biased in thinking that because of Berkeley's legacy of free speech and social justice movements and it's location in the ever progressive bay, that certain people go to this school. Certain people do not have this aura of privilege, of wealth, or sheer arrogance that the world must turn for them.

Perhaps I am projecting. I probably am. But I am not apologizing for this train of thought. I wonder if it's because the rivalry between the schools are set up in such a way that Berkeley students must fault USC for being so wealthy. I don't think I'm pulling this out of nothing.

Yet, this is disturbing too. Class is an often hidden issue, but quite as powerful as any ism- racism, sexism, etc. Or do I view it differently because of my own perspective?

Hmmm.

I am not invested in this game as much as others. Yet, I do remember fondly the Fall of '03 when Cal beat USC, that was an epic game.

GO BEARS!