Alyssa Williams makes debut on Holiday Bowl banner crew

Alyssa Williams made her debut on the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl’s banner crew December 28.

“It’s definitely a highlight of the year,” she said.

Williams joined her father, Darrel, on the crew which puts up and takes down the official and sponsor banners on the walls of the Qualcomm Stadium field. In between their pre-game and post-game duties, they spent most of the game between Cal and Texas A&M on the field.

“Being able to be on the field is amazing,” Alyssa Williams said. “It was really interesting to watch up close.”

Darrel Williams grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, and is a fan of the University of Michigan football team. In 1994 Michigan played Colorado State University in the Holiday Bowl. Tickets to the game were a Williams family Christmas present, and numerous relatives were in the stands. One of those was Alyssa Williams, who was six years old at the time.

During the 1994 Holiday Bowl Darrel Williams saw some of his co-workers on the field, and the following day he asked one of them how they were able to watch the game from the field. The co-worker responded that he had been on the banner crew since he was in high school and that the banner crew was looking for people to work on subsequent crews. Williams, who has been a member of the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club for the past 23 years, reached a deal in which he would provide wristbands to OMBAC’s over-the-line world championship in exchange for banner crew positions.

In the past Williams had been accompanied by his son, most recently in 2002 when Cody Williams was ten years old. In 2003 a policy prohibiting anyone under 18 from being on the field was enforced, making Cody Williams ineligible until 2010.

In April 2006 Alyssa Williams turned 18. “I was lucky enough this morning to snag a second pass for her,” Darrel Williams said.

Although Alyssa Williams had not attended a Holiday Bowl since Michigan’s 24-14 victory over Colorado State in 1994, she spent three years on the junior varsity and varsity Fallbrook High School cheer squads. That gave her experience with the sport of football. “I absolutely love it,” she said.

Alyssa Williams missed cheerleading tryouts for her freshman year at Fallbrook High School but earned a berth on the junior varsity squad as a sophomore. The 2006 Fallbrook High School graduate was the cheer squad captain as a senior and was also named the school’s cheerleader of the year.

During her sophomore year she incurred a muscle tear, which worsened through subsequent years. That gave her first-hand knowledge about football players who play in pain. “Cheerleaders, they feel the pain, too,” she said.

Alyssa Williams chose to attend college at San Diego State University due to its marketing, advertising, and communications majors and its sports management program. Her goal is to become a marketing executive for a professional football team.

Her father also attended San Diego State University. Darrel Williams began playing college football at Central Michigan but transferred to Palomar College before playing at San Diego State during the 1980 and 1981 seasons. Darrel Williams has lived in San Diego County for the past 27 years, and the family moved from Oceanside to Fallbrook in 1996.

Her injury kept Alyssa Williams from trying out for the San Diego State University cheer squad, although she may seek a berth on the 2007-08 squad. Even incumbent cheerleaders must try out each year for San Diego State cheer positions, so Williams would need to be successful at a tryout to make the Aztec cheer team.

Although his daughter was not on the cheer squad, Darrel Williams still attended home games of San Diego State’s football team, which was 3-9 in 2006. “I go to games whether or not they stink,” he said.

Ironically, Darrel Williams missed the Aztecs’ home victory December 2 against Colorado State. In 2006 Darrel Williams became an elder at Fallbrook Presbyterian Church. His wife, Janice, was already an elder, and Janice Williams rode on the church float during the Fallbrook Christmas Parade December 2 along with the family’s younger daughter, Amanda. Darrel Williams chose to watch his family in the Fallbrook Christmas Parade instead of watching the Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium.

Darrel and Alyssa Williams would both still find themselves at the stadium for a football game in December 2006. On the day of the game, Darrel Williams was notified that a second banner pass would be available.

Alyssa Williams lives in a dormitory on campus when school is in session, but she was in Fallbrook during the Winter break and had resumed her job at Farmhouse Coffee. Alyssa Williams was at work when her father notified her about the second credential about 1:00 in the afternoon. “I ran down here,” she said.

The banner crew is scheduled to arrive at the stadium three hours before kickoff, which is traditionally 5:00 p.m. About one hour is required for the typical ten-member crew to put up approximately 15 banners. After the banners are in place, the banner crew members are entitled to a pre-game meal in the press box, and following their meals they can return to the field and seek the best available position for the pre-game pageantry and the game itself.

The late notice prevented Alyssa Williams from arriving early enough to help put up the banners; she didn’t reach the stadium until shortly before kickoff. Darrel Williams arrived about 3:00 p.m., but by the time the logistics of his field access were coordinated the banners had already been put up. The two helped take down banners after the game, a task which took about half an hour.

