The editorial board would like to take this opportunity to commend the San Francisco Giants for winning the World Series and bringing the Commissioner’s Trophy to Baghdad by the Bay for the first time. Giants fans, however, are another story.

The board has noted a marked increase in the number of people wearing Giants memorabilia in public, especially in the last week. The entire campus and local community was excited for the World Series; however, for many fans, this was their first exposure to the Giants. Some of those watching Game 4 in Old Union believed that Madison Bumgarner was a Dickens character. (He was actually that night’s starter, who threw a masterful eight innings, for what it’s worth.)

In fairness, a playoff run does bring out many fringe fans in the participants’ cities, but the contrast between the World Series and the regular season was especially jarring on campus. Perhaps it is just a condition of sports fandom in northern California, where apathy and multitasking seem to be our primary emotions, that other priorities come first. It can be difficult to follow a 162-game season when you are busy trying to get your start-up off the ground or study for your p-chem midterm. But that doesn’t mean that you should renounce sports. Baseball can be especially difficult to generate campus interest because of the extensive season (April to the beginning of November), large number of games and hometown alliances.

There is one team, however, that everyone at Stanford should support. It requires minimal time commitment and it is the Stanford football team.

This year’s football team is the best that Stanford has had in at least 10 years, but outside of certain circles, there doesn’t appear to be as much excitement for this team as there should. Perhaps the issue is the small size of our school. Perhaps it is the emphasis on academics. Perhaps it is unfamiliarity with success. But for whatever reason, Stanford isn’t supporting its football team to its best ability. At the Washington State game (which was Homecoming, by the way), the stadium had mostly emptied out by halftime. That is not what being a football fan is about. Being a fan means staying until the end of games, screaming at the opposing offense until you can’t speak above a whisper and singing “Hail, Stanford, Hail” like it is the national anthem and “Don’t Stop Believing” rolled into one.

Big Game, our annual football game against Cal, is coming up in three weeks. Admittedly, there have been some issues with the Red Zone points system, both on a conceptual and an operational level, but that shouldn’t stop anyone’s enthusiasm for the game. Stanford should get excited for the game. This is the one week of the year where our vitriol against the weenies isn’t elitist, but just clean, old-fashioned hate. This is one of the few times that we can come together as a university and truly be one.

Enthusiasm for Big Game is a starting point for establishing true fandom on this campus. The next level is generating excitement for the rest of the season and this weekend is a perfect opportunity. Stanford is playing Arizona this Saturday at 5 p.m. in a match-up of top-15 teams competing for a potential Rose Bowl birth that will be televised nationally by ABC. Make signs, paint your faces, wear costumes to get excited for the game. But most importantly of all, show up and support your team and your university.