When we heard Scott Spencer had to remove his "UAH8R" vanity plate, all we could do was shake our heads and ask "Y."
Is ASU getting the short end of the trident? There are at least a couple of anti-ASU vanity plates roaming around, including "1H8ASU" and "BOOASU." (The better guys are just always victimized, aren't they?).
The Motor Vehicle Division has done nothing to take these plates off these streets, but that may be because they have not received any complaints. After all, what is there to complain about? Is Spencer's opinion so antagonizing that UA fans are forced to drive into oncoming traffic in self-loathing pity?
We think not.
But we do think that rivalry is healthy. It channels inevitable student angst generated from frequently boring classes (and, in UA's case, an incredibly boring town) to a medium where conflict is both inherent and playful. People love competition. And if one cannot find it in academics or sports, they can turn to the clever combination of letters and numbers.
Who would complain about such an obviously harmless message? Are there this many bored and touchy people out there just looking to be offended in order to give meaning to their lives? Or is it just some jealous UA alumnus brooding at how well the letters "UA" and "H8R" fit together (maybe it's even the owner of "1H8ASU" looking to monopolize the H8 line)?
And then there's the MVD. We understand they are just following their rules, but do they take every complaint to this point? There are some pretty tacky plates out there that are offensive not because of their message, but merely because of their tastelessness. Ironically, there is even a vanity plate that reads "TSTLSS."
However, among all this debate about rivalry and fairness, at least one good thing has come about. It was precisely because the MVD forced Spencer to remove his slightly childish vanity plate that he decided to be the better man and put his money to better use. He chose to honor former Sun Devil and eternal hero Pat Tillman with "PT4T2," and for this we applaud him.
Fellow students, you could bombard the MVD with complaints of how offensive the anti-ASU plates are. You could cry to the authorities of how their presence hurts you deep inside, and the MVD would probably listen and would probably take those plates down.
But the fact is, we are better than that, and we have better things to do with our time. So resist the temptation to even the playing field. Besides, we need to let UA win at something.
