California culture vs. Football

bamatex82 · May 26, 2019

I had to work in Anaheim for about two months. I've heard it said about California's lack of interest in watching and enthusiasm for college football is about the weather, beaches, and mountains. People have other things they want to do. That probably is true, but I have another takeaway from being there.

California has a very diverse international mix of people. A big percentage have grown up never watching football. For instance, on vacation in Yosemite I wore several of my Alabama championship tee shirts. You wouldn't believe how many people didn't understand. I had one lady ask me "What did you win a championship in?" After explaining, without taking offense, that is was college football, she asked me if I still had a good back. Btw, I'm 59, Lol. I had another guy tell me story about the the Braves when they were the Milwaukee Braves after seeing my shirt. I didn't have the heart to correct him.

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81usaf92 · May 26, 2019

Most Californians Ive met that watch college football are either real big USC fans or fans of the flavor of the PAC 12. I literally knew a guy who had USC, Oregon, and Washington gear on standby. Ive also found out that most of them look at NFL football like we look at college football.

NationalTitles18 · May 26, 2019

bamatex82 said:
I had to work in Anaheim for about two months. I've heard it said about California's lack of interest in watching and enthusiasm for college football is about the weather, beaches, and mountains. People have other things they want to do. That probably is true, but I have another takeaway from being there.

California has a very diverse international mix of people. A big percentage have grown up never watching football. For instance, on vacation in Yosemite I wore several of my Alabama championship tee shirts. You wouldn't believe how many people didn't understand. I had one lady ask me "What did you win a championship in?" After explaining, without taking offense, that is was college football, she asked me if I still had a good back. Btw, I'm 59, Lol. I had another guy tell me story about the the Braves when they were the Milwaukee Braves after seeing my shirt. I didn't have the heart to correct him.

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After living in a very rural part of the state for over three years I can say that the interest just isn't there like it is in the south. I can say the same about Illinois. Pro sports get some attention.

There are a few college fans here. By and large, though, they just don't care. Thank God for the butcher even though he's a Ducks fan. Since I dropped Frontier internet I don't see the USC fan so much.

If I didn't have internet in general and especially TideFans I'd be starved and go stark raving mad. (waiting for the peanut gallery)

The Ols · May 26, 2019

Thought that train had already left the station...:Joker_PDT_20: on TideFans.com

NationalTitles17 said:
After living in a very rural part of the state for over three years I can say that the interest just isn't there like it is in the south. I can say the same about Illinois. Pro sports get some attention.

There are a few college fans here. By and large, though, they just don't care. Thank God for the butcher even though he's a Ducks fan. Since I dropped Frontier internet I don't see the USC fan so much.

If I didn't have internet in general and especially TideFans I'd be starved and go stark raving mad. (waiting for the peanut gallery)

TNBama · May 26, 2019

I live in Knoxville, and my beloved late wife was a season pass ticket holder for UT, and we tailgated with friends who did a pretty elaborate tailgating party. (Yes, I know, Im behind enemy lines bringing the Gospel to the natives). Years ago UT had an early season game against UCLA. An older couple wearing UCLA gear was walking by and we invited them to come join us. I will never forget their looking around in wonder, and in all seriousness saying something like "Wow, you all are really doing a lot before the game" (commenting in general about everything going on around the stadium). "Is this all because you have a west coast team here playing against you?". Everyone stood around for a few seconds in confusion, before commenting something like "no, this is a normal gameday here. Is it not this way in California???!!" A little later we had someone new at work that had moved here from California. We were all in shock when they mentioned that on any game day you could walk into a convenience store and buy tickets for that days college football game.

Ole Man Dan · May 27, 2019

NationalTitles17 said:
After living in a very rural part of the state for over three years I can say that the interest just isn't there like it is in the south. I can say the same about Illinois. Pro sports get some attention.

There are a few college fans here. By and large, though, they just don't care. Thank God for the butcher even though he's a Ducks fan. Since I dropped Frontier internet I don't see the USC fan so much.

If I didn't have internet in general and especially TideFans I'd be starved and go stark raving mad. (waiting for the peanut gallery)

I've talked to a couple of guys from out there.
They just don't understand our love of college football.
Actually lots of them don't understand us at all,
Their opinion of Alabama is based on the silver screen.
As a saving grace, there are also 'Football Families' who live and die football like we do.

NationalTitles18 · May 27, 2019

Ole Man Dan said:
I've talked to a couple of guys from out there.
They just don't understand our love of college football.
Actually lots of them don't understand us at all,
Their opinion of Alabama is based on the silver screen.
As a saving grace, there are also 'Football Families' who live and die football like we do.

