Well that sucked.
Not exactly the way ASU seniors would have scripted it, I'm sure. A lasting image of a team of Wildcats dancing like fools on a giant likeness of Sparky in the middle of Frank Kush Field with the time clocks at zero and the score at 34-21.
The pathetic melee that ensued, complete with Kurt Wallin's booting of a UA helmet, only added a few lima beans to the bad taste in the mouths of Sun Devil fans.
I do applaud the Sun Devils for having a bit of pride and for defending their field. Of course, the defense would have been much more effective had it come during the game instead of after it. In the four quarters allotted for playing football, ASU was manhandled. The white flag was already halfway up the mast by the time ASU first scored.
Not that the Wildcats had reason to do anything but shake hands and get their 5-6 butts on the bus and head back down I-10. But they won, and their fans can pretend that it somehow means something to anybody anywhere outside of a hundred square miles of desert.
The Sun Devil players couldn't stand the sight of Wildcat running back Clarence Farmer defacing their logo, and they didn't dig the dance party that started quickly after.
So, a fight started. There's nothing more ridiculous than a pair of teams going nowhere (combined record of 9-12) going at it like the game just played actually meant anything. After all, it was just a game. There are more important things to worry about.
But to give this particular game some perspective: It's funny to think that even if it wasn't Thanksgiving weekend and even if we didn't have a war going on and even if football somehow was the most important thing in the world, this game still wouldn't have meant anything. The college football community didn't exactly come to a standstill for this territorial conflict.
However, for many players, coaches and fans, it is a game that has special meaning. It's something they look forward to all year.
Unfortunately, the two teams demonstrated more insecurity than pride and instead of relishing the rivalry, they disrespected it.
UA didn't accept its victory with humility, and ASU didn't handle its loss with a shred of class.
But I've been going to this school long enough to realize that class is not a highly valued trait. Trash talking, image and style over substance are hugely important. But class? Nah, not here. Leave that to those totally lame, uncool colleges. You know ... the respected ones.
Reach Daniel Rowland at rolondo9@yahoo.com.
