My, my, aren't we picky? Last semester, I noticed no shortage of UA haters parading around campus the week before the big football game.
I am sure we will see the same high class maneuvers this week as we get ready for the men's basketball game on Thursday night too.
But where was everyone when the big gymnastics gauntlet was thrown down?
ASU's women's team smoked the UA team in a resounding victory, all on their own.
There were no, "UA can SPLIT!!!" or "UA's Gonna Take a Tumble!" shirts. Not even my personal favorite and the epitome of class, "Get Forked, UA," was anywhere to be found. Nice.
As a fairly new ASU student, I take pride in the many things that this campus has to offer; as an adult, I shake my head in wonder at the huge disparity and lack of taste our student population is notorious for when it comes to showing support for our teams.
Sporting shirts and signs that say degrading messages to the other team are in poor conduct to say the least, and make us look like a pack of wild Neanderthals to say the most.
What happened to the days when the best thing you could do to show support for your team was to lead by example and say you were the best?
Or, that despite the lack of marks in the "W" column, you still backed your home team?
When did putting down the other guy become the best, and in a lot of cases the only way you could show support for your school?
I understand that we live in a world where unruliness reigns supreme, but do we have to subscribe to it with such reckless abandon?
From a psychological perspective, I know that the bond of hate is a stronger tool than the similarities factor, which unites the masses.
Whatever the case, we don't need to lower the ways in which the outside world perceives this school.
That is what we have our administrators for.
We certainly don't need to bash the UA folks--they are doing a bang-up job of it all by their little selves!
Many of you reading this (I flatter myself, really. It is how I get out of bed some mornings) might not care, but I feel compelled to admit that I live in a house with an avid UA lover.
Yes, my husband is an alumnus of UA, and really worships the ground Lute Olson, UA men's basketball coach, walks on.
Not that I'm trying to do a big coaching job, but I also want to point out that while currently mildly sucking, the Wildcats' infamous coach conducts his business with his team without resorting to name-calling or cussing.
Still, I do think that Rob Evans runs a clean program, and is a good coach - his perfect hair not withstanding.
ASU can win some and lose some, but in the end we should just support our guys and gals for doing more than your average student here on campus.
For example, I know I only run if I am being chased, so they're already doing way more than me.
I think, at the risk of sounding like my mother, if you don't have anything nice to say, keep your mouth and shirt fronts shut.
You stay classy, Sun Devils.
Angi Leighton is a senior majoring in feel-good-ology and can be reached at angela.leighton@asu.edu.