[OutsiderFan]

Thanks for your reply Snorlax  :)
Prior to 2017, I was only a casual observer of Stanford football. The NFL has been my focus, the 49ers for most of my life (until that team departed SF). For the past 5 seasons I was a Raiders season ticket holder, but did not renew. When the NFL owners voted to approve a Raiders move to Las Vegas I telephoned Stanford and became a Cardinal season ticket holder. Now here I am , ready to consistently watch Stanford football and get familiar with the team's player roster.
Phillips came to Stanford as a DE but added height and weight so he now plays DT ?
I agree that watching defensive secondary play can be exciting. From watching the NFL I am accustomed to seeing corners and safeties only prove effective when their DL is able to mount a strong pass rush. That said, exceptional talent does reveal itself. One of my lasting memories of  the Raiders play is watching an aged Charles Woodson perform very well.

Oh man do I LOVE this post.  I've pined for more NFL fans to embrace college football in the Bay Area for years.  Have always been a Niners fan since a kid.  Was at "The Catch" game and went to Niners games with my dad until the early 1990s.  Then went off to college and when I came back, a friend got free tickets to a Stanford - WSU game, had such a great time, went to a couple more games that year, and got season tickets the following year.  Favorite memories: Chris Lewis hitting Jamien McCollum on 4th and 20 to beat USC on the last play of the game.  Was there for Stanford beating UCLA to get in the Top 10 with Kerry Carter. Teyo Johnson, and Tank Williams.  Was there in the rain for the "Curtis Williams game" with the absurd Stanford comeback and Tuiasosopo leading a 3-play, 34 second drive to win the game.  Went to the awful Seattle Bowl. 

Then after one year of Buddy Tevens, I couldn't take it, and having almost gone to Cal and having a lot of Cal friends, decided to check out Tedford's squad.  After one year, I got season tickets to see Cal and had them through 2007, when on the precipice of being ranked #1, Kevin Riley sputtered, and Tedford's team finished losing 5/6 games.  Then I moved out of the area and rooted for Cal and Stanford since.  I've never really had any problem with split allegiance, because neither team has ever been a conference contender the same year in my whole life.  I've always wanted to be faced with that dilemma, and hope to have it before I die. 

Have seen some truly fantastically entertaining Cal and Stanford football games, and since going to them have felt they were much more fun than the Niners games I had gone to as a kid.  And remember, I saw the Niners when they won 4 Super Bowls over 9 seasons.  Though I will say no game could ever top the 1981 NFC Championship game experience.  Beating the rival you had so constantly lost to, the fact it was the first 49ers Super Bowl, that season was magical, and the game atmosphere, it can't be topped.  Even the Giants winning the World Series in 2010 wasn't as great as the Niners 1981.  But other than that, college football is just a much better fan experience than the NFL, IMHO.  So I can only hope that the existence of one orphaned NFL fan jumping on the Stanford football bandwagon portends many more following in your footsteps, SF_Cardinal_Fan!

[OutsiderFan]

Thanks for your reply Snorlax  :)
Prior to 2017, I was only a casual observer of Stanford football. The NFL has been my focus, the 49ers for most of my life (until that team departed SF). For the past 5 seasons I was a Raiders season ticket holder, but did not renew. When the NFL owners voted to approve a Raiders move to Las Vegas I telephoned Stanford and became a Cardinal season ticket holder. Now here I am , ready to consistently watch Stanford football and get familiar with the team's player roster.
Phillips came to Stanford as a DE but added height and weight so he now plays DT ?
I agree that watching defensive secondary play can be exciting. From watching the NFL I am accustomed to seeing corners and safeties only prove effective when their DL is able to mount a strong pass rush. That said, exceptional talent does reveal itself. One of my lasting memories of  the Raiders play is watching an aged Charles Woodson perform very well.

Oh man do I LOVE this post.  I've pined for more NFL fans to embrace college football in the Bay Area for years.  Have always been a Niners fan since a kid.  Was at "The Catch" game and went to Niners games with my dad until the early 1990s.  Then went off to college and when I came back, a friend got free tickets to a Stanford - WSU game, had such a great time, went to a couple more games that year, and got season tickets the following year.  Favorite memories: Chris Lewis hitting Jamien McCollum on 4th and 20 to beat USC on the last play of the game.  Was there for Stanford beating UCLA to get in the Top 10 with Kerry Carter. Teyo Johnson, and Tank Williams.  Was there in the rain for the "Curtis Williams game" with the absurd Stanford comeback and Tuiasosopo leading a 3-play, 34 second drive to win the game.  Went to the awful Seattle Bowl. 

Then after one year of Buddy Tevens, I couldn't take it, and having almost gone to Cal and having a lot of Cal friends, decided to check out Tedford's squad.  After one year, I got season tickets to see Cal and had them through 2007, when on the precipice of being ranked #1, Kevin Riley sputtered, and Tedford's team finished losing 5/6 games.  Then I moved out of the area and rooted for Cal and Stanford since.  I've never really had any problem with split allegiance, because neither team has ever been a conference contender the same year in my whole life.  I've always wanted to be faced with that dilemma, and hope to have it before I die. 

Have seen some truly fantastically entertaining Cal and Stanford football games, and since going to them have felt they were much more fun than the Niners games I had gone to as a kid.  And remember, I saw the Niners when they won 4 Super Bowls over 9 seasons.  Though I will say no game could ever top the 1981 NFC Championship game experience.  Beating the rival you had so constantly lost to, the fact it was the first 49ers Super Bowl, that season was magical, and the game atmosphere, it can't be topped.  Even the Giants winning the World Series in 2010 wasn't as great as the Niners 1981.  But other than that, college football is just a much better fan experience than the NFL, IMHO.  So I can only hope that the existence of one orphaned NFL fan jumping on the Stanford football bandwagon portends many more following in your footsteps, SF_Cardinal_Fan!