Prior to the start of "College GameDay," the crowd at the University of California, Berkeley, was absolutely unruly. Credit: Avinash Kunnath on X
College FootballESPNBy Sam Neumann on

All hell has already broken loose at the University of California, Berkeley.

We weren’t sure what to expect, but if the crowd looked anything like the ‘Calgorithm,’ then perhaps we should’ve already been forewarned about the insanity to come. Instead of running away from the stereotypes, Cal Twitter (and its fanbase at large) have run headfirst into them and embraced them wholeheartedly.

They also ran headfirst into Memorial Glade in the center of campus, creating absolute chaos before the sun came up Saturday morning. With College GameDay in tow for the first time ever at Berkeley, there weren’t a lot of expectations coming in, with the show starting at 9 a.m. ET, it’ll be 6 a.m. local when Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, and Lee Corso (update: Corso is not on hand) get things running.

That means that students (and fans) would have to start lining up behind the gates around 3 a.m. local time — or well before that. With this being the first time GameDay has ever made its way to Berkeley, it’s probably a safe bet that arriving after a night out mid-morning would be just a tad too late.

In fact, it appears that the crowd started to form late Friday night, with things blowing over around 2:30 a.m. ET. Avinash Kunnath of Write For California detailed the absolute chaos on X (formerly Twitter), writing that the Cal crowd waiting in line for GameDay broke through the barricades before the official opening, and there wasn’t enough security on hand at the time to not only organize the crowd but also get things under control.

Herbstreit couldn’t believe it. He also seemed somewhat concerned, but we can only tell so much by his emoji usage.

It seemingly wasn’t going according to plan.

But finally, after a half hour or so of absolute chaos, things seemed to be getting under control.

Or so we thought…

It took about two and a half hours, but the chaos — in terms of crowd spacing — seemed to subside. That said, the energy and intensity were far from fading. As the early morning hours progressed, the crowd grew more organized yet still maintained the electric atmosphere that had started in the dead of night.

It was clear from the beginning that this wasn’t going to be just another College GameDay — not with the unrestrained energy of Cal fans ready to make their mark. From the ‘Calgorithm’ signs to the sheer anarchy before sunrise, Berkeley fully embraced the madness.

As the crowd surged through barricades and security scrambled to restore order, it became obvious: chaos was part of the plan.

Ultimately, the scene was quintessentially Berkeley — chaotic, rebellious, and unforgettable. GameDay hadn’t just arrived at Cal; it had collided with the full force of its fan base, leaving an impression that was as unique and wild as the university itself.

And that’s before GameDay even started!

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann