And here comes the Stanford Cardinal!
To this day I still hear the stadium announcer’s words echoing in the tunnel as my teammates and I took the field at the Rose Bowl on the first day of 2000. My family and friends along with tens of thousands in the stadium erupting in support. I remember thinking to myself, “Sam, make sure you take a moment to soak this all in.”. Although the outcome wasn’t what I wanted, we lost 17-9, it was one of the greatest moments of my life, a culmination of years of hard work and dedication that has connected me to my alma mater and teammates for years to come.
I’m intentionally humble about my experience at the Rose Bowl. It always sounds so self serving when I talk about it with new people I meet or catching up with old friends and colleagues this time of year. My wife, whom I met after my playing days, is, very lovingly, the first person to make sure you are aware that I was out there on that field on New Year’s Day. She’s so proud of me and deep down, I guess I am too. More importantly it has helped me to remember the enormity of that accomplishment and motivated me to continue to dream big, even when the numbers tell you otherwise. So when this year’s Stanford Football team made its run to the Rose Bowl there was no possible way I would miss an opportunity to share in that experience again. This time, with my entire family in tow.
Getting There
I have followed my alma mater’s football program with great interest ever since I graduated from the Farm, but you had the feeling that this year would be extra special. After a disappointing loss to Northwestern in the season opener many college football fans had written off Stanford’s chances to stand alongside the other elite teams in the nation. I however, was reminded of another Stanford team, back in 1999 that also had their pride kicked in at Week 1. I’ll never forget walking off the field at the University of Texas and seeing the scoreboard read Texas 69, Stanford 17. It would have been very easy to throw in the towel at that point and give up any hope of playing in any bowl game at all, but something else happened. The painful loss actually brought us closer together, made us even more focused on our goals to play on New Year’s Day. So when asked about Stanford’s chances this year after the Northwestern loss it very easy for me to say that Stanford was still a team to watch out for and boy they did not disappoint.
They went on a quite a tear after that first loss, beating top ranked teams along the way and other than a tough loss to Oregon, won the Pacific 12 Conference Championship and an invite to Granddaddy of Them All.
Pre-Game
Attending this blessed event was a no brainer and fortunately for me the alumni network of Stanford is second to none. They secured an allotment of tickets and rolled out a tailgate that would bring any of the grill masters from Discovery’s BBQ Pitmasters to their knees. Needless to say the Benner Family was coming in hot. My wife would finally have the opportunity to experience for herself what she had shared with anyone willing to listen, my mom would get to relive the historic moment for our family, and my son would get to see what his dad had done 16 short years ago. Pulling up the field in your own car vs. bus full of teammates was different but the butterflies sure arrived on schedule. I had no intention of strapping on my shoulderpads and wrapping up Ron Dayne, but nobody reported that information the hairs on the back of my neck whom were standing at full attention.
Our first order of business? Purchasing Stanford Rose Bowl swag of course! My son went with a t-shirt, my wife a scarf, and I went with the $85 hoodie (they charge and extra $5 for the XXL by the way). Note my son’s #nerdnation glasses, a must for any Stanford fan looking to make a stylish, yet passive/aggressive statement that we are smarter than you.
With swag in hand we moved on to the alumni tailgate which was full of amazing food, old friends, and Stanford Cardinal faithful as far as the eye could see. After filling ourselves with everything from hot links to brownie bites we decided to head over to the ‘fun zone’, an area for the young and young at heart to do football inspired activities. My son was eager to do the one where you race through blocking dummies to score a ‘touchdown’. No formidable competitors were available at that moment so I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring and have a little father/son matchup for the ages. Everything was going fine until I weaved around the last dummy where my foot slipped and caused me to rip a huge hole in the front of my jeans. We aren’t talking about a small rip here, we are talking about a Texas sized 69-17 rip from waist to the lower part of my thigh. Guess what came in handy at that point? My wife’s new Stanford scarf. Strategically placed it covered the large chasm in my denim, while still letting just enough of the brisk Pasadena air in. Problem solved. It was time to go to the stadium.
Game Time
Many of the college football analysts put Iowa and Stanford as a great matchup. Iowa’s only loss was in their conference championship. When asked I said it was most likely going to be a battle of wills and whoever won the battle of the trenches would get the win.
Then the first play from scrimmage happened.
#WildCaff #GoStanford @c_mccaffrey A photo posted by Stanford Football (@stanfordfball) on
75-yard touchdown pass to Heisman Trophy runner-up McCaffrey who then ran a punt back for a touchdown. 5th year senior QB Kevin Hogan scores from 8 yards out. Freshman Quenton Meeks runs back an interception for a touchdown. Stanford didn’t let up from there and after three quarters of football the scoreboard read 38-0. Our hands stung from the thousands of high-fives we shared with our stadiummates, our throats horse from the screams of elation big play after big play.
My favorite moment came from Stanford’s last offensive play from scrimmage. The old man, Kevin Hogan, throws a 42-yard bomb for a touchdown. It only seemed appropriate that the Cardinal field general’s last pass would be for six.
The clock ran out my son put his arms around me and gave me a huge hug. “We won Dad,” he whispered. And just like that, we headed home full of new Rose Bowl memories, the perfect companion to the old ones.
And that’s the game. #rosebowl A photo posted by Sam Benner (@sambenner.realtor) on
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