Sports
Cal Berkeley’s Calgorithm — social media and self-awareness in ‘the people’s program’
BERKELEY, Calif. — Speckled throughout the mass of overjoyed fans scrunched together at the epicenter of the Cal Berkeley campus Saturday morning were the ambassadors who played specific parts in making this once inconceivable scene materialize.
They raised their phones high, capturing a 360-degree view of the madness of ESPN’s “College GameDay,” and hit record. They embraced the emotion of the moment as the sun began to peek over the Berkeley hills.
Without them, Nick Saban isn’t tearing off his crimson tie at the behest of the fans who couldn’t bear seeing even a tinge of something close to Stanford Cardinal red in front of the sea of exultant California blue and gold. Without them, program legend Marshawn Lynch isn’t flown in to be the celebrity guest picker, taking his rightful place in a golf cart and later placing Kirk Herbstreit in a very friendly headlock.
And without them, the seats inside California Memorial Stadium aren’t packed more than 12 hours later to digest an agonizing last-minute 39-38 loss to No. 8 Miami.
Behold, the ballooning cultural clout of the Calgorithm, a guerilla-like social media movement that leans into sarcasm, stereotypes and self-awareness through photoshopped and AI-generated memes that embrace the absurdity of perception.
Calgorithm was easy to spot on Saturday in Berkeley. (Christopher Kamrani / The Athletic)
On Saturday, as GameDay’s Pat McAfee constantly roused the crowd, it was clear the Calgorithm had achieved its objective: to prove that Cal, associated with one of the most liberal communities in America, does, in fact, have a beloved fan base happily obsessed with Golden Bears football.
Punch in the hashtag online, and you’ll be awash in memes of grizzly bears wearing masks and stepping off an airplane called “Stop Climate Change Airlines” in Florida prior to Cal’s game earlier this season at Florida State. Or grizzly bears welcoming Miami Hurricanes on the tarmac with a “Critical Race Theory” book in hand.
“There’s a certain joy and a certain absurdity,” said Nam Le, who graduated from Cal in 2012. “It’s a fun story from a fan base that is traditionally ignored.”
At this point there are too many memes to count — and new attempts at their own brand of self-deprecation nearly every minute.
From within, they’ve cultivated a very obscure sports moment that has resonated not only within the online reaches of the Cal fan base, but among college football followers of other teams nationwide. A routine response from a random follower after diving deep into the Calgorithm is that “Cal is now my second favorite team,” members of the Calgorithm say.
When it pertains to actual membership, some are known publicly, some aren’t. Some are transparent about their real lives on social media, some aren’t.
Known commodities include a teacher, data analyst, political coordinator and someone who hawks hot dogs at minor-league baseball games. The others exist in the realm of anonymity and are referred to as “the burners.” They are known by random social media handles for their participation in the online discourse that has brought a disarming nature to platforms often inundated with volatility.
They’ve made themselves seen online but also within the walls of the Cal football facility. Some members of Cal’s football support staff have a group text thread carved out specifically for new memes to share.
“The burners are hilarious, man,” said Marshall Cherrington, Cal’s director of player personnel. “We all love them inside this building.”
Linebacker Cade Uluave specifically thanked “the burners” during a news conference appearance last week for helping bring more attention to the program and game against the Hurricanes. Special teams coordinator Vic So’oto shared on X that defensive lineman Xavier Carlton and linebacker Ryan McCullough were “keeping the pocket hot like Cal burners” followed by some flame emojis.
The reach the Calgorithm has achieved over the course of the season is apropos for the school and its locale. At a university in a city long known for its involvement in social movements dating back to the 1960s, this movement just played out on social media.
And the people, the fans, took matters into their own hands. GameDay producer Matthew Garrett said prior to making the call to Cal last week to gauge interest in hosting, he was flooded with questions by fans of what they could do to get the show to Berkeley for the first time. Prior to Saturday, Cal was one of six Power 4 schools to have never hosted.
When it got its chance, of course it was in typical cognizant Calgorithm fun. Signs held high compared Cal’s list of Nobel laureates produced at Berkeley compared with Miami. (The score is currently 61-4.) One read: “I thought this was a protest!”
