Devils' Delight

This morning started off interesting. On my way to work, I saw an elderly man in a suit roller blading down Shea. It's not quite a cowboy skateboarding, but it's not far off.

Apologies to most. Below is a recount of a sporting event, so you may read at your discretion.

I went to the ASU/U of A basketball game tonight, which turned out to be a thrilling evening. ASU only led the game , 4-2, until the very end when they were trading the lead back and forth. At first, I thought it was going to be a slaughter, because the Sun Devils were timid and ineffective on offense for much of the first half until they finally put a run together to make it respectable at half time. As with most Arizona sports teams, they would claw back into it, but not quite get close enough. This time, somehow, after falling to a 5-point deficit (resulting from a horrible call) within the last couple minutes, they miraculously tied the game at the end and even had the last shot to try to win it. Instead of attacking the basket to at least draw a foul, they held the ball until the final seconds and launched a 3-point shot that clanked off the rim. Overtime. This is usually not good, especially in a Sun Devils/Wildcats game. It is the point when they run out of steam or their top players foul out of the game. Amazingly, they played it tough and ended up winning the game, 64-59: only the second time in the last 26 meetings that they've beaten U of A (I was fortunate to be at the other one as well). There was a mad rush of fans to the court chanting, "ASU! ASU!" as the clock wound to zero.

I have not attended many ASU basketball games over the last several years. The last one I went to was about two years ago, and before that it was probably 2000 or 2001. When I was younger, my parents had season tickets right behind the Sun Devils' bench. That was a blast. Sparky, the mascot, would always come up to me and we'd high five. Those were some of the best times. Growing up, I used to be really into sports, trying to go to as many games as possible, but I am finding that my love for the game is starting to fade a little. It is all still the same, the cheers, boos, the smell of popcorn, the ASU band pounding away, Sparky...but I guess I've changed a lot over the years. It is a much different experience being the kid - looking up to the players, learning the game - than it is as an adult. It is still fun, but of a different kind. I would love to get season tickets to some kind of sporting event, just to be able to get out there again like when I was younger.

Sorry if this was difficult to read. I dedicated the font color in this post to Arizona State's triumphant victory! This message was brought to you by the letter B and the number 7.