It is week nine on campus, which means the extended California summer has finally given way to cold mornings. Finals are looming, and students are counting down the days until Thanksgiving break. But there is also a certain buzz in the air: it is Big Game week. 

The Big Game is the annual football showdown between Stanford and UC Berkeley, a rivalry dating back to 1892 and centered around the coveted Axe, awarded to the winning team. The schools alternate in hosting each year, and students, alumni and fans travel between campuses to fill the stadiums with coordinated chants, band performances and more than a century of tradition.

In the days leading up to kickoff, anticipation builds across campus. Hoover Tower, now glowing red, can be seen from a mile away. The fountain outside Green Library is dyed red (more like a pale pink), and email inboxes are overflowing with Big Game announcements and spirit events.

This year in particular brings its own intrigue. It has been three long years since Stanford last claimed the Axe, meaning current seniors have yet to witness a win. Will this finally be the one they get to see? 

This season, Stanford football has pulled off several surprises. With a couple of home field wins under their belt, including an astounding 20-13 upset over Florida State University, there is a slightly different tone for this season. Will the new Andrew Luck era lead the Cardinal toward a different outcome this time around?

To capture the campus mood, The Daily spoke with students on two sides: the super fans painting their faces cardinal red and blaring trumpets in White Plaza, and those burrowed in common rooms who swear they will watch “just the first quarter” before returning to their problem sets. Together, their perspectives show how students are gearing up for (or opting out of) the Big Game.

The following conversations have been edited for length and clarity.

The Stanford Daily (TSD): Are you planning on going to the Big Game this year? Why or why not? 

Walker Coley ’29: “Absolutely, I’m planning to go. It’s the biggest game of the year. I’m in Spanish class with two of the football players — I’m going to go support them. The beautiful thing about Stanford is that it’s so tight knit, so you are in classes with the same people you are watching on the football field.”

Autri Das ’29: “I’m not planning to go to Big Game, only because I have my flight back for Thanksgiving Friday night.”

Lucy Thomas ’27: “I will not be going to the big game because as a student athlete that swims for Stanford, I’m currently at a meet in Texas. After this meet, I will fly home instead of returning to campus to watch the big game.”

Alan Williams ’26: “I am attending Big Game because it’s my senior year, and this is the last undergraduate Big Game for me to attend.”

Ana San Jose Gonzalez ’26: “I am planning to go to the Big Game because it’s my last Big Game, so I must be there.”

TSD: What does the Big Game mean to you, if anything? And what would a Stanford win mean in your eyes? 

Coley: “This is what fall quarter has led up to. The Big Game is the most important day of my fall quarter. I’ve watched every Big Game since I was 10 years old, and it’s been great watching it with my dad for my entire childhood. And now, for the first time, I get to watch a Big Game in person, in the student section.”

Das: “The Big Game is good for school spirit, and the events leading up to it are really fun. A win would be fun for boosting spirits and moods in general.”

Thomas: “The Big Game [is] a direct representation of the rivalry between Cal and Stanford. I think it’s something that creates a lot of hype and a lot of energy and it’s really a fun thing to be a part of and experience. I think a win would mean a great deal for our school. I think it generates a lot of enthusiasm and sense [of] community when we win.”

Williams: “It’s [the] closing of a chapter, [and] it’s ending my Stanford career here. The past three years we have not won, and it’s been pretty disappointing, especially hearing my friends at Berkeley saying, ‘Ha ha, this is going to be your fourth year of losing.’”

San Jose Gonzalez: “The Big Game is just tradition [and] here at Stanford we’re pretty big on tradition so that’s really meaningful. And if we won, that would be amazing because it’s my senior year, so winning after five years is a big deal.”

TSD: Looking ahead, do you see yourself going to the Big Game next year?

Coley: “I will be there every year for the next four years, that I can guarantee you here and now. Post-grad, probably not, because I’ll be living on the East Coast. But I’ll be coming back for the homecoming games.”

Das: “I definitely want to go at some point, because it seems like a nice tradition to be a part of. I would plan to go next year, [and] I think it would be fun to be there for a win.”

Thomas: “I’m unsure yet about my decision to go next year, just because I will be at a similar competition away from campus in Texas.”

Williams: “I probably won’t attend next year as an alum, because I’m not from this area. I plan on being on the East Coast.”

San Jose Gonzalez: “Maybe. I would bring my kids later on in life.”

TSD [to students attending]: What made you decide you had to be there this year?

Coley: “This is the year we reclaim the axe. I am going to watch [the] Axe Committee take back the axe, I’m going to storm the field and I’m going to have a great time.”

Williams: “A big factor for me attending this year is being a senior and it being my last year, and I missed the last years because I went home early for Thanksgiving Break.”

San Jose Gonzalez: “The new coach is a big part of it. And once again, it’s my senior year. You can’t skip it.”

TSD [to students not attending]: Will you still follow along — maybe stream it or check the score updates?

Das: “I don’t know if I will stream it or check the score, because I’m not super into sports in general. But it would still be interesting to hear about how it goes from friends.”

Thomas: “I’ll definitely be following along with the score and I might try to watch it. I’m a really big fan of college football, and as a student athlete I think it’s so important to support other teams, especially football. Football can make such a big difference in our athletics program and I think it’s important to know they have a lot of support behind them.”

TSD: Do you ever feel FOMO around Big Game weekend, or not really?

Das: “I’m probably [going to] be preoccupied with being at home and adjusting to that, so I don’t think so, but I definitely look forward to hearing how everything goes.”

Thomas: “I definitely get a little bit of FOMO about the Big Game, just because I’ve never been able to go because of competitions. It’s a little bit difficult for me too because I feel like it’s such a fun part of being a student, like it is such a cool thing to have this awesome rivalry that can bring a community together.”