The Calgorithm really seemed to take off after Cal upset Auburn 21-14 on Sept. 7 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The meme by Don Grizzel, Ph.D (@golDonBear on X) featured cutouts of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, whose parents met in Berkeley in the early 1960s, Oski, Cal’s bear mascot, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, a rainbow, and an obtusely stretched out photo of President Joe Biden and the caption read: “You Just Lost to the Woke Agenda.” The post has received 5 million impressions.
https://t.co/hskIyGbkH2 pic.twitter.com/cPIfI1FXRW
— Don Grizzell, Ph.D. (@golDonbear) September 7, 2024
The scope of the Calgorithm is immeasurable, members say, due to always churning conference realignment in college football. As the previously constituted Pac-12 imploded, Cal, alongside its rival Stanford, was forced to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, a league on the opposite coast but a home in a power conference. With that, came an opportunity for Cal fans to introduce themselves to a portion of the country that may have only known of Berkeley through various long-perpetuated stereotypes.
“They already believe these stereotypes about us,” said burner Callie, also known as @WokeMobFootball. “Why don’t we just turn it up to 12 and just absolutely make fun of it for how absurd they sound when it’s thrown back at them?”
Mike Davie says Cal fans have come armed for any sort of perception lobbed their way by fans online. But they say they always try to do it with a smile knowing that college football is what they all love and that it doesn’t need to be another well poisoned online.
“Yeah, we tell them the ‘DEI’ defense is here killing it,” Davie said. “And when people say, ‘Don’t make fun of Cal fans. They police pronouns.’ And we were like, ‘Here comes the pronoun punt team!’ And it makes them laugh.”
The Calgorithm is also perpetually one step ahead. They’ve also helped raise funds for Cal’s NIL collective, Cal Legends. People donating are leaving comments thanking the Calgorithm for activating attention.
“That’s the kind of person Cal produces into the real world, people who want to help do things in smart, simple and efficient ways,” Cherrington said. “And we want to always have our doors open to them. This is the people’s program.”
Four hours before kickoff against Miami, a small parking lot on the southeast side of campus hosted a Calgorithm tailgate. Exhausted already from a day that began before sun-up, they shared highlights and beers. They were still amped that Lynch drove the golf cart. Together, they watched Vanderbilt upset No. 1 Alabama.
They introduced themselves to one another as their online handles. Some burners geeked out over meeting others. One burner thanked Callie for remixing Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” hit song for Cal running back Jaydn Ott. “Ott to Go” was played at GameDay, which Callie could not get over, and probably never will.
O-T-T-T-O-G-O
We’ve got Jaydn Ott to go!#Calgorithm #FightForCalGameday #H1M #WhyNotCal pic.twitter.com/8D68f8pnjH— The Liberal Calgorithm (@wokemobfootball) September 28, 2024
Fellow Cal fans crowded around an exhausted Avinash Kunnath, a Cal grad and one of the godfathers of popular fan blog site, Write for California. Kunnath wore a Calgorithm meme T-shirt, jean jacket and a fuzzy bear hat. Saturday doesn’t happen without him, and basically everyone else in that tailgate lot, they said.
The group passed around shots of Malört, a tradition at the burner tailgate that dates back to the 2021 season. It was an ode to a past too often filled with disappointment, one which made a vengeful reappearance Saturday night. But it was also a salute to a future so swiftly reshaped by the community of devotees who took matters into their own hands and made the joke at their own expense before anyone else could.
“I like to tell people that we almost died as a program,” Le said. “We can’t really afford to be realistic about it anymore. This program deserves to and can only survive with a love and an ambition and a spirit that’s larger.”
(Top image: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; Bob Kupbens / Icon Sportswire)
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In just over two months, soccer fans will descend on stadiums across North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But those thousands of fans won’t get to take part in a long-running pregame tradition — at least at the venues located in the U.S.
FIFA is set to ban pregame tailgating at U.S. stadiums during the tournament, according to multiple reports Tuesday. NFL venues such as Arrowhead Stadium, Gillette Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field, among others, were listed as host sites where fans will not be allowed to tailgate this summer.
It was not immediately clear what led to the decision or why it is being introduced.