The father and daughter spent the game along the sidelines or in one of the two end zones. “We just followed the ball up and down the field,” Alyssa Williams said.

“I love it,” Alyssa Williams said of being on the field. “It’s so much energy and excitement. I love football, so it’s really exciting to be able to be that close.”

As a cheerleader, Alyssa Williams had previously been on the field for football games, but the cheer team didn’t position itself in the end zone for an anticipated touchdown. “It’s a little different to be able to be right there where they make a touchdown,” she said. “To me, right at you in the end zone is really exciting.”

She also noted that the view of the field for cheerleaders on the sidelines is obstructed by players on the bench.

“It’s a fantastic experience to be out on the field for a bowl game. You’ve got to work afterwards, but that’s a pittance to being out there,” Darrel Williams said.

Darrel Williams noted that they saw media members, athletes, and other celebrities on the field. “It’s kind of cool,” he said.

Darrel Williams was wearing a University of Michigan sweatshirt and cap. One of the officiating crew was from the Big Ten, which includes Michigan. Two years ago that same official had noticed Williams’ Michigan attire, and in 2006 he remembered Williams and greeted the former Michigander.

On the other hand, the pre-game activities also included a moment of silence for former US President Gerald Ford, who was a University of Michigan center in the 1930s and passed away two days before the Holiday Bowl. In November death took former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler. “It’s been a tough year for Michigan,” Darrel Williams said.

Being on the field gave the family a closer viewpoint of the game. Darrel Williams, who was a guard and center when he played, was able to appreciate blocks on the line as well as observe downfield blocks. “That’s what I watch,” he said of focusing on the work of the offensive line.

He also noted that the offensive and defensive linemen for both Cal and Texas A&M weren’t as bulky as some of the linemen he had seen at previous bowl games. “Neither team seems as big as I’m used to,” he said. “It looks like both teams are more speed-oriented than size-oriented in terms of linemen.”

Darrel Williams also saw the referee preparing to throw a penalty flag for excessive celebration after a Cal touchdown but first looking at Cal coach Jeff Tedford, who calmed down his players and avoided the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. “That was kind of interesting,” Williams said.

Williams and his daughter were also walking past the Cal sidelines in the second quarter when Tedford was yelling at receiver DeSean Jackson after Jackson ran the wrong route and Cal quarterback Nate Longshore’s pass was intercepted. Tedford stared at Darrel Williams briefly before returning his attention to Jackson. “Kind of broke his concentration for a second,” Darrel Williams said.

The score was 14-10 in Cal’s favor at halftime, but the Golden Bears scored all 31 points in the second half for a 45-10 win. “I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t as close,” said Darrel Williams, who saw seven of the eight previous Holiday Bowls decided by eight points or fewer, including Oklahoma’s 17-14 victory over Oregon in 2005. “20 versus 21 you expected it to be close.”

Cal entered the game with a #20 national ranking while Texas A&M was ranked #21. The last Holiday Bowl decided by more than 14 points was Williams’ first on-field game in 1995, when Kansas State earned a 54-21 victory over Colorado State. (The Big 12 conference replaced the Big Ten as a Holiday Bowl participant beginning in 1995, and the PAC-10 replaced the Western Athletic Conference starting in 1998.)

“It’s just fun to be down here no matter what the outcome,” Darrel Williams said. “Just darn happy to be here.”

Darrel Williams had praise for Texas A&M running back Jorvorskie Lane, who kept his feet going when hit. “That’s a small back’s mentality,” Williams said. “This guy goes in the line and keeps running, doesn’t take the easy way out, so that’s impressive to me.”

Darrel Williams was not rooting for either team, noting that neither Tedford nor Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione voted to put Michigan in the BCS National Championship Bowl. Alyssa Williams, who has friends at Cal, was rooting for the Golden Bears. “It was just a really good game,” she said.

Being on the field allowed her a new experience of watching football. “You notice more intricate details,” she said.

Darrel and Alyssa Williams were on the field as Cal was celebrating. “It was really exciting,” Alyssa Williams said.

The celebrations create an obstacle for the banner crew. “It’s always tough on the winning side,” said Darrel Williams, who noted that he got run over by Kansas State celebrants in one of his early Holiday Bowls when he was bringing down banners.

Alyssa Williams learned about working around celebrants after the 2006 game. “Everyone’s always against the railing,” she said.

Alyssa Williams hopes to return to the 2007 Holiday Bowl. “I plan to make it a yearly thing,” she said.

“Even when Cody does get to go, I want to come,” Alyssa Williams said. “We’ll just put Cody in the rotation.”