[yvonne]

Whoa! Comparing A&M and Stanford? I cannot imagine two more culturally different schools. Everything is different about them. 

Imagine a school the size of Cal, but with a flat, a more spacious campus in a largely rural area. Add an agricultural school. Have most of the students identify primarily as the team mascot name. Now, enroll 10% of the student body in a specially-named ROTC group called the Corps of Cadets. Make all the schools revolve around the Corps or some other military tradition. In fact dress the band in military-style khaki uniforms. Be sure maintain traditional gender roles. Some of the women will become "boot chasers" — pursuers of senior corps members.

Now, as for the game day experience and other football experiences, the entire student body must stand the entire game to signal their readiness to enter the game. The night before the game, the student body shows up at midnight to practice cheers (yells). During the game, five male yell leaders dressed in all white will use hand signals to tell the crowd which yells to do, at which point, the crowd leans forward puts their hands on their knees and yells. Oh, and if the game is close in the fourth quarter, the band members will squeeze their privates to share in the team's pain before a game tying/winning field goal or similar.

None of this football-is-everything, militaristic ethos is remotely similar to that of Stanford students.

[yvonne]

Whoa! Comparing A&M and Stanford? I cannot imagine two more culturally different schools. Everything is different about them. 

Imagine a school the size of Cal, but with a flat, a more spacious campus in a largely rural area. Add an agricultural school. Have most of the students identify primarily as the team mascot name. Now, enroll 10% of the student body in a specially-named ROTC group called the Corps of Cadets. Make all the schools revolve around the Corps or some other military tradition. In fact dress the band in military-style khaki uniforms. Be sure maintain traditional gender roles. Some of the women will become "boot chasers" — pursuers of senior corps members.

Now, as for the game day experience and other football experiences, the entire student body must stand the entire game to signal their readiness to enter the game. The night before the game, the student body shows up at midnight to practice cheers (yells). During the game, five male yell leaders dressed in all white will use hand signals to tell the crowd which yells to do, at which point, the crowd leans forward puts their hands on their knees and yells. Oh, and if the game is close in the fourth quarter, the band members will squeeze their privates to share in the team's pain before a game tying/winning field goal or similar.

None of this football-is-everything, militaristic ethos is remotely similar to that of Stanford students.