Give 'em the Axe, the Axe, the Axe!

Give 'em the axe, the axe, the axe!
Give 'em the axe, the axe, the axe!
Give 'em the axe, give 'em the axe,
Give 'em the axe, where?

Right in the neck, the neck, the neck!
Right in the neck, the neck, the neck!
Right in the neck, right in the neck,
Right in the neck! There!

Tomorrow marks the 113th installment of "Big Game," the annual renewal of the Stanford-Cal football rivalry that demarcates bragging rights for the year, as well as ownership of the Axe, the oft-coveted trophy of much history and lore.  As Stanford alums, it is fair to say that this is always a "Big Game" for us.  It may not break our year, but it definitely hampers a big part of our fall to lose Big Game.  And, admittedly, the last 8 years has been a rough run in the rivalry (Cal is 7-1, and current holders of the axe).  However, like all of the life, the pendulum swings in both directions, offering hope for us to rightfully regain control of the Axe tomorrow.  This hope is underscored by our own Big Game history (collectively we were 7-1 in Big Games while students at Stanford, and Stanford leads the series historically 55-46-11), and connection to Big Game and the Axe. 

Brent defending the Axe - that's me back row, middle in the white hat.

Big Game always brings back a number of memories for both of us, including the antics and traditions of Big Game Week, and personal and academic experiences surrounding the event.  (Among the highlights: having my Classics prof teach us how to say F--- the Weenies (a sporting nickname for Cal) in ancient Greek.)   For my part, I was also a member of Axe Committee (sworn protectors of the Axe on Stanford's end), including a stint as bodyguard of the Axe on the field for 100th Big Game my freshman year (this definitely involved being padlocked along with 3 other guys to the trophy).  For her part, Lindsay was a Yell Leader during her time on the Farm, helping lead willing Stanford fans in a number of traditional, and not-so-traditional, cheers to support the Cardinal. One of her personal highlights was getting thousands of people to spell out L-E-L-A-N-D   S-T-A-N-F-O-R-D  J-U-N-I-O-R   U-N-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y  - LELAND . . . STANFORD . . . JUNIOR . . . UNIVERSITY . . . ORGANIZED 1891 . . . GOOOO  CARDINAL!

So, in honor of Big Game Week, we present expert testimony on why Bears are freedom's greatest threat: "They are godless, killing machines and they must be stopped!" GO CARD!