Last week a member of the Stanford
football 1952 Rose bowl team passed away. In addition to being a three-year
letterman from 1950-1952 in football, he competed in the 400m hurdles for track
and field and was a member of Zeta Psi fraternity. Basically, William Storum ‘53 was your typical jock-frat-wonder boy
during his time at Stanford.
Bill was my
grandfather and taught me how to Fear the Tree the moment I entered high
school. He was an Indian and then a Cardinal until the end. I was already on
campus when I got the call from my mom. I had known that my goodbye to him
before I left might have been my last and, as usual, he had been wearing a
Stanford shirt as we talked about the upcoming football season. When my mom
called, she made sure to tell me that he had wanted me to know that he was
proud of me for carrying on the Stanford tradition and that he was reppin’ the
Card on his final day.
The evident
alumni spirit and their love of Stanford is what prompted me to write this
column. Especially seeing all of the recent graduates and alumni at the first
home football game made it clear that Stanford loyalty runs deep, whether its
supporting athletics, mentoring current students, or helping recent graduates
network.
While
academics have raised it to the level of the Ivy’s, it’s the athletics that
have propelled Stanford into another level all its own. The superb athletes and
their staunch loyalty to the Card throughout their entire careers are part of
the glue that holds this amazing university together.
For being
such a young school, Stanford graduates have certainly established themselves
in the nation, and the older alums hold the memories and traditions of their
era near and dear to their hearts.
The stories
that Bill shared with me will forever be ingrained in my memory and I will share
them with my own kids when it comes time for me to inculcate them with Stanford
pride. I’ve always been a huge college football fan ever since I went to my
first game when I was eight (it pains me to admit that it was a USC game at the
Coliseum), so I loved hearing about his time on the football team at Stanford.
One story
in particular emphasizes how much has changed in 50 years. Whenever the Big
Game was played at Cal, all of the Zetas on the team (which was the football
frat at the time) would stay together with the rest of their brothers in the
same hotel--no separation
was imposed between players and students. Bill and the guys would play football
in the hotel hallway to get pumped, with each room having a different point
value if someone managed to break into it.
Then when
the Big Game was played at Stanford, there was the huge bonfire at Lake
Lagunita and the whole student body would gather with the band to join forces
against the Golden Bears. During football season, he emphasized that the entire
energy of the school was focused on beating the opponent for that weekend and
dressing up like Indians to intimidate them. Oh and singing the infamous
Stanford drinking song--“For
it’s wine, wine, wine that’s makes you feel so fine on The Farm!” --of course.
While we
don’t dress up like Indians today (although the band does still have a few
original numbers that involve the Dollies dancing like Indians), that same
school spirit--Nerd Nation!--still permeates the campus year
round despite the excessive work load that most students impose on themselves.
The alumni
have taken that same spirit with them all over the country and into the lives
of their families, just as Bill did with me. My grandfather instilled in me a
love for my school and a love for life that I will take with me forever and
hopefully pass on to another generation of Trees.
As I walked
up to his gravesite to say my final goodbye, I put down a cardinal rose and
gave him my promise to do him proud at his alma mater. And before I left, I
know he was with me when I told him “GO CARD!”
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