The view from courtside at a Cal basketball game.
Kelcie Liee / EdSuorce
Give me a “C”: “C.” Give me an “A”: “A.” Give me an “L”: “L.” “What’s that spell?” “Cal!” “Who are we?” “Cal!” “And who’s gonna win?” “Cal!” “Gooo Bears!”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this same call and response within UC Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion. Similar to all avid Cal basketball fans, the chant echoes beyond the walls of the gym and remains stuck in our heads for longer than we’d like; except unlike Cal fans, I sit on the sideline every game with a lanyard hanging around my neck reading: “Court Access.”
I’m the official scorekeeper for Cal basketball.
Growing up with a dad who coached basketball meant that I was constantly surrounded by the sport. In middle school, I helped my dad keep the scorebook for his middle school basketball teams — marking backslashes, front slashes, numbers and circles, and keeping track of points and fouls. In high school, I continued to keep the scorebook for his high school basketball teams and eventually for Academy of Art University, a Division II school, where my dad would also keep score. When I got into UC Berkeley and lived in dorms just 10 minutes away from the pavilion, my dad decided to give me one of his gigs as the official scorekeeper for Cal basketball.
Thanks to him, I have the unique experience of getting to work for Cal Athletics, right alongside the athletes.
In some ways, this is an unlikely gig because I’m not all about college sports. My level of excitement doesn’t compare with that of many college sports fans who plan their days around games and loyally follow the team’s stats and schedule. I enjoy watching the games, and I enjoy sports fanatics’ commentary on games, but by no means am I absolutely engrossed in the sport, nor am I a big Cal fan.
But on game days, when I walk into Haas Pavilion, my mind clocks out of my other responsibilities and midterms, and clocks in to college basketball and school spirit for three hours — and I absolutely love it. My job requires me to remain unbiased — similar to that of a referee — so I often just slip behind the score table with a little smile, soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying every second of it.
Every game, tucked between the announcer and scoreboard operator, I watch for the referees’ signals while getting a front-row seat to Division I basketball. It’s pretty amazing; I get paid to watch future NBA and WNBA players, incredible athletes in their element, all from a sideline seat.
But my favorite part of this job is that it pulls me away from the libraries and the books for three hours and plunges me into school spirit. Basking under the blue and gold beaming lights as the jumbotron flashes “GO BEARS” more times than I can count, the wall screams “THIS IS BEAR TERRITORY” with paint in a font size I didn’t know could exist, while the Cal Band plays the school anthem and a dancing Oski the Bear, our school’s mascot, peeks out among cheering fans — it’s an experience that will bring out your school spirit no matter how deeply suppressed.
My experience with school spirit at UC Berkeley is not an anomaly — many students are drawn to universities for their large and successful athletic programs, especially football and basketball. Educational consultancy Ivywise explains this connection through what is known as the Flutie effect, which originates from Boston College’s Doug Flutie who, after throwing a Hail Mary pass to score a game-winning touchdown, boosted the school’s popularity and number of applicants by 30%.
I always thought school spirit was just for the movies, but in reality, it drives the decisions students make when choosing a college of their own, and it detaches us from the academic rigor of universities. More importantly, it doesn’t leave when you graduate, as I see on bumper stickers, or a middle-aged alum saying “Go Bears!” to me as I walk past him in UC Berkeley merchandise. Oftentimes, I see more Cal fans who had attended UC Berkeley decades ago than current students — and I see them with their blue and gold pom poms, posters and jackets. The spirit undoubtedly brings a sense of belonging and togetherness, which stays with you wherever you go.
College athletics is for school spirit, and school spirit is for college athletics — the dressing up, parties, body paint spelling C-A-L, rowdy crowds — and both are integral to the college experience.
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Kelcie Lee is a second-year history and sociology major at UC Berkeley and a member of EdSource’s California Student Journalism Corps.
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