The Play. Big Game. 1982
Posted on 09/27/2004 10:26:30 AM PDT by Colofornian
Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland publicly apologized and the Stanford Band agreed to impose sanctions on itself after it performed a halftime show that mocked Mormonism at a home football game against Brigham Young University on Sept. 11.
Spokespeople for both the Athletic Department and the Stanford Band refused to say what the sanctions were, though The Daily has learned that they include — and may be limited to — a formal apology and a one-game suspension for Band announcer Mark Ruben, a recent Stanford graduate.
The halftime show, whose script was approved by the Athletic Department, featured several jabs at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which sponsors BYU.
Most controversial was a swipe at polygamy in which the Band’s assistant manager, senior Tom Hennessy, pretended to marry all five Dollies, who donned wedding veils for the skit. Ruben spoke through the public address system about the sacred bond “between a man and a woman . . . and a woman . . . and a woman . . . and a woman . . . and a woman.”
The joke was not lost on Brigham Young fans, and the visiting contingent unleashed a hail of boos.
Two days after the game, Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland issued a public apology, explaining in a written statement, “We are committed to being good hosts to our opponents who visit Stanford, and anything that doesn’t reflect this is regrettable.”
On Sept. 14, the Band issued its own letter of apology as well.
Because the Band is known for satirical and sometimes controversial field shows, it is required to have its programs approved by the Athletic Department before it performs them.
Assistant Director for Marketing Bob Carruesco said he had reviewed the script prior to the game, but he said that several jokes were unclear and that the more offensive jokes caught him off-guard when the Band performed them.
“We were surprised by a couple things,” he said.
Carruesco said the Athletic Department didn’t feel the need to impose any punishments on the Band because “they felt they were capable of self-sanctioning.”
Band manager Stella Cousins declined to discuss the nature of the sanctions, saying that secrecy was part of the agreement between the Band and the Athletic Department.
Dollie Lisa Asari, a sophomore, said she did not feel the Band deserved sanctions.
“The Athletic Department takes on the responsibility of censoring the show, but then they try to back out of it when something bad happens,” she said.
Junior Chris Holt, a spokesman for the Band, agreed with Carruesco that parts of the script were open to interpretation.
“There was a slight ambiguity about a line where the narrator was supposed to stutter and said ‘and a woman, and a woman and a woman’” he said.
However, Holt also noted that the script clearly read, “Tom marries Dollies.”
In Provo, Utah, the incident has largely been forgotten and was “no big deal,” said BYU Football Media Relations Director Jeff Reynolds.
“Stanford University handled it appropriately,” he said. “The athletics department was completely professional.”
Old news. Posted last week.
Ahhh, Stanford. Alma mater of the Klintons' youngun.
Hypocritical? Yes. Funny?......Yes.
Did a title search. Didn't come up.
My "mock everyone" ethos thankfully immunizes me against charges of hypocrisy when I mock the Mormons.
They have no problems mocking anyone's religion, conservatives, etc. but they won't go after anything that is PC.
bttt
The Stanford band is permanently banned from playing at Notre Dame after they thought it would be fun to portray the Pope having sex with a nun and made fun of the Irish potato famine during a halftime show at Stanford.
The band should be glad it was banned, as the ND fans had coordinated an Irish greeting of sorts for those precocious pricks upon their arrival in South Bend.
After this check with Redbob, self styled previous post police, PPP.......
Perhaps the Mormons should gently delete that part of their 'doctrine' if they don't want it showing up in halftime shows and other neat places of entertainment.
This apology is as real as Clinton's. They apologize and then continue the same aberant behavior.
They should have been more equal opportunity and thrown in a jibe at the 7th Day Adventists (and all the other wacky protestant sects that always predict the End Times within the founder's lifespan).
When I was at Stanford in the early 1970s, the band members at all levels were self-avowed seekers of publicity at all costs. I knew a number of band members, and they lived by the maxim that any publicity, no matter how "bad," was good publicity. A story like this is mother's milk to them. I thought they had become boring by the time I was there, whereas they were interesting for the intellectual novelty of the half-time shows, and the rocking Dollies, in the late '60s. They dwelt way to much on scatology and phallic metaphors for my tastes - and the few times I have seen the band since, not much has changed. And you couldn't find if you tried a more tedious, smug, arrogant, condescending, left-wing pack of spoiled brats than the Stanford Band...except at the Stanford Daily - but the Daily was a whole different league of stupidity.
In case you hadn't heard, they did. Well over a century ago.
The quickest way to get booted from the Mormon Church is to speak in defense of the doctrine of polygamy.
There are lots of legitimate criticisms to be made of the Mormon Church. The promotion or toleration of polygamy is not one of them, other than historically.
They were almost banned from the Coliesum after Stanford fans threw cups of ice at Traveler (USC's mascot white horse) and caused the horse to throw its rider ("Tommy Trojan"), seriously injuring him.
Sounds like the AD screwed the pooch on this one.
Nothing much different than you would hear from a stand-up comic or editorial cartoonist.
And opposing fans always boo when they are getting skewered by the Band.
BFD.
I think it is just their way to get back at the world for all of the public ridicule they took in High School about being in the band.
The Play. Big Game. 1982
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