Right school, wrong mascot. Siva has a good (natured) time at my expense with the story of the Stanford swimmer who was fired from her job as the Stanford “tree” when she was, it appears, found to be drinking and dancing.
As a Stanford grad, I am shocked, shocked!, to find alcohol being consumed by members of the Stanford Band (yes, the tree and the Dollies are members of the band). I road-tripped once with the Band, years ago. How, long, exactly, did it take the Stanford administration to figure this out?
More important, Siva’s delight at my dismay should be short-lived. For I pledge no allegiance to the Stanford Tree. Incorrect, disrepectful, and retrograde though it may be, I was raised in the era when we cheered “Prince Lightfoot, ” the character created by Timm Williams, who appeared at Stanford games for 20 years and who dressed and danced as a native Yurok. May he rest in peace.
(And by the way: When it comes to inevitable and unavoidable championships in NCAA sports, check out Stanford and Texas on this list!)