The bands were at the luncheon and so are the Cal and Stanford alumni.
You never have trouble determining allegiance -- all you have to do is check the dress code.
What's great about this event you can tell who went where by the ties they wear.
Stanford has the most on the line with Rose Bowl aspirations.
"That would be great. I'm from Columbus, Ohio. Ideal game for me, a win-win, I was at Stanford from 69-71. Two Rose Bowls, thought they'd do it every year," said Jim Kirk, from the Stanford class of 1971.
Both teams are 7-3. Cal has won 6 of the last 7 Big Games and they're both fighting for the axe.
"We've been looking forward to it all season. It's finally here and we get to defend it," said Cal senior safety Brett Johnson.
"The axe is a big part of our community and we're excited to the opportunity to try and get it back this week," said Stanford senior safety Bo McNally.
Cal alum Bob Sarlatte the master of ceremonies and he dishes out equal time starting with Stanford.
"They even named Tiger Woods as their honorary captain. In addition to the coin toss, he will also be chipping in all field goals within 25 yards," said Sarlatte. "In back to back games. Cal scored a total of six points against Oregon and USC. So instead of flying to L.A., they took a bus to the UCLA game just to prove they could mount a sustained drive. "
The hype ends Saturday at Stanford with a 4:30 kickoff to the 112th Big Game.
