09-15-2023, 06:19 PM
A deeper reading of comics and graphic novels and their relationship to society shows that the writers and authors build their fantastic universes around universally human stories to reflect certain aspects of society.
It is the athletes who are expected to be the Green Lantern Corps (willpower). They show up to train, compete, and sacrifice (yeah that's a bit dramatic) years in the prime of their lives for athletic competition representing Stanford. They must believe that every season, every game/match, every practice can result in victory/progress if they want it enough.
We, the fans and families, are the Blue Lantern Corps (hope). We hope every game, every season that the teams we support will win. Some of us donate to the teams and support them more personally (yes, there are heroes who have worn both blue and green rings simultaneously). We hope for a championship every year, knowing or not knowing the limitations of each team's roster, resources, and circumstances. Blue Lantern rings supercharge Green Lantern rings, though Blue Lantern rings are less powerful by themselves. An apt metaphor.
The athletic department? Charitably, let's say their primary interests don't align with the teams. The athletic department staff, at least the non-Stanford grads, are primarily concerned with keeping the donors happy, keeping everyone's noses clean (no NCAA violations or academic eligibility issues), and keeping the board happy. Bare minimum do that, and it's unlikely that you'll get fired. The performance of the teams seems to have very little bearing on the performance of athletic department staff. (Should it? At least indirectly...!)
The athletic staff is concerned about the brand of Stanford Athletics more than the performance of Stanford Athletics. As long as it looks like we're smart, clean, and excellent, all is well, results notwithstanding. Why is that? Because non-Stanford people buy into the brand of Stanford. They are focused on keeping the brand valuable. It's easier to keep the brand shiny by keeping the machine moving on the surface than it is to fight the entropy at the foundation--the foundation that is actual athletic success. Stanford athletics became good because they won, a lot. But some people think a department will look good with a large endowment and budget, that pays more, hires more, and has more social media presence. Maybe we're in the age of social media administrators.
The athletic dept isn't against success, but success isn't as high up on their list of priorities as stability and how it supports the brand. If anything, the athletic department (with exceptions) is the Orange Lantern Corps (greed), fueled by self-interest. Greed is perhaps too strong, but if you're going to work for Stanford athletics, you need to keep athletic success right up there with compliance and fiscal responsibility as a core tenet. Sometimes that means holding head coaches accountable for holding their staff accountable when the results become unacceptable. The Orange Lantern Corps is led by a creature who inhabits and takes over a host body. I really hope that's not the case here, but I'm not seeing proof.
As far as the Board is concerned, I think most of them are acting as if the athletic department does not matter as long as the department is not a liability: no scandals, no eligibility issues, no irresponsible spending. They probably don't care.
It is the athletes who are expected to be the Green Lantern Corps (willpower). They show up to train, compete, and sacrifice (yeah that's a bit dramatic) years in the prime of their lives for athletic competition representing Stanford. They must believe that every season, every game/match, every practice can result in victory/progress if they want it enough.
We, the fans and families, are the Blue Lantern Corps (hope). We hope every game, every season that the teams we support will win. Some of us donate to the teams and support them more personally (yes, there are heroes who have worn both blue and green rings simultaneously). We hope for a championship every year, knowing or not knowing the limitations of each team's roster, resources, and circumstances. Blue Lantern rings supercharge Green Lantern rings, though Blue Lantern rings are less powerful by themselves. An apt metaphor.
The athletic department? Charitably, let's say their primary interests don't align with the teams. The athletic department staff, at least the non-Stanford grads, are primarily concerned with keeping the donors happy, keeping everyone's noses clean (no NCAA violations or academic eligibility issues), and keeping the board happy. Bare minimum do that, and it's unlikely that you'll get fired. The performance of the teams seems to have very little bearing on the performance of athletic department staff. (Should it? At least indirectly...!)
The athletic staff is concerned about the brand of Stanford Athletics more than the performance of Stanford Athletics. As long as it looks like we're smart, clean, and excellent, all is well, results notwithstanding. Why is that? Because non-Stanford people buy into the brand of Stanford. They are focused on keeping the brand valuable. It's easier to keep the brand shiny by keeping the machine moving on the surface than it is to fight the entropy at the foundation--the foundation that is actual athletic success. Stanford athletics became good because they won, a lot. But some people think a department will look good with a large endowment and budget, that pays more, hires more, and has more social media presence. Maybe we're in the age of social media administrators.
The athletic dept isn't against success, but success isn't as high up on their list of priorities as stability and how it supports the brand. If anything, the athletic department (with exceptions) is the Orange Lantern Corps (greed), fueled by self-interest. Greed is perhaps too strong, but if you're going to work for Stanford athletics, you need to keep athletic success right up there with compliance and fiscal responsibility as a core tenet. Sometimes that means holding head coaches accountable for holding their staff accountable when the results become unacceptable. The Orange Lantern Corps is led by a creature who inhabits and takes over a host body. I really hope that's not the case here, but I'm not seeing proof.
As far as the Board is concerned, I think most of them are acting as if the athletic department does not matter as long as the department is not a liability: no scandals, no eligibility issues, no irresponsible spending. They probably don't care.