This is a shrine. An absolute shrine. If you haven’t been, go. For a Cal game, for a USC game, for any game. It’s 10 minutes before kickoff and the place is already practically packed, with hundreds more still filtering in.

Former Oregon QB Joey Harrington just got announced, and it is absolutely deafening in the press box. You cannot hear the person directly next to you. In the press box.

A word about the press box — it’s lovely. Unlike the bench that is the Memorial press row, this is an actual room with three tiers of press seats. It’s also — gloriously — wide open. No windows, no nothing. So you get that pure, unadulterated crowd noise. It’s also an absolutely beautiful day (California weather), but the wind occationally rips through the press box, scattering our stuff everywhere. Keeps you on your toes.

I’m prepping for the game, so I don’t have time to post all the photos, but here’s one of the student section during team warmups:

Also, here’s this Cal fan, decked out in a classic jersey: