A Stanford Grad's Perspective
Bad fans, bad band, good stadium
September 19, 2006
By Glenn Truitt
It¹s been over a year since I was last on campus, since I wrote for the
Daily and since I publicly proclaimed my hatred for the Band. Saturday, I
had the opportunity to see my two Alma Maters meet on the football field, an
occurrence rare enough to justify the six hour drive to see the game, and an
occasion which also coincided with the opening of Stanford¹s new stadium.
And while you have an AMAZING new stadium ‹ certainly, the class of the
Pac-10 ‹ you still have the worst football fans at any major university and
a band that remains an embarrassment to your school. At least you¹ve finally
gotten the cheerleaders right.
What kind of band is so screwed up that it misses an event like Saturday¹s?
And don¹t tell me that it¹s not the Band¹s fault. You mean, you couldn¹t see
this coming? It¹s an isolated incident? The fact is, the Band has been an
increasingly annoying eyesore for years, and now it¹s the subject of
national ridicule (See the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Indianapolis Star,
the San Francisco Chronicle, etc.) Looks like I may have been the rule and
not the exception after all, (see my column 3/1/05) to which I¹m certain the
band will respond that we¹re ALL now fascists. Listen, that response is even
more tired than the Band¹s act. Just stop, you¹re only making it worse.
What fills me with joy is the fact that the world¹s worst fans and
corresponding band, got a chance to see what real fans and a real band look
like, right in the middle of their own brand new house. Because, amidst
Navy¹s sound beating of a stronger, faster and more experienced football
team, they also came with louder, more excited fans, a rowdier student
section, and a band that doesn¹t suck. There it is Stanford, that¹s the best
look you¹re ever going to get.
I overheard one Stanford fan lamenting ³We¹re stronger and faster than all
these guys, how can we possibly be losing?² I¹ll tell you something that I
learned while still a freshman at Navy: it¹s all about ³heart.² None of the
Navy players will play in the NFL, and none of them were likely recruited by
the major conference schools. They go through the same grind as all the
midshipmen at Navy, they get no special favors ‹ they stand
shoulder-to-
them will go to war ‹ a place where their touchdowns and tackles mean
nothing. So why do they play? Perhaps for love of the game, for pride in
their school, perhaps for the crowd who they know will stay to the end of
the game and cheer them, win or lose. For whatever reason they play, they
play; and they play hard. They play with HEART. And that¹s why I cheer for
them. There are very few pure things left in college football, and Navy is
one of them.
The Stanford football team has little reason to dig down deep. I¹ve seen
more excitement at a knitting convention. And at the first sign of
adversity, the so-called ³fans² filed for the exits like rats on a sinking
ship. That¹s right, in the THIRD QUARTER of the home opener in a BRAND NEW
stadium many cardinal-wearing spectators were already headed home. Better
things to do I guess. What¹s worse, when it came time to sing Stanford¹s
alma mater (after Navy sang theirs to a packed house), there wasn¹t even an
identifiable section of fans for the Stanford team to stand in front of to
sing ‹ the student section had long since gone off to their own parties.
Embarrassing.
For the men of the Stanford football team, here¹s something you might not
hear enough from your own crowd: Great game; you played hard; and better
luck next week. You guys deserve that great stadium.
As for the ³fans² and the Band, you don¹t even deserve to be let inside.
Glenn Truitt, Stanford Law School Class of 2005, USNA Class of Œ97 is now a
practicing attorney in
the Band. He welcomes comments at glennt97@gmail.
posted by John Howland @ 9:49 AM
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