CAL Football Opener Features Blipper's Grandson

Eight hours on the road and we are home at last, just in time to watch our grandson in the opening game of the CAL Berkeley football season, played in Sydney, Australia at their Olympic Stadium. The game was played on Saturday to a crowd of over 60,000 people, but we saw it live on Friday night, which makes my head spin just a little. Did we see it before it happened? Does it count as a Friday blip? Three of us sat grouped around the tv, each gripping some kind of recording device, waiting for a glimpse of our boy among the tiny figures on the screen. He's number 27, and just in case the image from the tv is unclear, I've provided a big red circle for your edification. 

He had his moment of glory in the 4th quarter. Here's what the local paper had to say: "Santa Cruz High alum Ashtyn Davis defended a pass in the fourth quarter to help Cal win the game played Down Under as a tourism initiative and to increase awareness of “gridiron” in the country."  They said his name out loud for the whole arena to hear and there were two replays of the moment. Final score was 51-31, over the University of Hawaii.

The entire team, including the band, cheerleaders, and coaches, flew to Sydney on a chartered jet a week ago. The players had time between practices to tour the city a bit and learn something about the history and culture of Australia, quite an experience for this group of young people, some of whom have never been away from home before. I'm not at all clear about the politics and economics of the whole operation, but it was a tremendous opportunity for these kids. I'm looking forward to talking to my grandson when we finally get to see him in person.