A ‘ginky’ play and spirited ‘Bearial’: Big Game traditions live on

As the 127th Big Game approaches, the Stanford community is preparing for their annual traditions, many of which are more than a century old. The week leading up to the football game — which is held at UC Berkeley this year — students can expect a variety of events and performances celebrating the Cardinal, including Hoover Tower being illuminated by red light and the campus fountains being dyed red.

Gaieties gets “ginky”

The Ram’s Head Theatrical Society will put on the 112th production of Gaieties this year. First performed in 1911, Gaieties is an annual student-run musical performed in the days leading up to the Big Game. Each year, Gaieties weaves in similar story lines including the Stanford football team’s inevitable triumph, Berkeley’s general inferiority, a naked run across the stage and a romantic subplot.

This year, Gaieties will center around the theme “Camp Stanford,” explained Noah Goldsmith ’27, the show’s head writer and a video staffer for The Daily. “People call Stanford ‘Camp Stanford’ anyways, so we are just imagining Stanford as an actual summer camp,” he said.

Ananya Udaygiri ’26, a producer for Gaieties and video editor for The Daily, emphasized the importance of the show as a diverse and “extremely accessible” space. “We prioritize casting people who are either frosh or have no experience in theater,” she said. “Our two leads are both frosh and we have such a range of people.”

Udaygiri described the performance as “the ‘ginkiest’ show there’s ever been.” Gingky is a play on the word Gingko, the name for Stanford’s residential neighborhood containing Branner, Crothers and Toyon.

“Everyone knows what it is to be kinky. Now, let’s start thinking… ‘ginky,’” she said.

According to Udaygiri, Gaieties attendees are signing up for around two hours of non-stop raunchiness, “ginkiness,” jokes, forbidden romance, a tragedy, a bear in the woods and more.

“If you can find it on this campus and you can find it in your imagination, you can find it in Gaieties 2024,” she said.

Goldsmith said that Gaieties serves as a symbol for the spirit of Stanford, which he characterized as a “quirky place where no one takes themselves too seriously.” That’s “exactly what Gaieties does,” he said. It’s “a perfect manifestation of everything we are as Stanford.”

Axe Committee rallies Stanford for the 127th Big Game

Stanford’s Axe Committee (Axe Comm) guards the Axe, the trophy for the Big Game since 1899. Axe Comm was founded in 1930 when a group of 21 Stanford students, known as the “Immortal 21,” stole the Axe from Berkeley.

The Immortal 21 attended Berkeley’s annual Axe Rally and threw “smoke bombs to distract everybody,” said Hayden Henry ’25, chair of the 2024-25 Axe Committee.

“A couple ran in, grabbed the Axe [and] ran one way. A few others, disguised as Berkeley students, came in [and] led a search party in the other direction,” Henry said. “Since then, we’ve regarded those as the ‘Immortal 21’ [and] the official beginning of Axe Comm.”

Thereafter, Axe Comm has served to protect the Axe and boost school spirit during each football game by running the flag and blowing the train whistle when Stanford scores.

In preparation for the 127th Big Game, Axe Comm plans to host a campout and countdown in White Plaza. The Committee will blow the train whistle every hour for the 127 hours leading up to the Big Game — starting 5:30 am on Monday On Wednesday, they plan to hold a retelling of the history of the Axe in White Plaza. During the Big Game, Axe Comm members will participate in a stare down with UC Berkeley’s Rally Committee.

Henry described Axe Comm’s strong community as the reason he joined. “I just fell in love with a group of people that really devoted themselves to school spirit,” he said. “I think when you have a strong historic tradition, to uphold it and to instill that sense of belonging within the student community is so key.”

Bearial takes down Oski

Each year, the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) conducts the Bearial — a symbolic “execution” of Cal’s beloved mascot, Oski the Bear.

This year’s Bearial will be held on Sunday or Monday at the Claw Fountain in White Plaza, where it traditionally takes place. The theme of this year’s event is yet to be announced, though previous years have incorporated current events at the time, such as diagnosing Oski with COVID-19.

Not only is the Big Game the culmination of the football season, it is also a key event for the LSJUMB. However, contrary to the athletic rivalry, trumpet player Ryan Fang ’28 said that the relationship between the Stanford and Cal bands is “not too acrimonious.”

“The Big Game is definitely the most populated Stanford football game,” Fang said. “That’ll be fun, and getting to see Oski Bear get his comeuppance.”

Stanford-Cal rivalry

Originating in 1892, the intense rivalry and spirit of competition between Stanford and Cal remains one of the oldest football rivalries in the country, and the oldest on the West coast.

Despite leading the overall rivalry with 66-53, the Card has not won the Big Game for three years. For some students, such as Thomas Adamo ’25, there is “no point” in attending the game as “we are probably going to lose again.”

“I think that it is very different and a very far cry from 20 years ago, when it was very much that sense of rambunctious school spirit,” Adamo said. “It would have been nice to have back and forth tradition, but it just doesn’t seem to be here.”

However, for Gaieties producer Helena Vasconcelos ’25, the “friendly rivalry” between the Bay Area schools is “not really about hating Berkeley, it’s more about uplifting Stanford.” She views the traditions as “important” for maintaining campus community and culture.

“Sometimes Stanford can feel not as tradition-oriented as other places, or lacking community,” Vasconcelos said. “And so it’s nice to see people come together and rally.”

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