09-28-2011, 07:08 PM
Okay, I guess it's time to do my bio. I'm hardly a new poster, though.
I'm Emory. Attended my first Big Game in 1971, though I was in HS at the time. I've told this story before, so I apologize to those who have heard it before; but it explains the whole nature of my Stanford allegiance. I was in junior high when Jim Plunkett won the Voldemort and Stanford went to the Rose Bowl. My brother was a HS senior and applying to colleges then. Our family watched the Rose Bowl - it was the first time I had ever watched any football game at all in its entirety (I was a baseball fan only back then.) Although I knew very little about football, the game really made an impression on me. At the beginning of the game, NBC showed the starting player intros, with each player shown on his campus, telling his name, position, hometown, and major. The Ohio State players were all dressed casually, and their majors were frequently "PE" or "General studies". The Stanford players, on the other hand, were dressed in coats and ties, stood in front of the White Plaza fountain, and had real majors - "Econ", "Poli Sci", "Sociology" and so on. With that, I knew that Stanford was special. As the game progressed, it was clear which side was more exciting, more innovative. It was after that game that I started to do some research into Stanford (as a junior high student, no less!) and by the time I was a freshman in HS, I knew where I wanted to go.
BTW, I was at the Orange Bowl - I have worked hard enough in my life (I am a physician) that I now am treating myself to these extravagances, something I couldn't justify when I was a younger alum. I got to the Sunlight Stadium early,went to the tailgate, and we walked all over the stadium. I happened to see a man older than me wearing a Stanford football jersey that was white, cotton, with sewn-on letters and the cardinal stripe on the sleeve. The name said, "Shockley". I recognized it as being from the 1972 Rose Bowl.  He was Hillary Shockley, and I started teilling him my story as a 13 year old. He called over his buddy, Jackie Brown, another member of the 1971-2 Rose Bowl team, for him to hear the story as well. I told them they were both responsible for my attending Stanford. That was terrific - as I said thanks, they both gave me a long and warm handshake.
I've been going to Big Games since 1971. (Did miss 1974, my senior year in HS. Boy, am I sorry I did.) On Match Day, when I leared where I would do my residency, once I learned I would be in SF, my first thought was to contact someone who had just started getting season tickets (he was a resident who is also a Stanford grad) to tell him to get me one also. We've been season ticketholders since 1984. We actually made it to the sunny side 49 yd line in the Old Lady (unfortunately, that was due to the wretched years of one Buddy, who caused many to cancel their tickets, hence our bump to better seats.) We did something in 2009 we vowed we'd never do - move to the shady side (only because the team and students moved in 2008.)
Yes, these are fun times. I have no idea how long it will last.  But I am enjoying every minute of it.
I'm Emory. Attended my first Big Game in 1971, though I was in HS at the time. I've told this story before, so I apologize to those who have heard it before; but it explains the whole nature of my Stanford allegiance. I was in junior high when Jim Plunkett won the Voldemort and Stanford went to the Rose Bowl. My brother was a HS senior and applying to colleges then. Our family watched the Rose Bowl - it was the first time I had ever watched any football game at all in its entirety (I was a baseball fan only back then.) Although I knew very little about football, the game really made an impression on me. At the beginning of the game, NBC showed the starting player intros, with each player shown on his campus, telling his name, position, hometown, and major. The Ohio State players were all dressed casually, and their majors were frequently "PE" or "General studies". The Stanford players, on the other hand, were dressed in coats and ties, stood in front of the White Plaza fountain, and had real majors - "Econ", "Poli Sci", "Sociology" and so on. With that, I knew that Stanford was special. As the game progressed, it was clear which side was more exciting, more innovative. It was after that game that I started to do some research into Stanford (as a junior high student, no less!) and by the time I was a freshman in HS, I knew where I wanted to go.
BTW, I was at the Orange Bowl - I have worked hard enough in my life (I am a physician) that I now am treating myself to these extravagances, something I couldn't justify when I was a younger alum. I got to the Sunlight Stadium early,went to the tailgate, and we walked all over the stadium. I happened to see a man older than me wearing a Stanford football jersey that was white, cotton, with sewn-on letters and the cardinal stripe on the sleeve. The name said, "Shockley". I recognized it as being from the 1972 Rose Bowl.  He was Hillary Shockley, and I started teilling him my story as a 13 year old. He called over his buddy, Jackie Brown, another member of the 1971-2 Rose Bowl team, for him to hear the story as well. I told them they were both responsible for my attending Stanford. That was terrific - as I said thanks, they both gave me a long and warm handshake.
I've been going to Big Games since 1971. (Did miss 1974, my senior year in HS. Boy, am I sorry I did.) On Match Day, when I leared where I would do my residency, once I learned I would be in SF, my first thought was to contact someone who had just started getting season tickets (he was a resident who is also a Stanford grad) to tell him to get me one also. We've been season ticketholders since 1984. We actually made it to the sunny side 49 yd line in the Old Lady (unfortunately, that was due to the wretched years of one Buddy, who caused many to cancel their tickets, hence our bump to better seats.) We did something in 2009 we vowed we'd never do - move to the shady side (only because the team and students moved in 2008.)
Yes, these are fun times. I have no idea how long it will last.  But I am enjoying every minute of it.