One guy sorta gets it: A colleague who attended tOSU. Good man. Came to see me every day three years ago in the hospital (I was there 5 days). I owe him a "thank you" call this week for taking care of an issue for me so it'll give me a chance to throw in some football talk.
a
When I moved here I had to adjust from 24/7/365 to hardly ever. I can always count on the butcher to talk college football. He disappeared for a bit then I saw he had moved to the grocery store down the road. I'll have to pay a visit soon.

crimsonaudio · May 27, 2019

Have you watched west coast football?

I don't blame them for their disinterest.

theballguy · May 27, 2019

Same here in Colorado. There's not many here who remember when the Bufs were a decent CFB team. Plus, their Alabama out here is the Broncos. The only real CFB fans out here are Ohio St and Bama fans. Occasionally, I'll see a smattering of LSU fans but that's about it. The Air Force Academy is here but really not many here see them as more interesting than high school football. Going to an AFA game truly is like going to a high school football game.

TitleWave · May 27, 2019

Ole Man Dan said:
...Their opinion of Alabama is based on the silver screen.

Drive-ins must still be airing that double-bill of "The Phenix City Story" and Johnny Mack Brown sparking Greta Garbo in "A Woman of Affairs," I take it? Or "The Little Foxes" topped by the postmodernism of "My Cousin Vinny?"

Ole Man Dan · May 27, 2019

TitleWave said:
Drive-ins must still be airing that double-bill of "The Phenix City Story" and Johnny Mack Brown sparking Greta Garbo in "A Woman of Affairs," I take it? Or "The Little Foxes" topped by the postmodernism of "My Cousin Vinny?"

Not quite that blatant, but people from Alabama and the South are in general still portrayed as uneducated hicks. The fact that lots of Southerners talk slow feeds their bias that we are all slow.

BamaMoon · May 27, 2019

It's like the chic on the commercial says about the SEC: "It just means more."

JPaikman · May 29, 2019

Speaking only of NorCal, listening to the local sports radio and what they focus on is very illustrative.

AM1050; 49ers, Giants
FM95.7: Warriors, Raiders, A's
Distant 3rd or 4th: Sharks
Then you get the rest of the sports - college anything, Earthquakes, etc.

selmaborntidefan · May 29, 2019

I don't want to delve into a political/sociological thicket, but.....the late Lewis Grizzard, Jawja fan that he was, had a theory why Southern men take a life or death stance on college football: it's because except for Vietnam (which Grizzard said "was like being tied by Wake Forest"), the Southerner is the only American who ever lost a war.

Today, there is no war. But what there is is college football.

That kind of thing doesn't exist elsewhere, although I'll at least give the Midwest kudos for trying.

California? Even setting aside other issues, California is mostly people who moved out there looking for job opportunities...MOST of them from the cold Northeast, where they don't care much for college football, either.

I had a friend in Boston who was at a bar and saw the Kick Six game (by chance, her ex-BIL was an Auburn grad).

It was a bar in Boston.....but they didn't "get it." They're supposed to know so much about sports, but they really don't see that CFB to us is like the Red Sorks are for them.

Redwood Forrest · May 30, 2019

If you live in a state where no one knows what okra is ~ college football is probably not high on the list of sports.

colbysullivan · May 30, 2019

https://youtu.be/wC2fdRnBEoY

CrmznApklps · May 30, 2019

I called on customers over the entire West Coast for years. Spent time mostly in Anaheim and Seattle. The SoCal folks had some decent football fans. Mainly USC and the Raiders, but they were extremely jealous of the SEC and said the only reasons we ranked higher than them in the PreSeason was purely East Coast Bias. People rarely stayed up to watch them. My response was always... "If you put a better product on the field...people will watch it." They don't have the Friday Night Lights mentality where the entire town shuts down to watch football games and they've always had professional sports closeby where the closest to us were always Atlanta and New Orleans.

CaliforniaTide · May 30, 2019

I generally concur with the sentiment that Californians, or born-raised West Coast people do not care about college football as those from the South. It is what it is, but that doesn't make the remnant any less passionate. Seeing how angry USC fans were after the beatdown in Dallas shows they do not like where the team is currently. Maybe they'll play better the next time the teams meet in Dallas.

mlh · May 31, 2019

I lived in CA from 1985-1990 while I was in the USAF. Back then we didn't have ESPN and national coverage. All you could get was regional coverage of college football. I wasn't interested in any of the West Coast teams. Luckily, the 49ers were at their best during that time. So I watched the NFL and pulled for the niners in lieu of following college ball.

CrimSonami · May 31, 2019

I hafta go out to SoCal again for the week after Fathers Day. Haven't been in over 6 years but I don't ever broach CFB discussion. I've learned my lesson with the Left Coast.

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