[Hank 91]

Thanks for sharing (and for calling it “Big Game” without “the” in front of it, the way I remember it)! 
:)

Yeah, using an article always bothers me, I think just because back when I was a student it was always Big Game, never the Big Game.

There was definitely a discussion here at some point, and I think you're right about the student vs. media aspect. I vividly remember getting from the 1991 game and watching the recorded telecast. Brent Musberger introduced it as "the Big Game," and it bothered me. But if I remember right from our prior discussion here, people were pretty evenly split in terms of with or without the article.
Wasn't there a thread about use of articles and Big Game/the Big Game at some point? Were there any noticeable differences based on age and/or status as an alum or non-alum? I didn't go to Stanford, so when I heard references to the game, they came from reporters and broadcasters, and they used the article. For me, it's the Big Game. Dropping the article would feel weird to be, a little too familiar or cute. Perhaps proximity to student/alum culture plays a role?

This issue reminds me of the name of the famous horse race that happens on the first Saturday in May. To general sports fans, it's the Kentucky Derby. To racing fans in the United States, it's the Derby. To Kentuckians, it's just Derby ("Did you have good Derby?"). I'm in the middle group, unless I need to distinguish the Kentucky Derby from another race like the Florida Derby or Santa Anita Derby.

[Hank 91]

Thanks for sharing (and for calling it “Big Game” without “the” in front of it, the way I remember it)! 
:)

Yeah, using an article always bothers me, I think just because back when I was a student it was always Big Game, never the Big Game.

There was definitely a discussion here at some point, and I think you're right about the student vs. media aspect. I vividly remember getting from the 1991 game and watching the recorded telecast. Brent Musberger introduced it as "the Big Game," and it bothered me. But if I remember right from our prior discussion here, people were pretty evenly split in terms of with or without the article.
Wasn't there a thread about use of articles and Big Game/the Big Game at some point? Were there any noticeable differences based on age and/or status as an alum or non-alum? I didn't go to Stanford, so when I heard references to the game, they came from reporters and broadcasters, and they used the article. For me, it's the Big Game. Dropping the article would feel weird to be, a little too familiar or cute. Perhaps proximity to student/alum culture plays a role?

This issue reminds me of the name of the famous horse race that happens on the first Saturday in May. To general sports fans, it's the Kentucky Derby. To racing fans in the United States, it's the Derby. To Kentuckians, it's just Derby ("Did you have good Derby?"). I'm in the middle group, unless I need to distinguish the Kentucky Derby from another race like the Florida Derby or Santa Anita Derby.