A general view shows the empty parking lot at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sept. 14, 2020, as no fans were allowed at the NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants. (Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports)
The governing body and tournament organizer may be aiming to prevent crowd-control issues similar to those that surfaced when Copa América was held in Miami. Large gatherings outside stadium entry gates fueled logistical hurdles.
Tailgating has long been synonymous with American sports culture, giving fans a budget-friendly way to enjoy the game-day atmosphere.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PRICES HIT ABSURD LEVELS FOR WORLD CUP GAMES: REPORT
But with that option gone, fans may encounter a very different pregame scene this summer. While FIFA will oversee venues during the tournament, the atmosphere outside them could ultimately prove more challenging to manage.
Real Madrid fans tailgate outside MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, before the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match against Paris Saint-Germain on July 9, 2025. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
The move to outlaw tailgating comes as several host cities adjust transportation plans to ease traffic flow around World Cup venues. Fans attending matches at MetLife Stadium in the New York area will not be able to park in the stadium’s usual gameday lots.
Fans of Real Madrid tailgate in a parking lot outside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group H match against FC Red Bull Salzburg on June 26, 2025. (Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images)
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Public transportation is expected to be the primary alternative, though travelers may face higher fares to cross state lines. New Jersey Transit could charge more than $100 for round-trip service to MetLife Stadium during games, The Athletic reported.
On a typical day, the 18-mile commute commands a fare of less than $13.
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Sports
Commentary: In wake of UCLA’s WNBA draft showing, shaky Sparks trying to rebuild future with the past
Amid a glittering sports celebration, a team from Los Angeles dominated the WNBA draft.
But it wasn’t Los Angeles’ WNBA team.
The Sparks couldn’t hold a candle to UCLA.
At a Monday event during which six Bruins were drafted among the first 18 picks — a WNBA record — the Sparks didn’t have their first pick until No. 20 in the second round.
Two years earlier, they had traded away their first-round pick for the rights to draft the exciting Rickea Jackson.
Whom they recently traded to Chicago for somebody named Ariel Atkins.
You can see where we’re going with this…
One of the WNBA’s founding franchises, the failure-ridden Sparks enter the league’s 30th season attempting to break a five-year playoff drought with an understandable yet unremarkable game plan.
They’re going old. They don’t have a choice. Five years of lottery missteps have produced exactly one current Sparks player, Cameron Brink, a social media star who’s been an injured basketball bust.
While the national champion Bruins spent Monday dancing across the league from Toronto to Chicago, the Sparks didn’t get a chance to acquire any of them, and wound up with three late picks who will raise no eyebrows and play few minutes.
So, yeah, old.
When the Sparks open the season by hosting defending champion Las Vegas May 10, their fans are going to say, “Oh yeah!” followed by a resounding chorus of, “Oh no!”
Oh yeah, they’re bringing back longtime Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, a bruising inside force for 14 seasons. She played well for Seattle last year, but, oh no, she’ll be 36 during the season, and one wonders when the physicality will take its toll.
Oh yeah, they’re bringing back Erica Wheeler, who played strong minutes here several years ago. But, oh no, she played for three teams in the last four years and will be 35 during the season.
Oh yeah, they’re bringing in Atkins, who once won a WNBA championship with the Washington Mystics. But, oh no, that was seven years ago, and she’s bounced around with six international teams and two WNBA teams since.
Those three veterans will be joining a team with two returning starters — Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby — but little else.
The league’s celebrated new CBA made all these players rich, but did little for the Sparks, who were unable to make a dent in the league-wide free agent market and were out of decent draft picks and so must survive for one more season before getting a shot at JuJu Watkins.
So they should tank? No! Not yet! I’ve got season tickets! But you’ve got to wonder. And if this aging band gets off to a slow start, you’ve got to wonder if they’re wondering.
“I’m super excited about the roster we have,” said coach Lynne Roberts on a Zoom call Monday night. “We brought in some tremendous leadership.”
But they also lost some tremendous youth by giving up on Jackson, who averaged nearly 15 points last season and provided much-needed energy to another deadly dull squad. While the Sparks made nice with her publicly, one can read between the lines on the following Zoom quote from general manager Raegan Pebley.
”Loved having her here … she’ll be successful wherever she goes,” said Pebley of Jackson. “But we’re focused on winning a championship and finding that fit and balance and getting all those pieces locked in with each other.”
