My love affair with the new Stanford Stadium began last November in the bathroom line during the Notre Dame game, at the old Stanford Stadium. There I was with 75 or so twitchy men in a snaking queue that doubled back on itself and effectively blocked traffic coming through the section high up on the visitor’s side. We were not a happy group.
“This is like a Third World country up here,” a man wearing an ND cap grumbled.
“This stadium was built in, like, 1920,” his friend offered.
“What, people didn’t go to the bathroom back then?” the first man countered.
I couldn’t blame him for being annoyed. The line crept agonizingly slowly, and our deliverance finally arrived in a facility that had all the charm of a backwater truck stop with a low opinion of disinfectant. If there had been a tree available, I’m pretty sure a few in the line would have risked arrest to use it.
I know a few people were sad to see the old stadium go, but I’m not one of them. It had a rich history and many memories worth preserving, but the place was literally falling apart. Getting in was a chore—those endless staircases—and once inside there was no place to go, if you know what I mean.
You don’t build a new football stadium just for the bathrooms, of course. There are also marginally important issues such as sightlines (much improved now) and proximity (the closest seats are 45 feet from the field) and kid friendliness (for example, a place for tykes to run around while not watching the Tree cavort). Put it all together and you have a place that might attract families and fans to something other than Big Game.
The football team might be better as well. In his story about the new stadium, Roy Johnson, ’78, notes that the Cardinal has had just 19 winning seasons in the past 40 years. Winning isn’t everything, but it’s something. The stadium will help recruiting, including when the team plays on TV. As longtime season ticket holder Jim Rutter, ’86, once told me: “It was embarrassing to see all of those empty seats” during televised games.
Football is important for several reasons, not the least of which is that it brings more alumni and visitors to the campus in one day than any other single event. It is a social gathering that cuts across generations. But football Saturday is more than a big party. In a sparkling stadium with a decent team, it could be a wonderful showcase for the University.
This fall marks a milestone for the magazine. Ten years ago, we first solicited entries for a fiction contest for alumni. Conceived as a means of showcasing alumni writing and promoting interaction with our readers, the contest has prospered thanks to the enthusiasm of those same readers. Over the past decade we have been pleased to publish several first-time writers and some seasoned pros as well. The roster of judges over those 10 years is a who’s who of Stanford writers, including most of the creative writing faculty and a handful of Stegner Fellows. Thanks to them, and to you.
The deadline for entries for the 10th annual contest is November 6. View the contest rules.
