Published May 21, 2020
A Hypothetical Cal Football Documentary: Jeff Tedford
Nam Le  •  GoldenBearReport
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With the palpable buzz around the 10 part Michael Jordan documentary -- and also because of the relative lack of sports-happenings due to COVID-19 -- we recently got to thinking -- what would the best 10 part documentary for Cal football?

And then it hit us.

Jeff Tedford, whose arc is full of intrigue, untold drama, fascinating what-ifs, and wonderful, generational moments of joy worth reliving (I'm not ruling out anybody before then, but just hear me out on how I would cut up Tedford's career into ten parts.)

Week 1.

Episode 1. The Guru- Everything from Tedford's rise as the Oregon offensive coordinator, to the trick play opener versus Baylor, and ends with his first Axe win. This episode features interviews with each of the Tedford QBs that brought him notoriety -- Aaron Rodgers, Kyle Boller, Joey Harrington, and so on.

Episode 2. The Trojan War - Chronicling the epic 2003 triple OT win and the 2004 overtime loss in which Aaron Rodgers played a near-perfect game, we take you through the rest of Tedford's 8 year struggle against Pete Carroll as well -- the ups, the misses, the misses, the misses, the misses, the misses, the misses, the misses, and the misses.

Week 2.

Episode 3. The Robbery - When a 10-2 season somehow doesn't end in a Rose Bowl. Tedford gives his thoughts on Mack Brown, and whether or not he regrets running up the score 15 years later.

Episode 4. Treesitter Saga - In which we explore Tedford's relationship with the Berkeley activist community, and the process of getting New Memorial Stadium built. Zachary Runningwolf could not be found for comment.

Week 3.

Episode 5. October 13th, 2007 - A date that will live on in infamy - something FDR would say, if he was at this game, probably. Watch how a stadium came to anticipate the unprecedented, and the unprecedented becoming the unfulfilled.

Episode 6. The Fallout - Sometimes, a season breaks once, before shattering completely. We relive the end that almost was.

Week 4.

Episode 7: The Hump - Following 2007, Coach Tedford continued to bring in talent but could never break the 8 win barrier again. We take a look at the Longshore-Riley battles, the spectacular flash that was one Jahvid Best, and the heroics of Shane Vereen. The APR issue begins to swirl.

Episode 8: The Professionals - A deep dive and where-are-they-now on Tedford's sparkling record of Pro Bears who are not QBs, including a choice word from Marshawn Lynch -- which is to say he spoke exactly one word during the interview process.

Week 5.

Episode 9: The Toshening - How the homegrown player in Cal's back yard walked onto the national recruiting radar, and a star-studded class that went supernova. We'll explore the third resurgence Tedford was working toward at the turn of the decade, and what never was.

Episode 10: The End - The series concludes with a retrospective on the career of Coach Tedford, framed specifically around the decision to bring in the Greensboro Four, and when we knew it was finally over.

And when you're done watching our ten part documentary series, stay tuned for other Cal programming, such as:

The Cubs Reading Circle - Saturday mornings - Mike Saffell guides children in developing their love of reading. Come for the wholesome content, and stay for his lovely rendition of the show's theme song.

Berkeley's Got Talent - Wednesday evenings - Hosted by Marvin Jones, alongside judges Semisi Uluave, Grace Leer and Cam Saffell, they're on the lookout for the next most talented Bear.

Live feed of Berkeley's town hall meetings - Friday evenings - I have no witty comment to promo this one. These meetings are sure to be weirder than life itself. (Editor’s Note: Local independent news site Berkeleyside covers these. Follow them on Twitter)

What If? - Thursday evenings- No, not the Marvel comics series of the same name, but a series of hypotheticals argued out by Cal historians, bloggers, and writers. Think Around the Horn, or First Take, but everyone's SAT score was 1400 or better, only these arguments go nowhere. The highest rated episode this season is whether or not the Bears should bring Tosh Lupoi back. It ended with a fistfight