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Name that game!
By Scott Bracken
State Press
The most important football game of the year in Arizona is just two days away, and the best title we can come up with is "The Game?" What?!? Friday's game not only holds enormous Pac-10 implications, but it's an in-state rivalry that grants a license of narcissism in the great state of Arizona until next year.
So why do we continue to label it "The Game?" The ASU student body outside of the Memorial Union had some names of their own and elaborated on why this game means so much:
* "Every year my family gets together to watch it and half went to UofA and half went to ASU. My mom and dad both went to UofA, which is why I probably went to ASU -- (it was) some kind of psychological warfare against my parents. I'd name it 'The Desert Brawl.'" -- Andreas Rodriguez, senior broadcasting major.
* "I think we should call it 'The Sonoran Showdown.' It's about bragging rights, and that means everything." -- Brian Kirkland, senior computer science major.
* "It's 'The Rumble in the Dust.'" -- Alonzo Benally, sophomore biology major.
* "I have two friends here who are transferring down to UofA and I don't even talk to them anymore. It's turning into the 'War of the Roses' with the whole link to the Rose Bowl, but I think we should call it 'The Cactus Crush.'" -- Jill Bertka, senior computer science major.
* "(We should call it) 'The Cactus Clash.' Rivalry is a good thing. As long as people don't get too caught up in it, good competition is always healthy." -- Kyle Burke, Class of 1997.
* "I like 'The Burrito Bowl.' I know a few people that go there, but I wouldn't consider them friends." -- Andrew Lindquist, senior communications major.
* "Normally, a win wouldn't mean anything because it's expected. But this year, a win would keep them out of the Rose Bowl. It is a huge game, so how about 'El Grande Game.'" -- Ed Carter, junior history major/tennis player.
* "UofA's going to get whacked. It's like Ohio State/Michigan -- the season doesn't mean anything unless we beat our rival. (That's) a terrible way to look at it, but with the whole 'A' Mountain thing, it's like 'One Big Paint War.'" -- Brent Harris, graduate studying architecture.
* "It's a pride thing. I know a few people that go there and we do the $20 pitcher of beer bets on the side. But the game itself is like a 'Zon-A-War.'" -- Nate Hoelzen, senior broadcasting major.
* "I have a few friends that go to UofA and they all play it down like it's no big deal. But I keep getting hate e-mail saying, 'we're gonna beat you.' If there's one game to win, this is the one." -- Jeremiah Kasya, freshman business economics major.
* "It's about a rivalry and camaraderie within each school. Simply put, it means we're a better than UofA -- which everyone here knows already." -- Daniel Fox, senior psychology major.
* "A win would be excellent after a season that didn't go so well. A win would shine some light on next season and bring a new attitude to the school. Maybe something like 'The North vs. The South?'" -- Jamal Sheppard, senior psychology major.
* "To bowl or not to bowl." -- Johan Nygren, senior broadcasting major.
Call it what you want: The Game, The Sonoran Showdown, The Cactus Crush, The Burrito Bowl, Rumble in the Dust or whatever. This game means everything. And you can throw all the record books out the window, because when these two teams meet, it's an all-out war.
"It's payback time," said Merril Lynch, a senior management major said. "Last year, they did it to us. Now it's our turn."
After last year's devastating defeat on our own turn, Dalen Ware, a sophomore economics major, realizes the most important thing to remember is the scoreboard.
"(A) name really doesn't matter," Ware said. "It's all about the game."