Stanford football is 11-1 and ranked No. 4 in the BCS standings.
I know you’ve probably heard this by now, even if you haven’t read a single sports story, ESPN headline, Facebook status or Tweet, but you can’t possibly say, read or hear it enough to fully grasp the enormity of that statement. So I’ll say it again.
Stanford football is 11-1 and ranked No. 4 in the BCS standings.
Just four years ago tomorrow, the Cardinal wrapped up a 1-11 campaign that saw more third-down punts than home victories for a team opening a newly renovated stadium. Thoughts of becoming a national power were nowhere to be found—the immediate thoughts were how to become a respectable program again. The first step toward that goal was the hiring of head coach Jim Harbaugh, and the rest, as they say, is history.
And it really is history that we’re experiencing right now. As in Toby Gerhart coming within a few clueless SEC homer votes of a Heisman Trophy, and Andrew Luck likely following that up with a similar trip to Times Square for this year’s ceremony. As in Luck setting Stanford’s single-season passing touchdowns record with 28 TDs to 10 different receivers with another game still to play. As in the Cardinal replacing Gerhart with a committee that has totaled over 2,500 yards and 32 touchdowns, led by Stepfan Taylor’s 1,000-yard, 15-touchdown season. As in Stanford’s first ever 11-win season and highest-ever BCS ranking.
The “Worst to First” mantra of last year’s Stanford men’s volleyball team could certainly be applied to this year’s football team, if not for undefeated Oregon standing in the Cardinal’s way. However, the achievement of the 2010 Stanford football team goes far beyond its record and statistics.
For the first time in recent memory, Stanford football is a big name around the country. Media members from even the most biased corners of the country have been forced to acknowledge the quality of the Cardinal, and few teams have been as highly touted by pundits as Stanford.
More than that, though, Stanford football is finally making waves at a more important location—Stanford. The days of 85,000-person sellouts are long gone from Stanford Stadium, but this year, the campus started to come around to the fact that it has a football team, and a good one at that. Sure, the football fans always cared, and sure, the attendance still leaves a lot to be desired. But the buzz around campus, from football fans and the sports-illiterate alike, has grown exponentially. People all over campus are projecting Stanford’s bowl position and waiting on tenterhooks to update their Facebook statuses at the exact moment when Stanford’s BCS ranking is announced.
The Stanford football fever has been spreading all season long, and it’s infecting people who seemed immune to its effects for years. A cynic might call this fair-weather fandom, but I see it as a larger group to share this magical season with. And looking back (and ahead) at this season, it’s hard not to get caught up in the emotion of watching this team succeed.
It takes so much to contend nationally, from recruiting to strategies to training to health to hard work to good fortune to spectacular plays. Looking at a team’s season like this, it just brings into sharper focus how incredible the achievements of Stanford’s other teams have been over the years.
Other sports sometimes take a back seat to football in the press, and that’s the unfortunate reality of the world of sports. Particularly in a year like this, when Stanford football has ascended to unknown heights, it’s not surprising that other consistently great Cardinal teams haven’t quite received their due.
But forgetting about the rest of Stanford sports would be forgetting about some of the most impressive accomplishments you will ever see. Take women’s soccer, for example. A second consecutive undefeated regular season has already been followed up by a third-straight appearance in the College Cup for the Cardinal women. Consider how many teams in any sport around the country would trade anything to be one of the four best teams in the nation, and these ladies have done it three years running. Just two wins separate Stanford from its first national title, something only seven different Division I programs have won.
Stanford women’s volleyball recently claimed a share of its fifth consecutive Pac-10 title and will head to the NCAA Tournament for the 30th straight season, marks that would be unheard of in almost any other conference in any other sport. The Cardinal will be the No. 3 overall seed and will look to make the Final Four for the 19th time in 29 years and seventh time this decade when it opens tournament play this weekend.
Women’s basketball has just begun its 2010-11 season, but the pieces are already in place for another run to the Final Four. Stanford has won 10 consecutive Pac-10 titles and has made the past three Final Fours, and this year looks poised to go at least as far.
The list goes on and on. Despite the enormous pressure of contending nationally year after year, Stanford has made an annual habit of ranking among the nation’s best in several sports.
We’ve been lucky to witness the revival of Stanford football, and we can only dream that it can one day match the long-term success of these other fantastic programs. For now, though, let’s just sit back and revel in the amazing sporting feats happening right here on the Farm.
Jacob Jaffe just wants to be mentioned in a footnote by some fancy sports history writer 20 years from now. Make sure you spell his name right when you ask for permission at [email protected].