[81alum]

SUBuddha, I hope I am not one of those who has upset you.  I have consistently said that Shaw is the perfect head coach for us because of all the reasons you cited.  He deeply values academics and the entire Stanford experience, having been a student here himself.  He is NOT coaching for the money--I get tired of hearing that, because he could make a lot more elsewhere.  I like his public demeanor--which he learned in part from Walsh, who was analytical in public even if he could show some emotion is private settings.  He can relate to recruits and students in a way that no other coach in recent memory has been able to do. 

I love Shaw.

I hate our offensive performance.  Not just Saturday, but I hate a trend I see developing that goes back a full year.

I think the game has been radically changing over the last five years--certainly within the time frame that David followed Harbaugh back to Stanford.  I am not sure that any quality of coaching or any recruiting classes can EVER reproduce the kind of teams that made us great a few years ago.  To stay at the top we may have to change.  Great coaches are adaptable coaches.  I am hoping that David Shaw will prove that he is a great coach.  I already know that he is a great man.

I love a board like this because there are a lot of fans who are intelligent, civil, (and sometimes even knowledgeable) who like to experiment with ideas.  Speculation--even wild speculation--about why things have gone wrong and how things might get better is a distraction for the long days after a disappointing loss.  These intellectual puzzles are somewhat consoling for fans who are in grief--and yes, a true fanatic is feeling the grief of lost dreams just now.  Many dreamed for the last 8 months about the possibility a flawless season, and those dreams--whether they were inflated or not-- died in the muggy heat of Evanston.  Most of us are Stanford grads, and most grads are very bright people who probably over-intellectualize most  everything in life.  This has been a place we can indulge that and enjoy each other's equally implausible ideas while waiting for the next round to prove us all right or wrong.

SUBuddha, we here on the board might benefit from behaving in the way Shaw recommends that his players behave.  He warned them after the loss that external forces will seek to create conflict and to pull them apart.  Let's all pretend, for a moment, that the Cardboard stands in the shoes of those players, and we all might take Coach Shaw's advice to heart.  Let's look for ways to support each other during our disappointment.

[81alum]

SUBuddha, I hope I am not one of those who has upset you.  I have consistently said that Shaw is the perfect head coach for us because of all the reasons you cited.  He deeply values academics and the entire Stanford experience, having been a student here himself.  He is NOT coaching for the money--I get tired of hearing that, because he could make a lot more elsewhere.  I like his public demeanor--which he learned in part from Walsh, who was analytical in public even if he could show some emotion is private settings.  He can relate to recruits and students in a way that no other coach in recent memory has been able to do. 

I love Shaw.

I hate our offensive performance.  Not just Saturday, but I hate a trend I see developing that goes back a full year.

I think the game has been radically changing over the last five years--certainly within the time frame that David followed Harbaugh back to Stanford.  I am not sure that any quality of coaching or any recruiting classes can EVER reproduce the kind of teams that made us great a few years ago.  To stay at the top we may have to change.  Great coaches are adaptable coaches.  I am hoping that David Shaw will prove that he is a great coach.  I already know that he is a great man.

I love a board like this because there are a lot of fans who are intelligent, civil, (and sometimes even knowledgeable) who like to experiment with ideas.  Speculation--even wild speculation--about why things have gone wrong and how things might get better is a distraction for the long days after a disappointing loss.  These intellectual puzzles are somewhat consoling for fans who are in grief--and yes, a true fanatic is feeling the grief of lost dreams just now.  Many dreamed for the last 8 months about the possibility a flawless season, and those dreams--whether they were inflated or not-- died in the muggy heat of Evanston.  Most of us are Stanford grads, and most grads are very bright people who probably over-intellectualize most  everything in life.  This has been a place we can indulge that and enjoy each other's equally implausible ideas while waiting for the next round to prove us all right or wrong.

SUBuddha, we here on the board might benefit from behaving in the way Shaw recommends that his players behave.  He warned them after the loss that external forces will seek to create conflict and to pull them apart.  Let's all pretend, for a moment, that the Cardboard stands in the shoes of those players, and we all might take Coach Shaw's advice to heart.  Let's look for ways to support each other during our disappointment.