Here’s guessing Jackson, an independent spirit, was never quite locked in. And now she’s locked out of a new culture that will be solid and steady… but will they be any good?
“You have to have that balance of youth and experience and I think our roster has nailed that,” said Pebley.
Who knows? Will Brink stop trying to be an influencer long enough to be an inside presence? Will Rae Burrell take another step in her fifth season? Can the new veterans stay healthy enough to inspire the kids, who could include draft picks Ta’Niya Latson, Chance Gray and Amelia Hassett? Can Roberts, a relative WNBA newcomer who lost more than half of her games in her debut last season, actually coach?
They’ve already had one win with the ongoing construction of an $150-million El Segundo practice facility, which should open next year and serve to attract the type of stars that a Los Angeles team deserves.
They have another steady win with a Crypto.com Arena fan-friendly game experience that ranks among the best in this city’s sports landscape.
Now they just need wins on the scoreboard, lots of them, enough to restore faith in what was once one of this city’s shining basketball operations.
The odds aren’t good — going old usually means going home early — but what else can they do? No Bruins are walking through that door. For at least one more year, the Sparks have to marinate in their past mistakes and hope that their veterans can somehow lay a foundation for their future..
“This isn’t a slow roll,” said Roberts. “We want to do it.”
The rest of the league, which has greatly benefited from five years of Sparks’ bad basketball decisions, will be waiting.
Their passionate fans, who have loyally kept showing up for the last five years to watch the lousy basketball those decisions have wrought, will be wanting.
And JuJu will be watching.
Sports
Orioles’ Craig Albernaz says he must eat baby food for weeks after foul ball to face leads to 7 fractures
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Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz has seven fractures in his orbital area as well as a broken jaw after taking a foul ball to the face, but he remains in the dugout with his squad.
However, Albernaz has one big change to his daily routine over the next month or so. He needs to eat baby food.
The injury occurred on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as the foul ball came whipping toward the Orioles’ dugout and hit Albernaz square on the right side of his face. But he was back at Camden Yards on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after suffering his multiple facial injuries.
Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz looks on before an MLB game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago, Ill., on April 8, 2026. (Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire)
Reports from Baltimore state that he has a visible bruise on the right side of his face, and that he will need to consume baby food for the next six weeks as his face heals.
“This is what we’re here for,” Albernaz said to reporters, per the Baltimore Banner. “We’re here for the players. We have a game. I’m physically able to be here, so let’s go.… If my jaw was wired shut, I’d still be here.”
ORIOLES MANAGER CRAIG ALBERNAZ TAKES LINE DRIVE TO FACE IN TERRIFYING SCENE
Albernaz said he felt “pretty good” considering the circumstances from Monday night’s foul ball off the bat of one of his own, Jeremiah Jackson.
“Ball hit me pretty flush in the cheek, but I feel good,” he added. “Luckily, no surgery. I think all in all, it was at least seven fractures in my cheek area, orbital, and then a broken jaw. But luckily, it doesn’t have to be wired. No surgery. I just have to eat baby food for six weeks.”
Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz stands on the field before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., on Apr. 10, 2026. (Mitch Stringer/Imagn Images)
Albernaz, like many managers, was standing at the top of the dugout steps when Jackson was late to a pitch that shot immediately toward his teammates and coaches. It’s an unfortunate situation for Albernaz, but the first-time MLB manager is clearly showing his grit and resilience for his squad.
They also showed it for him on Monday night, as they were trailing at that point in the game. However, the Orioles rallied to win the game 9-7.
A lot of that had to do with Jackson, who bashed two home runs, including a grand slam in the victory.
“I hit, and then I kind of saw Alby holding his face,” Jackson told reporters. “My heart kind of dropped. I was able to see him afterward and see he was doing OK.… Knowing he was OK helped. It made me feel a little bit better. I’m just happy he’s doing OK and in good spirits.”
Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz talks to media in the dugout before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago on April 8, 2026. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
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The Orioles’ win keeps them tied with the New York Yankees atop the AL East standings at 9-7.
Albernaz will continue to lead the way in the dugout moving forward, even if his diet does have to change.
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