Everyone should get to experience Pac-12 Media Days at some point in their lives. It's equal parts pep rally, press conference, and publicity stunt, but one hundred percent amazing. I've been lucky enough to attend a few of these extravaganzas, which always seem to take place at movie studios, and I'll never get tired of them. Here are a few highlights of Thursday's event at Warner Bros. Studios in blistering Burbank, California...

After a seventy-minute drive traversing four different freeways between Long Beach and Burbank, I arrived at the studio, walked past the soundstage where Paul Newman claimed he could eat fifty eggs in Cool Hand Luke, and headed into the press room just before Washington head coach Chris Petersen took the stage. Each school had the stage for thirty minutes or so, with the head coach on the main stage, front and center, and the two player representatives in the two back corners of the room. (They used to have all three on stage together like a conventional press conference, but last year the Pac-12 embraced the three-ring circus format, and it's honestly much better.)

After Petersen made a few opening remarks, the reporters swarmed closer. When no one appeared to have a question for him, Petersen quipped, "Don't be shy! Should I ask you questions instead? What do you think it will be like for me going back to Boise?" Laughter all around. Later he'd admit that if he had known he'd be the Washington head coach one day, he never would've scheduled the Huskies back when he was still at Boise State. "It'll be awkward for me."

Next up was UCLA's Jim Mora, who was impressive in the breadth of his discussion, referencing his involvement with the Special Olympics, his experience walking into the Coliseum with the athlete delegation from Nepal at the Special Olympics World Games here in Los Angeles, and his role in UCLA's efforts to assist the family of reporter Brandon Huffman, whose daughter Avery was recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. "I would just encourage everybody to find a way to help somebody who needs your help." He seemed like a really good guy.

To be honest, I spent much of this time wandering the room, perusing the snacks (Gatorade, soda, granola bars) and the swag (Pac-12 and Adidas branded trinkets as well as a mysterious piece of plastic that turned out to be a prop for your cellphone) while I waited for Coach Shaw to take the stage.



When the Stanford contingent arrived, I headed to the back to chat with left tackle Kyle Murphy, who expounded on any number of topics. He explained that the main reason why he came to Stanford in the first place was because of the legacy established by the offensive linemen who had come before him, and he spoke about the strong bond shared by members of his 2012 recruiting class, particularly the offensive linemen.



"We go out to eat. During the year the linemen love going out to Buffalo Wild Wings on Thursday nights and seeing who can eat the most," he said. Not surprisingly, Josh Garnett is the reigning champion. "He can probably eat somewhere close to fifty or sixty wings." (He didn't know how many eggs he could eat.)

Murphy went on to explain that the linemen have accepted much of the blame for what he felt was a subpar season in 2014, but that as a group they're looking forward to more success this fall, and the key is competition. "We're always competing against each other, but none of that stuff is personal," he explained. "We all have the same end goal of trying to win every game. You can't really take it personal, but the best player has to play. If you deserve playing time, the coaches will find a way to get you on the field."



In the other corner of the room, inside linebacker Blake Martinez spoke about the tradition of excellent linebacker play that's developed over the past few years. "It's been an honor to be a part of this group of guys. We've always talked about the foundation that's been laid on defense, and I've seen that from Trent Murphy, Shayne Skov, and A.J. Tarpley. What I've been doing is looking at how they got their guys around them to be the best they can be. I take some of that and use some stuff that I think might work and kind of mold myself to bring all these young guys that we have on the team up to pace."

Also, he revealed that there was division between the offense and defense while the team was struggling, with defensive players expressing frustration over the inconsistency of the offense. "We weren't together as a whole unit. We were like, alright, defense -- we're gonna go do our thing. Offense -- hopefully you'll do your thing. We didn't have that camaraderie as a unit. If the offense did something wrong, we were like, screw them, we'll get it done. It was never, we got your back."

Things came together just when you'd probably guess -- before the Cal game and the three-game winning streak that concluded the season. Both Murphy and Martinez made it clear that they expect that strong finish -- and the united attitude -- to continue into 2015.



After the formal press conferences ended, the circus really got started. By the time I gathered my stuff and headed out to the studio's Brownstone Street, Shaw, Martinez, and Murphy had already moved on to their next stop, the Pac-12 Network's putting green (Shaw is not a good putter). From there the players took a few swings at a Stanford piñata (though I can't imagine why they weren't given a Cal piñata to pummel) and posed for some goofy photos before climbing onto the network stage for a quick interview with Michael Yam and company.



Over a lunch of salad, sandwiches, turkey wraps, and some amazing Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches, Shaw sat on one end of the table answering questions about pace of play and long term offensive game plans (yes, they save certain plays for certain teams) while Martinez and Murphy debated the relative nutritional value of cheese vs. tortillas (Kyle likes the protein in cheese, but Blake needs the carbs in the tortilla so that he doesn't get cranky). Shaw was asked about Solomon Thomas ("A freakish athlete -- at 260 pounds, he can jump and touch eleven feet") and the players decided that Joey Alfieri and Aziz Shittu are probably the funniest guys on the roster.

But these M&M boys are more focused than those trivial conversations might indicate. They also spoke of individual and team goals (winning a national championship), reflected on their initiation to Kyle Turley's conditioning program, and expressed amazement that they are so close to concluding their Stanford careers.

On the other end of the table, having answered all the technical questions, Coach Shaw was taking the last bites of his sandwich and spinning tales about the 1990 Big Game and the 2007 upset over USC. In the midst of my conversation with two of Stanford's current stars, I kept hearing whispers from Stanford's past: "Hopkins kept firing footballs into the crowd..." and later, "we didn't even have our starting quarterback..."

Finally I could take it no longer, so I leaned towards Shaw and listened as he spoke about the Biggest Upset Ever. The offensive coordinator at the time, he talked about being overwhelmed while watching film of the USC defense during the week before the game, and that for the first time ever he and Jim Harbaugh found themselves at a loss.

"I was watching, and not even making any notes on what plays to run. Jim sat down and said, what do you think? I said, I've never seen anything like this. He said, Damn, they're good. I know. He said, Damn, they're fast. I know. It was unreal."

But then they realized they had some advantages with Mark Bradford, Richard Sherman, and Evan Moore at wide receiver, and a game plan came together. He spoke about the freedom that came with their early successes in the game, and he remembered looking down at the field from his spot in the press box and wondering why Stanford's defensive players were dancing during timeouts. Something was changing in them, and it wasn't just about that game. It wasn't even just about that season.

After the clock wound down to zero in that epic win, the team returned to campus where they found an eager throng of students waiting for the team bus in the middle of the night. Shaw and the other assistants were concerned with how to best handle the crowd and protect their head coach, but Harbaugh shot out of the bus and into the sea of humanity before anyone could stop him.

"I was about to grab Jim, but he just took off, right into the middle of the mayhem," Shaw remembered. "I still to this day don't know how he did it, but he found a wooden box to stand on, and he found a bullhorn! How'd he get a bullhorn? So here he is, just getting the crowd even more excited, he's giving this unbelievable speech, and people are going crazy. This doesn't happen!"

He just smiled and shook his head, and the small group of reporters around him laughed along. It wasn't hard to imagine what might've been going through Shaw's head. Did that really happen? Has all this really happened in the past seven seasons?

But it did happen. It all has happened. The question now is simple -- what will happen this year?