jungle - Junipero Serra High School

The Caseof theMultiplyingTicketsJust how did the Serra gym come tobe as tightly packed and spirit-filled asit was on the night of that first, traditionsettingJungle Game?Chalk it up to the over-enthusiasm of a youngteacher.Randy Vogel, who in 1975 was a fourth-year teacher withthe post of Rally Committee Moderator, remembers the debacle a littlesheepishly, because he was in charge of distributing tickets for themuch-anticipated match-up between the Padres and the Wildcats.21“I had the task of selling the tickets to the students,” he says. “They werein heavy demand. We just printed tickets on pink paper, and before we knew it, we realized that we hadsold way too many tickets to our students, without leaving enough for SI.”But that’s not the end of the story…after realizing his error, Vogel decided that a few more Pads in thestands wouldn’t hurt.“I got a soft spot for some of the kids, and sold a couple hundred more tickets,” he laughs now. “As afairly young teacher, I figured the more, the merrier.”The evolution of theJungle Game ticket Afterthe first Jungle Game ticket wasXeroxed and forged, subsequenttickets became harder toduplicate. The tickets above,clockwise from top left, admittedfans to the match-up in 1975,1996, 1988 and 2004.Still, even all of the legally issued tickets couldn’t accommodate all of the Serra students who wanted tosee the showdown.“There were kids who were actually forging tickets,” says Vogel. At the door of the gym on the night of thegame, he confiscated at least ten tickets that were Xeroxed and carried the forged signature of Jim Monahan, Student Activities Director at the time.Most were inexpert renditions of the original ticket, and some were even copied on the back of pink class summons slips.The end result? The gym was not only filled to bursting, but the corridors outside the gym were packed as well.“That night was incredible,” says Vogel. “At least three quarters of the home stands were filled with students, and I personally haven’t missed asingle Jungle Game since. It’s blossomed into a wonderful tradition on the Peninsula.”