Comments on: Cal football: Former coach Snyder dies

By: Steve W

Steve W — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:41:20 +0000

I was only a casual Cal football fan during the Kapp era. My first season as a rabid fan came in Snyder’s first season with the team. You could tell that something had changed in the atomosphere in Strawberry Canyon, and Snyder was the reason. The Bears lost more than a few games in the 1987 season, but they were entertaining and they played with heart and passion. You could tell that Snyder was bringing something special to the party when the Bears knocked off 1987 Rose Bowl champion Arizona State at home during that first season. Then the recruiting started to kick in, and we got NFL players like Sean Dawkins and Todd Steussie. When Snyder took a chance on Prop 48 candidate Russell White, things were never the same. I was sitting in section T when White took the field for the first time and torched Miami for a 99-yard kickoff return. The great victories in the Snyder era – the trouncing of USC at home in 91 and the first win over UCLA in 20 years the year earlier – were truly something special and heralded the spoils we are enjoying now with Cal football. One could only imagine what might have happened had he stayed at Cal. Thanks for the memories, Bruce.

By: MoreNCsarecoming

MoreNCsarecoming — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:20:16 +0000

RIP Coach. Daddy knew Coach Snyder well and he stayed at our home a couple of times. He was a nice man. True story: He said I could work on the sidelines at any of the games at Berkley. He also wanted me to come to summer practise and help. Didn’t have the heart to tell him no. He was gone right after that anyway so it didn’t matter.

By: Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:28:08 +0000

That’s very sad. If not for the inept administration, Bruce Snyder should have stayed at Cal and continued to develop and succeed with the program. Had he stayed the program would have been far ahead of where it is today. He was a fine coach. RIP Bruce.