Several threads now mingled in the fabric of her life, Caydance thought as she sat in a deli in Berkeley on the morning of the Big Game. Another thread, begun only a few months earlier at a Berkeley waterfront bar and restaurant, was the Fall 1986 schedule of the Stanford Football team, for which the man she had met in that bar was a Graduate Assistant Coach; the things that accompanied this array of games, such as Saturday afternoon in Stanford Stadium and subsequent beach house interludes that included game films. Also, there were TV or radio-carried football games, usually played on Sundays by Griff's former team -- once the Oakland Raiders, now the Los Angeles Raiders.

The football component of this thread originated in her childhood, Caydance was reminded, when only two days ago, on a night that Griff was spending in her studio, her Father, Mac O'Brien, arrived unexpectedly in town, just in time for the Raiders versus the Chargers. And, instead of watching Thursday Night Football on her small TV, they joined her Dad at a sports bar within walking distance, where -- in a large screen-dominated otherwise dark, noisy room at a table laden with barbequed ribs, French fries, and a large pitcher of beer -- Caydance listened to her boyfriend and her Father, who had never before met provide color commentary, while on the screen at various times Jim Plunkett passed to Todd Christensen, Jim Plunkett passed to Dokie Williams; Lester Hayes turned a San Diego fumble into a touchdown; linebacker Jerry Robinson took the ball into the end zone; Chris Barr kicked a season best 52 yard field goal, and Marcus Allen carried the ball for 28 yards to break an overtime tie.