A bear thing proceeded methodically down the stands. In its claws was a mallet with a rubber head. On the front of its dark brown-furry chest was a sign that said "MKV Theatre". Thinking that it was an unwelcome prank, grim Stanford fans leaving the Stadium ignored it.

Watching the sidelines for Griff's emergence from the locker room, in the noise that pervaded the stadium, Caydance was oblivious to the approach of the man-bear thing.

Across the field, Yuri threw empty Russian beer cans into his gym bag, unfolded the collapsible hockey stick that he was seldom without. "Let's go," Jack said. But ecstatic Cal fans dominated the field, and running unheeded across the Astroturf, that since 1981 had been the surface of Memorial Stadium, was impossible.