I Love My… Devils

Image courtesy of bleacherreport.com

This is a bit of a departure for me. Not because I’m not used to writing about ASU. I’m just not used to not writing for ASU. Rubs hands together here goes nothing!

Alright, if any of you saw last night, the Arizona State Sun Devils got straight up embarrassed in their most hyped up home game of the season against the 3^rd ranked Oregon Ducks. Neither team had been especially tested up until that point and the number one offense in the Pac-12 was going up against the number one defense in the Pac-12. Yes, that was actually true, ASU had the best defense in the conference, get over it. It was sure to be a good show.

That is, until the second snap of the game. Devils defensive leader Will Sutton forced a fumble from Oregon QB Marcus Mariota but subsequently went down with a knee injury and would not return the rest of the game. An MRI is scheduled for today. The ensuing ball game was more like walking through a haunted house for ASU. You didn’t actually want to continue, but you didn’t want your buddies thinking you were a pansy so you did. The final score was a deceiving 43-21. It wasn’t that close.

Alas, I’m actually not even pissed we lost to the Ducks. First off- I don’t care who you are, their uniforms are sick. You can’t hate them. I do hate that duck though. Put some damn pants on there are children present! I did like Chip Kelly a lot, until after the first Oregon touchdown of the game (a 72-yard run by, surprise, Kenyon Barner) Kelly decided to go for a two point conversion to get the lead. That was straight disrespectful Chips and Dip. Seriously. How rude! (In my best Michelle Tanner voice). But like I said, I’m not pissed.

Here’s the good news. This isn’t the end of the road for ASU. They could potentially meet the Ducks again for the Pac-12 championship if they get it back together. The Pac-12 South is ripe for the taking. ASU has UCLA at home next for homecoming. Confidence booster perhaps? If they can beat either USC or Oregon State their chances look really good. And maybe, just MAYBE they would be a little more prepared for Oregon the second time around.

Even if THAT doesn’t happen guess what? I’m still not suicidal. Listen, if anyone in the Pac-12 has a shot at getting to the National Championship this year it’s the Oregon Ducks. Had ASU won last night’s game that would have gone out the window. If Bama had a fluke loss would that be the case? Roll No. Of course not. The BCS loves the SEC way too much. But with Oregon manhandling their first road challenge, they now have a shot at proving to the BCS and the nation that the Pac-12 is not to be f*&%ed with after all. They are the only team in the country who I could see going toe to toe with Bama. And by God, I think they’d win it.

So all in all, I still love my Devils. I always will. But I’ve found the silver lining in these scenarios. That is, a carbon fiber silver lining that subtly reflects metallic green when the gridiron lights shine on it.

Why I Don’t Hate Ohio State… Anymore

Image courtesy of AnnArbor.com

So I went to a school called Arizona State, far away from Middle America in the land of the Pacific-12. Palm trees, sunshine and hazy mountains were a far cry from the picturesque cornfields of the B1G Ten (is that how you write it now?).  However, I did always have an allegiance, albeit a blindly led one, to the University of Illinois though. This then became concrete when my best friend from high school attended the university.

Now, my very first weekend visiting her came in 2007. It was the weekend Illinois played Ohio State in Columbus when the Buckeyes were ranked #1 in the country. If you claim to be any degree of B1G Ten fan… you know what happened that night. The Illini went in there and buried those Buckeyes. Call it overconfidence on OSU’s part; call it Illinois being underestimated. I called it: glorious.

The years following I learned more of this Buckeye football program. Of Jim Tressel and that wannabe Bill Cosby sweater vest he liked to subject the viewing public to. I hated everything he stood for. I hated the overconfidence of his players. The way the fans acted as if he, and the program, could do no wrong. The way they referred to themselves as The Ohio State (which for the record I still don’t like). Yes, I hated Ohio State.

I quickly learned I was not alone in this attitude. No, no. Ohio State was the USC of the B1G Ten. Everyone hated them. Except Ohio State, of course. My best friend growing up ended up at Michigan State. She also hated that God-awful football program. Fantastic. It was settled.

Yet, today, with another heaven-sent season of college football looming, I find myself at a crossroads. Jim Tressel, and his woolen vest of vomit, is no longer the head coach. The program has paid its debt to the college football society in the sanctions imparted on them by the NCAA.  My two best friends from the B1G Ten are no longer in school. The Buckeyes were on ESPN’s Training Days– the damn white boy manager DID THE DOUGIE… and ya know what? He did it well. So tell me again, why do I hate Ohio State?

Not only is Jim Tressel not the coach anymore, Urban Meyer is. The same Urban Meyer who made me love the University of Florida and is responsible for my irreprehensible-one-of-only-a-couple athlete crushes on Tim Tebow. I feel those eyes of judgment. Just deal with it.

That episode of Training Days, Meyer got those boys fired up. ASU’s practices never looked like that. I didn’t see 250lb linebackers getting rewarded with mid-day naptime on air mattresses in the field house. This was adorable. This was real. This ladies and gentlemen, was college football.

While every fiber in my being is telling me “No! Carmen! Don’t do it! Think of the children!” I am forced to face the reality: I no longer hate Ohio State.