It’s been rough for Sun Devil football fans. There’s no need to be coy about it anymore.

As a privileged columnist, I’ve often taken it upon myself to find a positive outlook, a reason to stay active, excited and loyal.

No, I don’t have a lack of journalistic integrity. Heck, I’m from Tucson, so you know my “spin” is sincere. And while Citizen King’s “I’ve seen better days” seems to be the appropriate theme song for ASU thus far, there’s no reason to jump ship just yet.

I always find the water to be colder than the ship anyways.

There are ten reasons to watch Saturday’s ASU-Oregon battle.

10. The tailgate. For many, tailgating represents as much a part of football as the game itself. It’s the ala mode on apple pie. No, not everyone needs the ice cream, but the purest of fanatics don’t just love their pie, they love their tailgate too.

9. You’re not the quarterback. Last season, even in defeat, ASU hurt UO quarterback Dennis Dixon before UA finished him off. This year, the Ducks are already using their third stringer, as sophomore Jeremiah Masoli lines up behind center. And Masoli has already been knocked out once this season.

How low can they go?

8. “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation. Drunk, sober or anywhere in between, it’s going be played and it’s easy to sing along to (Ooooh, oooooooh, oh oh, oh oh), jump to or anything.

7. It is a must-win game. This is last season in reverse. Whereas a loss ended ASU’s chances at a BCS bid in 2007. This season, a loss means ASU takes another step toward a meaningless bowl game.

In a way, that makes all the games as exciting as a playoff. Well, sort of.

6. Black, Green, White or Yellow? You can still place a bet in Las Vegas on what kind of uniform the Ducks will be wearing Saturday. UO’s leaking nothing as it hasn’t repeated a uniform combination all season.

My bet’s on green however. I got the best odds.

5. Technically speaking, it’s Duck-hunting season. Seriously. And unless you’ve got Aflac, you don’t see many in Arizona very often.

This is a rare opportunity to hunt some Ducks in the desert, but please, no firearms.

4. Nick Reed. I’m not saying it’d be wise for Sun Devil fans to root for UO’s senior defensive end, but last season he had ASU senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter tasting grass.

3. To be a fan. Look, here at The State Press, we aren’t supposed to encourage such behavior, and be assured I’m not doing that. But before I put on a collared shirt, I knew how to stumble around a student section or two.

There are few places in the world that allow seemingly civilized human beings to come together as unrivaled barbarians in an environment that defies our normalcy. I’m not telling you to go and scream, but no one is telling you not to, either.

2. Respect your elders. Senior day might go long. Fifteen ASU football players are either seniors or have already graduated.

The offense: Rudy Carpenter, Keegan Herring, Mike Jones, Wes Evans, Paul Fanaika, Nate Kimbrough, and Andrew Pettes.

The defense: Rodney Cox, Troy Nolan, David Smith, Luis Vasquez, Morris Wooten, Paul ‘Unga, Anthony Reyes and Angelo Fobbs-Valentino.

1. This season isn’t over by a long shot. If you think it is, then you don’t know a darn thing about college football.

“We have half of our season left, and that’s the bottom line,” coach Dennis Erickson said this week. “So a lot of good things can happen. We can still have an outstanding season.”

And I’m not one to disagree. This team has lost games it could have won and at times should have won. But the brunt of the schedule is done. Two wins in six games isn’t pretty, but it is only half of a very long story.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you should never leave anything halfway through. That’s because more often than not, the ending winds up being worth the wait.

Reach the reporter at joshua.spivack@asu.edu.