Oh, the humanity.
This past weekend, the Sun Devil football squad went down like the Hindenburg. Sadly, a goose egg shone brightly underneath the “visitors” column of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s scoreboard.
Sure, USC had five turnovers that ASU was unable to capitalize on, and sure, a struggling, injured Rudy Carpenter was replaced by someone who completed only 6 of 17 passes — if you count the two caught by the Trojan defense. But a poor performance doesn’t mean we should jump ship.
I’ve come to believe that Arizona sports fans are the most opportunistic in the country. Whereas schools struggling through a reconstruction of their football teams (Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State) still have loyal fan bases, ASU’s is shrinking like George Costanza. This after we were so eager to start the season with our preseason top-15 ranking.
Criticizing a team is not doing evil. It shows your passion for that team. But Arizona sports fans don’t do it constructively. It’s almost as if we just like to complain.
This isn’t the first occasion of Arizona sports fans sticking their heads in the sand at the first sign of adversity. When the Diamondbacks won the World Series back in 2001, fanfare was at an all-time high — up until they got swept in the first round of the next year’s playoffs.
Now, it seems the only time Chase Field sells out is when the Red Sox or Cubs come to town.
We’re already losing the emotion we felt for the Suns just a year and a half ago when Robert Horry body-checked Steve Nash into the scoring table. An aging roster and new coach won’t help that.
The Cardinals are another story. Perpetual losers since their 1988 arrival in the Valley, we’ve never had anything to really get excited about. More people go to games just to see the new stadium than to see Kurt Warner.
But with a strong start marked by the recent overtime victory against the Cowboys, don’t be surprised to see people busting out the Anquan Boldin jerseys in the coming weeks claiming they were big fans all along.
And the Coyotes? Did they move back to Winnipeg?
No doubt, Arizona is home to flaky fandom. Some of this has to do with our population; such a massive portion moved here from another state, and residents already have allegiances to other teams.
The football season is far from over. We’re only halfway through the season, and with the bottom half of the Pac-10 on slate, the 2-4 Sun Devils can still make it to the six wins they need to be eligible for their fifth consecutive bowl, a fairly impressive feat.
This uncommitted, under-the-breath jabbing is the last thing the ASU student-athletes want to hear from their peers.
When a team is struggling is when they need their fans the most, so pull out your maroon and gold and support your Sun Devils.
To read Ryan’s ramblings on college football each week, check out FutureOfFantasy.com. Contact him at ryan.oneal@asu.edu.
