No more fighting Sioux

After Stanford got rid of the Indian mascot they eventually let the students vote on a new mascot. The students, knowing the founder's history, wisely chose "Robber Barons". Unfortunately the administration refused to implement the student's choice.

No doubt because it was a slur against peerages.

Now they just slam trees.

Of course the Cardinal have no actual mascot, but as the university seal and athletic logo have El Palo Alto (a redwood tree in Palo Alto) depicted on them, a band member dressed as a tree tries, usually with good effect, to add some levity to the mundane name, Cardinal.

It is my recollection from spending some time on the “Farm” in the early 70’s that in addition to the students liking Robber Barons as a possible nickname, there was also a push to be the Stanford Griffins. As this was well before the internet age, many of us had to head to the library to learn that a griffin was a half lion, half eagle creature. Although I never saw a depiction of a griffin I actually liked, I thought the concept of a half lion, half eagle creature was great. In the end I think there were too many who also didn’t know what the heck a griffin was, and the idea was dropped. Personally, I would still go for the Stanford Griffins over the Stanford Cardinal, even with El Palo Alto as the unofficial mascot.



However, the Cardinal cheerleaders are mighty nice……..