Inventive Fans Find Way To Watch Big Game Amid COVID Restrictions
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- The Big game between Stanford and Cal looked very different this year. No fans were allowed but many tried their best to watch in person.
They climbed and clung to fences surrounding California Memorial Stadium on the UC Berkeley campus to get a peek.
"My boyfriend plays for Stanford. I'm trying to be the most supportive girlfriend I can be," said Cal senior Alexia Inman, who was there with her family.
"Nothing was going to stop us. She's a senior at Cal this year she deserves to be here and the players deserve support and that's why we're here," said Alexia's mother Tamara Wagner.
Some even hiked up "Tightwad Hill" even as police discouraged fans, blocking roads.
"It's been fun," said Bob Malates. "It was a little bit of a longer walk than normal. I've never been up here before."
Piper Akol was also among the fans on the famous hill overlooking Cal's Memorial Stadium.
"I'm going on a hike from Berkeley and if I happen to make it here then here I am," Akol said.
Fans tried their best to get as close as they could.
"I tried a lot of strategies to be inside the game," said Moraga resident Irene Gessling. "I even looked for Pac-12 positions that might be open that i could apply for."
Carol Leslie hasn't missed a game in 74 years. She wasn't going to let COVID break that streak.
"I wanted to celebrate in the best way that I could covered up and with some of our friends," said Leslie.
"I was willing to do anything it took and we got her toe underneath the gate so we're counting that as a win," said Leslie's daughter Lynn Haithcock.
There were no fans spilling onto the sidewalk before or after the game. It was almost quiet enough to hear the leaves falling.
"I just felt I needed to be here. It sure doesn't feel like the Big Game that's for sure," said Gessling.