I coulda and shoulda written this last night. After all, I was wired for a few hours after watching the ASU-UA "Duel In the Desert" on ESPN. (Witness the time stamp on my previous post.) And, I did speak with one of my kids about it in real time as I was trying to hear about the "Return of Lebron" (it ties in, naturally).
As the exhilaration and frustration of a classic 4th quarter and 2 OT's started to die down, the several post-game displays of good sportsmanship from both squads brought the exhilartion back. There were head coaches Stoops and Erickson - who had been so (entertaining and) menacing during the game - leading the way with what looked like a heartfelt exchange of good wishes. There were players from the losing team congratulating their opponents, and the winning players consoling their opponents. There was UA quarterback Nick Foles waiting patiently off-camera for ASU Head Coach Erickson to finish his interview with ESPN to give him a congratulatory embrace. And, all of this caught on national TV.
My kids and I noted all of this, and I felt compelled to explain that it is special because the UA-ASU rivalry has always displayed sportsmanship - but, that it is often BAD sportsmanship. Having lived in both Tucson and Phoenix, having worked and/or studied on both campuses, having attended or watched UA-ASU rivalry games (in many sports) for some 40 years (with some good interactions with other fans and some that were pretty damned nasty), and raising our kids to favor one of the schools while not dissing the other, last night will hold a VERY GOOD spot in my personal chronicle of the rivalry. And, I hope it will be so for my kids, as they play team sports and choose between fine institutions of higher learning.
But, anyway, I hope you have also already realized why this is "not really off-topic" for a blog that is trying to cover Arizona's Politics. If you haven't, try picturing the Sun Devils wearing blue jerseys last night. (The Wildcats wore red.)
If you still are missing the connection, well, unfortunately, you are probably part of the problem.
We welcome your comments about this post. Or, if you have something unrelated on your mind, please e-mail to info-at-arizonaspolitics-dot-com. Thanks.
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