Cal's women's basketball squad has a Sunday date in the NCAA's Final Four -- the first time the team has ever gone so far in the annual tournament. And many longtime fans, along with recent converts to the cause, are rallying around the history-making hoopsters.
Hundreds rallied at Haas Pavilion at UC Berkeley on Thursday to send off the team on its Final Four trip to New Orleans. They'll play the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. PDT, a game that will be shown live on ESPN.
"It is a huge deal for the program. It is just so exciting," said Cynthia Cooke, who played for Cal from 1981 to 1985. "The girls are so dedicated and so committed and out there playing hard, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to New Orleans, and I'll see them there."
"I'm not much of a sports person, but I think it's exciting that it's the women," new fan Melanie King said. "I hope it brings more people out."
Allie Payar brought her 2-year-old daughter and one of her friends to the rally.