A group of about 60 ASU students fought heavy eyelids early Saturday as they set out on a nearly 22-hour long trip to Pasadena, Calif., to watch the No. 9 Sun Devils take on the UCLA Bruins.
The trip was the third annual turnaround trip put on by the Devils After Dark organization. Depending on the date the trip was paid for, a student paid either $60 or $80 for a lower-bowl ticket, a seat on a chartered bus, a T-shirt, a back sack, a foam finger and snacks and drinks on the bus ride.
"I think the trip is a great idea," said B.J. Lester, a secondary education senior. "It's cheap and it's very convenient."
Although the trip took the group more than 380 miles away from Sun Devil Stadium, game day still followed the same script.
There was the long wait to get inside the stadium, except in place of the two-plus hours some wait outside of Sun Devil Stadium, there was a six-hour bus ride.
Some students felt the Bruins' fans weren't very loud, said Blake Pappas, a justice studies senior.
"I was disappointed by the UCLA fans, I thought they'd be louder and more vocal towards us," Pappas said.
Even though the UCLA fans didn't live up to their expectations, ASU students like Lester said they still cherished the opportunity to watch their team play in the more than 80-year-old stadium.
"It definitely had a feeling of a historic stadium," Lester said. "It felt like more than just a mid-season Pac-10 game. It felt like a bowl game."
After the game, the ASU players made the scene even more familiar by doing their usual post-game celebration in the corner of the end zone in front of the Sun Devil faithful.
"That made the thrill of winning a lot better and it also made me feel like our support is appreciated," Lester said.
The hundreds of ASU fans in the corner of the end zone did their part to make the Sun Devils feel at home by chanting the next task at hand for the team.
Just as chants of "We want Cal" and "We want Oregon" echoed from the student section following wins over the University of Washington and California, the fans chanted "Beat SC! Beat SC!" as the players drove Sparky's pitchfork into UCLA's end zone.
But the trip had its gray clouds, with junior quarterback Rudy Carpenter's thumb injury lingering, said Zack Jones, a journalism junior.
"It all depends on Rudy and his thumb," Jones said.
Carpenter's thumb could be the ticket to a big bowl game at the end of the season, Pappas said.
"We're definitely riding Rudy's thumb to the Rose Bowl," Pappas added.
The end of the trip came when the students made it back to campus at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
"It was a long journey, but it was well worth it," Pappas said.
Reach the reporter at: anthony.r.martinez@asu.edu.
