[BillBradley]

I have very fond memories of Stanford football games in the early 80's   Our football record in my 4 years on the farm was 15-29. Elway never went to a bowl game. After he left, the team went 1-10 in 1983. It was rough to watch. But the students went to the games because they were most definitely a part of campus culture. College fun abounded with kegs in the stands, girls in bikini tops, and of course the band was absolutely hilarious (IMO). I would say that of the ~100 students in my freshman dorm, well over half went to every home game. Sure it would have been great to have a top-20 program, but the football team was still a big part of the college experience for many.

Today's Stanford is a much different place. Campus parties need to be approved, the band's acts need to be approved,...much has been written about this.  I was at a game a few years back on a glorious Saturday afternoon and the level of student body participation in tailgating and pregame activities was abysmal. The band and dollies were parading around campus with maybe 20 students following them. It's embarrassing when the TV broadcast pans the empty stands or a small group of students are shown dancing around after we score a touchdown. When discussing whether or not Stanford should go all in on NIL in order to compete in football...I would also ask the question of "for who"? Maybe it would be better to go all in on NIL for basketball and some of the other team sports and just let football die a miserable death.

[BillBradley]

I have very fond memories of Stanford football games in the early 80's   Our football record in my 4 years on the farm was 15-29. Elway never went to a bowl game. After he left, the team went 1-10 in 1983. It was rough to watch. But the students went to the games because they were most definitely a part of campus culture. College fun abounded with kegs in the stands, girls in bikini tops, and of course the band was absolutely hilarious (IMO). I would say that of the ~100 students in my freshman dorm, well over half went to every home game. Sure it would have been great to have a top-20 program, but the football team was still a big part of the college experience for many.

Today's Stanford is a much different place. Campus parties need to be approved, the band's acts need to be approved,...much has been written about this.  I was at a game a few years back on a glorious Saturday afternoon and the level of student body participation in tailgating and pregame activities was abysmal. The band and dollies were parading around campus with maybe 20 students following them. It's embarrassing when the TV broadcast pans the empty stands or a small group of students are shown dancing around after we score a touchdown. When discussing whether or not Stanford should go all in on NIL in order to compete in football...I would also ask the question of "for who"? Maybe it would be better to go all in on NIL for basketball and some of the other team sports and just let football die a miserable death.