The Stanford Tree is in trouble again. The latest incident occurred at Monday night’s NCAA second-round game in Denver between the Stanford and Florida State women, in which Stanford advanced to the Sweet Sixteen:
[T]he Stanford Tree was once again involved in some controversy. According to Sports Information director Jessica Raber, Pepsi Center officials warned the Band’s mascot multiple times to not be on the floor when both teams returned from halftime. After he refused to leave and danced along the baseline, he was escorted off the court and was only allowed to return to watch without the Tree costume.
Mind you, this is the new, streaker Tree, not the old, drunken Tree.
UPDATE: More from the Mercury-News:
It says something about the lack of tension in Stanford’s victory Monday night in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament that its fans seemed far more preoccupied with the fate of the Tree than with the state of the game.
Maybe the Cardinal fans assume that the Sweet 16 is their birthright. And maybe it is.
By beating Florida State 88-70, No. 3 seed Stanford advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 13th time under Coach Tara VanDerveer. That’s about as many times as the Tree has been banned this school year alone.
But on Monday, the ejection of the Tree seemed more fascinating than the evisceration of the sixth-seeded Seminoles. Tommy Leep, a 21-year old from Menlo Park, Calif., encased in the green, triangle-shaped mascot’s costume, irritated NCAA officials at the Pepsi Center first by crossing the midcourt line, then by dancing in a hallway. He was ordered to cease and desist, to remove his costume and dance no longer.
The fans broke out in a “Bring back the Tree” chant. …
“Tell the NCAA I’m coming to San Antonio,” said Leep, the wayward Tree.
Well, that remains to be seen, pending a decision by the athletic department. But VanDerveer’s team will definitely be there.
UPDATE 2: According to a commenter, ESPN reported that “dancing in an unspecified dancing area…might not be the real reason” for the Tree’s ejection. “Apparently the Tree was repeatedly performed an obscene gesture.” Sticking up his middle, uh, branch?
UPDATE 3: Deadspin has more.
March 21st, 2006 at 12:59:38 am
That’s what you get for having a tree as a mascot.
March 21st, 2006 at 1:39:45 am
WAW haw Haw! :> The Institution of The Tree still lives. The Cause goes on. The Dream shall Never die. :)
March 21st, 2006 at 3:48:29 am
No, but we wish it would die…
March 21st, 2006 at 9:09:01 am
But isn’t it entertaining?
March 21st, 2006 at 11:47:14 am
I hear that he was ejected for dancing in an unspecified dancing area, but ESPN reported that that might not be the real reason. Apparently the Tree was repeatedly performed an obscene gesture.
March 21st, 2006 at 7:48:16 pm
There was no obscene gesture. The tree accidentally danced where he wasn’t supposed to and got relegated to a hallway. ESPN then started filming him, so he decided to dance for the national audience. The NCAA got upset that their game was being upstaged and overreacted.
As for wishing the tree would die, well, that’s the point. The fact that people outside of Stanford care about the tree’s existence makes it a better mascot than almost any in the nation, especially from Stanford’s perspective. Better to piss anyone off with a farcical figure than to be a boring, oversized plush toy, or an overserious 21 year old solemnly dressed as (among other things) a leprechaun and a trojan warrior.
March 21st, 2006 at 8:11:14 pm
I love the Tree, for pure comedic value. However, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the leprechaun described as “solemn” before.