Here They Come, There They Go!!

So Saturday we decided on kind of a low key day because it was really Uncle Funsucker, Auntie C & gang's first day and they were still kind of jet lagged. Last year, Chizz went to the big Boat Race and thought we might enjoy it. This year was the 153rd Boat Race. It started back in 1829 when two students, one of them a nephew of poet William Wordsworth, got an idea for a crew race between Oxford and Cambridge. So in March of that year, Cambridge sent a challenge to Oxford and the party began. Each subsequent year, the loser issues the next challenge and the tradition continues.

The Big Boat race is to England as The Big Game is to Northern California. There are a lot of similarities. Both involve university rivalries, the Big Game - Stanford v. UC Berkeley, the Boat Race - Cambridge v. Oxford. For both the pre-event ritual is almost as important as the event itself. For Stanford/Cal, it involves the tailgate party, bbqing, and drinking lots of beer. For Oxford/Cambridge, it involves the pre-race party, bbqing and drinking lots of beer. Both competitions have fans that wear their team colors. Both events draw heavy alumni participation. Both involve a prize; Stanford/Cal a trophy called The Axe - Cambridge/Oxford, a trophy. Both events have a winner and both a devastated loser, vowing revenge "next year".

These competitions have many differences as well. Stanford/Cal is an American football game. Cambridge/Oxford a crew race. A Stanford Cal game can take the good part of an afternoon. The entire Boat Race lasts about 20 minutes give or take. The part you get to see from your little vantage point on the Thames lasts for about 20 seconds. The two boats go by in a blink of an eye. You have been waiting there for hours, you see the race helicopters coming closer and closer. You here someone shout: "Here they come, Here they come". Various shouts of "Go Cambridge" or "Go Oxford" and then you are looking at the back of that boat. There they go. It is all over.

The next part is the hardest and here is the biggest difference between the two events. After the Big Game, everyone gets in their cars and goes home. Hopefully safely. After the Boat Race, people still stick around and drink. And drink. And drink. It is quite a party occasion. People who are lucky enough to have houses on the race course, throw huge parties for their friends. They watch from their balconies and roof terraces and drink. And drink. And drink. The real trick is to get all the way home without anyone throwing up on you. Glad to say 'mission' accomplished. See you next year!