Yard can't hold Stems

Summers at the Stem household were nothing out of the ordinary for a family with three boys — football all day, every day out on the backyard turf. But as long as their dad had anything to say about it, gridiron glory would never be something that went outside the family.

"[Our dad] didn't want any of us to play, actually," said Chris Stem, a sophomore wide receiver for the football team. "His mom wouldn't let him, and he always said when we were younger that we weren't going to play."

Luckily for Princeton, Mr. Stem had a change of heart. He allowed his oldest son, Ted, a former tight end at Yale, to initiate the family's foray into the Ivy League football ranks. Jon too found his way into Ivy football, but as a linebacker — and as a Tiger instead of a Bulldog. Chris joined his brother on the roster last season.

The chemistry developed in the backyard prepared the Stems for success on their high school team at Greensburg Central Catholic, just outside of Pittsburgh, Pa., a region renowned for its high school football. Jon, who earned four varsity letters as a linebacker, was a two-time all-conference selection. A standout on the football, lacrosse and basketball teams, Chris led his football team to conference titles in 2004 and 2005.

Choosing to play football at Princeton was an easy decision for Jon.

"I looked at a lot of schools that were similar academically to Princeton — very good schools, other Ivy League schools," Jon said. "But I came to camp here, and from my interaction with the coaches, I could just tell that they were different from other ones that I had met because it didn't seem like a job to them. They were really passionate about [Princeton football], and I knew I wanted to play for them."

Chris' decision was not nearly as simple. Initially hoping to forge his own path and avoid following his brothers to Yale or Princeton, Chris seriously considered accepting recruitment offers from Cornell or Penn. Ultimately, though, Princeton was the best decision for him as well.

"At first I thought I wanted to go to my own school," Chris said, "but then when I came up to visit Jon I really liked all the guys and the coaches, too. I thought I wanted to do my own thing, but we do have our own space here. I mean, even in football, we play on opposite sides of the ball, so we're not always together."

Off the field, Jon and Chris are both premed and play the guitar, but once they step on the field the similarities seem to end. Though neither is afraid of a challenge, their approaches to the game are different.

Ever since those childhood battles, Chris, a natural wide receiver, has always been a tenacious go-getter who loves getting the ball and making the big play.

"I wouldn't think he has changed," Jon said. "[He still does] the things that got him to where he is now. Chris was relentless, always competitive, but growing up with [older] brothers, you have to be that way."

Jon, on the other hand, has always had more of a defensive mentality and tends to make his presence felt rather than heard.

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"Growing up, I loved being the center of attention," Chris said. "Jon was always the quieter, more caring brother. I think that personality now translates into his character on the football field. He leads by example more than by words, and I think that's part of the reason his teammates chose him as captain this year."

As a defensive co-captain on this year's squad, Jon has undoubtedly led by example so far. He totaled 35 tackles last season and has already recorded 14 this year. In Princeton's 20-14, come-from-behind victory over Lafayette in week two, Jon had a crucial sack and deflected a pass that was intercepted by junior lineman Tom Methvin. Jon seems convinced that as long as the Tigers maintain confidence and play consistently in their remaining games, they have a definite chance to repeat last year's Ivy title run.

As it is now Jon's final year at Princeton, this will be the last season that the brothers have a chance to share the same field. Though a natural sibling rivalry might persist, the Stems' mutual respect will outlive their days at Old Nassau.

"We've always been competitive with each other," Chris said, "but at the same time we look out for each other and want the other to succeed even more so than ourselves."

It's safe to say that dad made the right choice letting his little Stems outgrow the backyard.