[M T]

At the beginning of the game the announcers frequently used the phrase intellectual brutality.  I cringe every time I hear it.  It sounds pretentious to me.    Some fans of sports teams are turned off by any reference to Stanford athletes/students as "smart kids".  Everyone knows they are smart kids.    No need to brag about it.

I absolutely agree.  "Brutality" is not a concept I want to be associated with.  Some forms of bullying might be termed intellectual brutality.  I thought this term was some unofficial tagline promoted by the press, but then, after the touchdown reception, two young men in street clothes and head seats are seen hugging A-W with a shirt that says "The Home of Intellectual Brutality".    Official support for self-reference to brutality is wrong.

Substitute "Toughness" or "Strength" for "Brutality" and I'm all for it.

[M T]

At the beginning of the game the announcers frequently used the phrase intellectual brutality.  I cringe every time I hear it.  It sounds pretentious to me.    Some fans of sports teams are turned off by any reference to Stanford athletes/students as "smart kids".  Everyone knows they are smart kids.    No need to brag about it.

I absolutely agree.  "Brutality" is not a concept I want to be associated with.  Some forms of bullying might be termed intellectual brutality.  I thought this term was some unofficial tagline promoted by the press, but then, after the touchdown reception, two young men in street clothes and head seats are seen hugging A-W with a shirt that says "The Home of Intellectual Brutality".    Official support for self-reference to brutality is wrong.

Substitute "Toughness" or "Strength" for "Brutality" and I'm all for it.