Plenty of the columnists that I share this space with have used their 900 words to complain about Stanford’s (lack of) fan culture and the general ambivalence with which the majority of campus regards its athletics.

Rightfully so, too. As I’ve said before, it’s almost a waste that the most successful athletic program in the country happens to share a campus with a student body that is so reluctant to drop its books and roll out to sports events that Athletics has to resort to gimmicks like the notorious “Tour de Stanford” to garner any interest whatsoever, particularly for sports suffering from downswings, like men’s basketball.

But that’s really only the case in the “major” sports — for some of the smaller (yet often, more successful anyway) sports like wrestling or gymnastics, the overall fan bases around the country are so small anyway that it’s just hard to fill up the state-of-the-art venues that Stanford has available even with peak interest.

(Even when students do roll out to games, well…)

And despite the strongest efforts of the athletic department here, I’m not sure that’s a problem that can be solved.

Not at a school that is increasingly known for its academic rigor and prestige above all despite its status as the best athletic program in the country. Not at a school whose undergraduate population is laughably small compared to its major-conference counterparts. Not at a school whose alumni are spread not just across a state, but oftentimes across the entire world, making it logistically unfeasible to provide consistent support for their team at home games.

Stanford is playing with a stacked deck, and those are certainly challenges mirrored at other major academic/athletic institutions across the United States like Northwestern, Duke and Vanderbilt, though those problems are certainly magnified on Stanford’s campus given that our athletic programs tend to be much more successful than those at other elite institutions and Stanford’s academic sphere of influence transcends all but a few universities across the world. (I’m not trying to brag here, I’m just stating facts. Duke basketball notwithstanding.)

And really, despite the vast efforts of the athletic department here, no matter what they do, there is a very significant chunk of the student body that never has cared, and never will. People (myself included) don’t come to Stanford to watch sports — save a few exceptions that hold up the fort in The Daily’s sports department — and for most, there’s so much work and networking and office hours and social events and such going on every hour of every day that having to spend a few hours being forced to go to a sports event turns into a burden more so than an enjoyable experience, which certainly isn’t the vibe that the athletic department would want to foster among the student body.

Maybe, instead of trying to force a solution to a problem that might not have an answer, it’s time to leverage Stanford’s unique position to our advantage — especially in the athletic sphere.

I’m sure most athletes here have already taken Stanford’s significant academic prowess into account when choosing to come here. If I had a penny for every time I heard the “great athletics, great academics” pitch from a coach or a broadcaster, I’d be hanging out with John Arrillaga in the luxury box at Stanford football games.

But another advantage to Stanford that isn’t explicitly acknowledged often but might also be a consideration for the types of athletes that Stanford wants to draw might actually be that exact disadvantage that I complained about for 300 words above: the student body’s general ambivalence.

This comes to mind after seeing the “exit interviews,” if you will, of the athletes finally making their way out of this year’s football recruiting cycle and transitioning to college life: One of the biggest complaints that they make is the onslaught of people bombarding them on social media, not giving them a moment of peace, and trying to almost control their decisions.

And often times at other schools, attention like that doesn’t stop. I remember reading an article about how Leonard Fournette, the demigod running back at LSU, needs a security escort to make it around campus to classes. I’d imagine that every time Derrick Henry makes an appearance on Alabama’s campus, it’s anything but business as usual for him.

But on Stanford’s campus, the Heisman runner-up or an Olympic gold medalist or a national champion can walk around and almost blend in to all but trained eyes, with the important distinction being that at Stanford, no athlete, no matter how successful, has to be defined by his or her performance on the field; they can be more than just the star running back or driver or sprinter in the eyes of their peers.

What’s more: They can slide under the radar and just be “another one of the guys.” They can walk around without being mobbed at every turn; they can go to classes without people not-so-sneakily taking pictures of them; they can enjoy a lot of the things that constitute a “normal” college experience.

When they need to, they can have a moment to themselves.

#WildCaff swarmed by fans, students and media after being named one of three #Heisman finalists … pic.twitter.com/qxmpZtsJQ7

— Alan George (@treeSIDjorge) December 8, 2015

The biggest sell for Stanford to its prospective student-athletes is that the Stanford degree will set them up to be whoever they want to be later in life. But the downplayed element of that is that Stanford’s environment also sets them up to be whoever they want to be while on campus — and if they choose to do so, they can absolutely feel free to shed the label of just “student-athlete” if they so desire and pave their own path across The Farm.

Do you want to found a startup? Go for it. Do you want to join the orchestra? By all means. Do you want to just hang out in your room with your close friends and play video games? Great.

The whole idea of the “Stanford man” (or woman) is having the freedom, independence, intelligence and ability to take advantage of one’s opportunities to decide who one wants to be. This campus, due to the lack of crazy athlete hero worship, is as perfect of a place as anywhere for athletes to pursue such an ideal — and the athletes that want to do so are the ones that Stanford tries to pursue, in any case.

And when teams are successful, the fans will come. I remember the stands being packed (I legitimately couldn’t find a seat) for the women’s soccer NCAA Tournament run this year. I remember fans coming out in droves for No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 5 Stanford in 2013. I (don’t) remember (but hear stories about) fans camping out for Stanford men’s basketball in the early 2000s. Let’s not pretend like a great fan culture at times is impossible to achieve on this campus.

So in summary, while it’s important to try to make our fan culture better, let’s also be thankful for what we have and the unique opportunities that it affords our athletes — many of whom, I bet, are thankful for the opportunity to live their own lives in peace.

 

Do-Hyoung Park is often seen taking not-so-sneaky pictures of athletes on campus. To call him out for his hypocrisy, send him an email at dhpark ‘at’ stanford.edu.