Two former ASU athletes made major sports headlines earlier this week.
ASU alumnus Phil Mickelson finally shed the dubious moniker of "greatest golfer never to win a major tournament" by scoring a scintillating (for a golf tournament) 18th hole victory at the Masters on Sunday.
Former ASU baseball star Barry Bonds tied his godfather, Hall of Famer Willie Mays, for third place in the all-time home run list this Monday by hitting the 660th jimmy jack of his career.
During my freshman year here, a friend from out of state asked, "Is there a statue of Barry Bonds somewhere on your campus?"
At first I found the question to be a bit silly, but considering the man's accomplishments in his field, it's not entirely ridiculous. I am unsure how many current students are even aware of Bonds' ASU past, which is discouraging. Among all of the self-mocking that ASU students engage in over being a "party school" or being less academically challenging than other universities, we're missing the things that we really should be proud of.
It's unfortunate that the bulk of press ASU athletics receives is often of a negative nature.
The point-shaving scandal of 1994 is still infamous in college basketball circles, and Jake Plummer's roving hands in Club Rio got more attention than what he was doing on the field at the time. It's true that ASU has not had nearly the same type of success in basketball as our friends at UA, and that the football program, while traditionally successful, hasn't really gotten off the ground recently.
But did you know that our women's golf team has won 13 national championships, and one as recently as 1998? How about the men's, women's and mixed archery teams that have won a total of 56 championships, including a complete domination of the competition for most of the 1980s? If you want big name sports, our baseball team has won five championships, and is competitive nearly every year.
Let's consider Alejandro Canizares, who won the individual national title in golf last year as a freshman. Canizares continues to impress on the green, and appears to be on his way to following in three-time NCAA champion Mickelson's legacy.
Wrestler Eric Larkin was the national champion in his weight class last year and received the Dan Hodge award as the nation's top wrestler. Diver Joona Puhakka just last week earned his second national championship.
Looking towards the past, Bonds and Mickelson aren't the only famous former ASU stars. Reggie Jackson only spent a year at ASU (and was an All-American that year), but as a member of the prestigious baseball Hall of Fame and a member of four World Series championship teams, his contributions can't be ignored.
Byron Scott, at one point the all-time leading scorer in ASU basketball history, won three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and led the New Jersey Nets to two straight finals appearances as head coach. The current all-time ASU scorer, Eddie House, has been a solid contributor in the NBA for the past four seasons.
There seems to be a disturbing trend among ASU students to see their University as somehow second-rate or not worthy of distinction. I've just listed some of ASU's accomplishments in the athletic field, and that's not even approaching the field of academics. There's a lot to brag about it here at ASU, both on and off the field.
Albert Ching is a journalism junior. Reach him at albertxii@hotmail.com.
