[scorecard]

I have to agree with Ratmandoo here.  The personal attacks on Shaw are over the top.  Stanford alums and fans should be better than this.  While I clearly disagree with some of his coaching moves, and have also vented my frustrations, I think we don't need to resort to name calling and vitriol.  We don't know what goes on behind closed doors or practices.  There are dynamics of handling young people that Shaw has to deal with, and there may be things that we aren't aware of, reasons why he might not have changed QBs already.  It's easy to play armchair coach and it's part of the fun of being a fan. 

But it should remain fun.  Please remember that it is a game after all.  College sports is obviously a big business now, and we have become a player in the arms race so to speak, but I don't want us to become like an SEC school where winning comes at all costs including fair play and our mission as a university.  Would I be happy with a national championship in basketball at Stanford if it was achieved like Calipari does it?  No, I would not.  I am proud of my school for recruiting real student-athletes, for not having early-entry so freshmen can go to spring camps (and thereby costing them the last part of their senior year in HS), for enticing recruits on the basis of getting a world-class education, and not for some dubious perks of fancy uniforms or facilities or payments under the table. 

And I want us to win so badly, if not just for the fact to show that it can be done, that we don't have to lower our academic standards to compete, that you can win a national championship in football at Stanford.  For our seniors in particular, I've been as disappointed as anyone by our losses this year, but let's not let our passion for the game turn into misguided maliciousness towards our own.  We expect our players and coaches to represent Stanford with class, and we should hold ourselves to those same lofty expectations.  We can voice our opinions without getting personal.  As was recently coined, we win with character and cruelty, but with all the personal attacks, we are losing our character and only keeping the cruelty. 

[scorecard]

I have to agree with Ratmandoo here.  The personal attacks on Shaw are over the top.  Stanford alums and fans should be better than this.  While I clearly disagree with some of his coaching moves, and have also vented my frustrations, I think we don't need to resort to name calling and vitriol.  We don't know what goes on behind closed doors or practices.  There are dynamics of handling young people that Shaw has to deal with, and there may be things that we aren't aware of, reasons why he might not have changed QBs already.  It's easy to play armchair coach and it's part of the fun of being a fan. 

But it should remain fun.  Please remember that it is a game after all.  College sports is obviously a big business now, and we have become a player in the arms race so to speak, but I don't want us to become like an SEC school where winning comes at all costs including fair play and our mission as a university.  Would I be happy with a national championship in basketball at Stanford if it was achieved like Calipari does it?  No, I would not.  I am proud of my school for recruiting real student-athletes, for not having early-entry so freshmen can go to spring camps (and thereby costing them the last part of their senior year in HS), for enticing recruits on the basis of getting a world-class education, and not for some dubious perks of fancy uniforms or facilities or payments under the table. 

And I want us to win so badly, if not just for the fact to show that it can be done, that we don't have to lower our academic standards to compete, that you can win a national championship in football at Stanford.  For our seniors in particular, I've been as disappointed as anyone by our losses this year, but let's not let our passion for the game turn into misguided maliciousness towards our own.  We expect our players and coaches to represent Stanford with class, and we should hold ourselves to those same lofty expectations.  We can voice our opinions without getting personal.  As was recently coined, we win with character and cruelty, but with all the personal attacks, we are losing our character and only keeping the cruelty.