Ron Rivera knows exactly when his love affair began with the Big Game.

He was a senior at Seaside High School in Monterey County being recruited by both Cal and Stanford in the fall of 1979 when he attended the annual rivalry game for the first time.

After the Bears secured a 21-14 victory on Ron Coccimiglio’s pass deflection in the end zone on the game’s final play, Rivera was swallowed up by the intense reaction on both sides.

“Really seeing the depths of despair when you lose and the excitement and thrill when you win was amazing. I did get caught up in that euphoria,” he recalled this week in advance of the 128th Big Game at Stanford on Saturday.

“It’s funny because when I walked out of the Cal locker room, the winner’s locker room, I had this look on my face and my mother just loo

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