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The Cal Golden Bears walked into Jordan-Hare Stadium and left with a win over the Auburn Tigers. They’re enjoying every second of the upset victory – as they should!
The Bears entered that contest as 12-point underdogs on the road in a hostile environment. While there were doubters, a strong defensive performance allowed for Cal to earn bragging rights.
Not only did the team avenge last season’s 14-10 loss in Berkeley, but it gave the program its first marquee win as an ACC member. The Bears may reside on the West Coast, but they’ve made their presence felt in the Southeast!
Billboards parading that surprising victory are popping up in SEC country as the Golden Bears continue to troll the Tigers.
A number of social media users have reported seeing these billboards along the interstate reading, “Proud to rep the ACC,” accompanied by the game score.
Cal has taken out ad space on one of the digital billboards on I-75 in Atlanta. Says “Proud to represent the ACC” with last week’s final score.
-Tanner McClure / X: TanMan128
The majority of those reports seem to come from Atlanta – about an hour and a half outside of Auburn.
As if embarrassing the Tigers while turning their fanbase against the starting quarterback wasn’t enough!
This is apparently a real, not photoshopped billboard somewhere (Atlanta?) of Cal’s win https://t.co/IEvGZZwbAm
— TwistNHook (@TwistNHook) September 12, 2024
These aren’t the first Cal billboards to be seen in the Southeast!
After joining the ACC, the Golden Bears placed advertisements throughout major cities in the area, most notably Atlanta and Charlotte. They’ve made themselves right at home!
It’s said that an NIL collective was responsible for funding those initial billboards, which simply marketed the program’s move into a new conference.
[NIL collective] Cal Legends has reportedly moved to the brand marketing side, posting up funds for billboards in ACC country (this billboard below is in Charlotte, North Carolina—Cal will play in-state on November 8th in Wake Forest). Sources confirm that there are several other billboards either already set up or being setup in other major ACC East Coast markets.
Whether the collective had a hand in these latest ads is unknown!
Whatever the case, the Bears are making sure to rub Auburn’s nose in the loss while flexing conference superiority.
We’ll see if the East Coast trend continues as Cal moves into league play!