[gailtate]

Stanford is a very unique place. Great academics, a great history of athletic success, tons of money, and a plethora of smart minds amongst the alumni, the faculty and the student body. It's also located in the heart of a community noted for innovation and strategic disruption.

I find it stunning that folks have given up because of the portal and NIL. A good organization would find a way to make it work. A great organization would find a way to turn NIL and the portal into a competitive advantage. With everything Stanford has to offer verses its competition, the project wouldn't even be a tough one for first year students at the GSB to figure out.

All that's missing is the will and the determination to plan and implement it.

Well said.

For what it's worth, among all the places I engage with compatriots about Stanford sports this is by far the most defeatist. I don't know if it's because of user base that is more inclined to the Stanford power-that-be mentality or a non-subscription site drawing fewer die hards (I don't think that's it as my interventions here generate as much quality/substantive/voluminous reaction as some of the other forums) or this site having more country club sports fans who would be less heartbroken about the demise of Stanford football and basketball (I definitely get this sense).

As a former editor and associate publisher of the early Bootleg circa 1996, I would say that this site is more genteel by an order of magnitude. Its mild nature is a natural haven for defeatism. Far from the vision of Rutter and Ahlstrom. Kinda like a Safe Space where rough-edged debate threatens the sensibilities of certain mentalities. I was always (and still am) taken aback by this naivete whenever I peered into the offerings of other schools in other regions. The Cardboard is a bingo parlor in a world full of casinos. Quite Stanford, I'm afraid. Since the NIL/Portal era began, I've picked up more whiffs of this aroma. Like walking into a florist shop when the gardenias arrive. Or being told to sit down by the Statlers and Waldorfs in the row behind you.

[gailtate]

Stanford is a very unique place. Great academics, a great history of athletic success, tons of money, and a plethora of smart minds amongst the alumni, the faculty and the student body. It's also located in the heart of a community noted for innovation and strategic disruption.

I find it stunning that folks have given up because of the portal and NIL. A good organization would find a way to make it work. A great organization would find a way to turn NIL and the portal into a competitive advantage. With everything Stanford has to offer verses its competition, the project wouldn't even be a tough one for first year students at the GSB to figure out.

All that's missing is the will and the determination to plan and implement it.

Well said.

For what it's worth, among all the places I engage with compatriots about Stanford sports this is by far the most defeatist. I don't know if it's because of user base that is more inclined to the Stanford power-that-be mentality or a non-subscription site drawing fewer die hards (I don't think that's it as my interventions here generate as much quality/substantive/voluminous reaction as some of the other forums) or this site having more country club sports fans who would be less heartbroken about the demise of Stanford football and basketball (I definitely get this sense).

As a former editor and associate publisher of the early Bootleg circa 1996, I would say that this site is more genteel by an order of magnitude. Its mild nature is a natural haven for defeatism. Far from the vision of Rutter and Ahlstrom. Kinda like a Safe Space where rough-edged debate threatens the sensibilities of certain mentalities. I was always (and still am) taken aback by this naivete whenever I peered into the offerings of other schools in other regions. The Cardboard is a bingo parlor in a world full of casinos. Quite Stanford, I'm afraid. Since the NIL/Portal era began, I've picked up more whiffs of this aroma. Like walking into a florist shop when the gardenias arrive. Or being told to sit down by the Statlers and Waldorfs in the row behind you.