Following the Sun Devil football team’s loss to UA last weekend, I emerged out of the lower level of the ICA building on the south end of Sun Devil Stadium, and the realization set in that it was my last such journey as a student.

It made the events that had just transpired within the bowels of the stadium even harder to process.

At the beginning of my college career, I was only a spectator, watching players like Chris McGaha and Kyle Williams mature from baby-faced freshman into the brilliant talents they would inevitably become.

As I, too, progressed through my time at ASU, I eventually was afforded the incredible privilege of covering them and the rest of the football team.

When the seniors came out of Tillman Tunnel on Nov. 28, I put my journalistic obligation of being unbiased aside and hoped they could send us all off on the right note against the unmentionables from the south.

Let’s keep that between you and me, though.

Anyway, it looked as if the Sun Devils would quench my desires, and the man of the hour was my fellow senior, Mr. Williams.

He singlehandedly revived a Sun Devil team that was gasping for air in the heated rivalry.

It is nauseating to even think of rehashing what transpired after his John Jeffersonesque reception led to a game-tying extra point.

The muffed punt owns a grotesque piece of real estate in my brain and will disturbingly make itself known every so often – of this, I am sure.

But my solemn departure from Sun Devil Stadium made me reflect on all the good memories of this team and others at ASU that have left an indelible impression on me.

Certainly, it is impossible to forget how those seniors made the transition seamless for new coach Dennis Erickson in his first year in Tempe, helping him guide the Sun Devils to a 10-3 record and a share of the Pac-10 title in 2007.

Many of those games were hard-fought contests, which the Sun Devils willed themselves to win, a majority of the time from behind.

Of course, the memory that sticks out about that season was the win over Cal to put ASU at 8-0 on the season and the feeling of jubilation we all felt as students when we flooded the field.

Little did I know, three years later I would be standing on that very same field as a journalist when Chris McGaha would haul in a miraculous pass from senior quarterback Danny Sullivan to win the game against UW at the tips of my brown leather shoes.

My memories extend beyond the realm of football, however, and one of the greatest is the job well done by a fellow named Herb Sendek.

During my time at ASU, he has individually transformed the men’s basketball program from the laughing stock of the Pac-10 into a legit contender – not only in the conference, but as a team that can make some noise in the NCAA tournament as well.

Ultimately, I was fortunate enough to watch the greatest player in Sun Devils’ history – James Harden – take the floor at Wells Fargo Arena, and he was clearly a man among boys.

I never thought I would see the day when ASU students charged the court – unless they were that intoxicated – but when the Sun Devils knocked off a then 11th-ranked UCLA squad for the second time in the season, it was both appropriate and beautiful.

And who can forget the miraculous runs by the ASU baseball team these past four years?

Easily one of the most fun teams to watch, last year’s unit came painfully close to that elusive sixth title led by our “Babe,” Kole Calhoun.

The most important memory, however, is the power and beauty of sports that has left its mark on my soul at ASU.

It can manipulate human emotion from the highest of peaks to the most abysmal valleys.

It can unite people under a common banner to cast aside differences they may have outside the stadium gates.

Most of all, the efforts of the men and women on the playing surface have the power to inspire anyone, from ages 1 to 100, with the hard work and camaraderie that has the power to overcome all.

Reach Erik at emschimm@asu.edu.