You should never buy a lottery ticket expecting to strike it rich. You should never go to Tucson expecting to leave without seeing at least five Waffle Houses. And you should never follow your favorite sports team on the road and expect to receive anything but magnanimous treatment from the hometown fans. Case in point: last Saturday.
As one of more than 63,000 fans at Sun Devil Stadium for ASU football's 27-14 win over Oregon State, my experience at the game shocked me. Well, there were several events on Saturday that ran contrary to what I presumed was common sense.
First, the amount of orange and black in the stands. The fact that such a large amount of Oregon State athletic supporters would travel to Tempe for a team that was 1-2 conjures questions about how much they value their time, their money and their dignity.
Keep in mind that OSU nearly upset defending national champions Louisiana State earlier this season, but their inability to complete three extra points stopped them from sealing the deal.
OSU's performance during Saturday's game compounded the point. It appeared as if they didn't want to win. The undisciplined demeanor of the Beavers allowed the Sun Devils to capitalize on stupid penalties and careless turnovers.
OSU safety Sabby Piscitelli, after effectively defending Derek Hagan, felt the need to offer some words right in front of a referee. On top of that, giving away possession of the ball whenever they got inside the 20-yard line effectively damned the Beavers.
But the foolishness of following OSU to Sun Devil Stadium pales in comparison to the idiocy of their expectations from ASU fans.
The OSU faithful who made their way to the stadium wore everything from shirts that read "Beaver Believer" to pins that exclaimed "Beat Arizona." (Did they even realize they weren't at UA?) And as OSU went on top 7-0 early in the game, they weren't shy about letting us know it.
However, as the tide turned and Sun Devil fans returned the favor by laughing at them for their team's end-zone fumble, the Beaver Nation -- or whatever they call themselves -- had an epiphany.
Suddenly, college football had become a game of kindness, where the purpose of the fans is to be hospitable to those cheering on their opponents. This sudden shift in the ideal of appropriate fan behavior was as unstable as Al Gore's position on Florida ballot counting.
Of course, OSU fans began to cry foul, and when that didn't stop us, they called us names like "smart ass," and in my individual case, "Revenge of the Nerds." One man was so angry I thought he was going to follow recent sports-heckling trends by throwing a chair at me.
Nonetheless, OSU fans proved this past Saturday that too many people are far too optimistic about expectations in life. The simple truth is you can't go into an opposing team's hometown and expect to be left alone. Fan heckling is part of the game.
OSU fans (after their initial rowdiness) got what they deserved -- annoying comments from victorious ASU fans. The only thing more naive than expecting kindness on your opponent's turf is asking John Kerry a question and expecting that he'll give you the same answer two weeks later.
Good riddance, Beavers! We didn't want you here anyway.
Macy Hanson is a political science and philosophy sophomore who desperately needs anger counseling. Reach him at macy.hanson@asu.edu
