post spring game meet and greet

Seeing as I took all of 2 pictures of the actual spring game with my camera phone, I decided this pic from the post game meet and greet opportunity on Frank Kush field made more sense.

Here you see Nigel (standing with his back to me and a black backpack over his shoulder) waiting patiently for Rudy Carpenter to stop talking to the group of people on the left so he can get an autograph.

We had tried to get one when we first got on the field but there were like 30 or so people in line so we waited until the end when there were way less people. A security guy tried to tell us that Rudy was done signing for the day but he doesn’t know who he is talking to. We just waited and succeeded.

It was a very cool way to end the Spring Game yesterday.

spring practice

Looks like spring practice is going well. It is good to see the practice on Saturday involved full pads and contact. I think it is a good sign that Erickson is increasing the tempo of practice as in the past it has always seemed that they are on slow motion mode. I am totally looking forward to April 19th as it means we are that much closer to the 2008 season.

spring practice is here

Yeah!!! ASU spring practice has begun and with it comes a lot of optimism and hope. Last season was an amazing season, by far the best since I have been attending with my fiance Scott (I started attending games in 1997). I cannot wait for the Spring Game and then of course for the real season to kick off!

if only…

Hindsight is definitely 20-20. If we had only known how this season would go for the Pac-10 as far as injuries to key players etc, then we would have scheduled to play USC when we played Oregon a few weeks ago and Oregon on Thanksgiving. Out of all of the teams in the Pac-10, ASU is probably one of a small few that had the misfortune of playing both teams at their peak. We would be 11-0 right now if the “if only” scenario was real.

After the loss on Thanksgiving to USC, which displayed USCs talent as well as our weaknesses, I was deflated. Tearful. Depressed. In my 11 years as being a Sun Devil football fan, this is the best season I have ever experienced and I had Rose Bowl fever. I’ve wanted to go to the Rose Bowl for a long time. After some mopping, my fiance reminded me that “hey, we’re 9-2 and can still go to the Fiesta Bowl. Which is of course a BCS bowl, so Iw as excited again. While it ain’t the Rose Bowl, teh Fiesta Bowl is pretty good. So now my focus is on cheering on the Devils at Sun Devil Stadium as they kick the crap out of UofA.

GO DEVILS!!!!

si.com recognizes Ericksons impact

Erickson’s impact was not only felt at Sun Devil Stadium. It was felt at si.com where ASU football made the blog post title “5 Things We learned This Weekend.”

5. That Dennis Erickson’s impact at Arizona State is already being felt. There was no ugly, still-feeling-things-out opener for the Sun Devils, who went out and whipped San Jose State 45-3 on Saturday. Now before you go knocking San Jose State (in light of Appalachian State, are we really allowed to knock anyone’s opposition anymore?), keep in mind Dick Tomey’s Spartans were a bowl team last season that gave 13-0 Boise State its biggest scare of the season (23-20) and whose defense includes one of the nation’s top cornerbacks, Dwight Lowery. The Sun Devils nonetheless went out and racked up 520 yards of offense — 250 rushing, 270 passing — with QB Rudy Carpenter (14-of-20, 197 yards, two TDs, no INTs) looking much more like the confident freshman we saw two years ago. Erickson himself called it, “one of the most efficient performances for a first game I’ve ever had.” Think these guys won’t be a factor soon?

Not a bad way to start the season, even if it is a small shout out. Lets keep up the intensity and get more of the recognition (nationally) that we deserve!

Devils slaughter San Jose State

In a pretty impressive victory over San Jose State, the ASU Sun Devils showed that we can be balanced in all areas of the team and that we can limit the number of penalties made. The team looked pretty good all around. In fairness, Carpenter did look kind of out of sync for good portion of first half but he also made some great throws. And it was nice to see the hand offs to Torain coming at a much frequent pace. In the end it was practically 50-50 in yards from passing vs rushing (270 to 250 respectively).

As an alumni of ASU and season ticket holder (thanks to Scott) it was great to start the season off with a bang and to tell the nation that we are here and ready to play. But I also have some reservations. It is only one game. One game in which we did what we should have done- blow away the competition. While I am happy to see the enthusiasm from our team that was sorely lacking all of last season, I think I need to see at least one more game to see if we can maintain the intensity.

I think one thing we all can say for sure after last nights game is that Erickson has the leadership and charisma needed to bring the football team to the next level. He knows how important the fans are which was obvious when he came on the field right before the game and pumped up the student section by giving the thumbs up and gesturing for the fans to get loud. We definitely did not see that with Koetter. Erickson has the intensity that we need to actually beat teams like USC and Cal.

Last night was a lot of fun and I look forward to the seven other home games in what looks to be a breakthrough season for Devils football. Welcome back to the PAC-10, Erickson. Welcome to Sun Devil football.

GO DEVILS!!!!

football season is upon us

We can rest easy now! Football season is starting. There are pre-season game son NFL Network. We received our ASU season tickets int he mail the other day. People are making their predictions. It is an exciting time. Everything is an unknown. I can’t wait until I can paint my face with maroon and gold and cheer on ASU at 8 home games. I can’t wait to wear my Brady jersey while watching the Patriots make a run for another Superbowl victory.

Football season is here and it couldn’t have come soon enough!

spring game not all it’s hyped to be

Last night Scott and I attended the much anticipated Spring Game for ASU football. In the past few months we have attended several ASU practices and liked what we saw. So last night we kind of had high expectations. I was disappointed. The emotion that many people are touting as the missing piece to Koetters coaching, was evident during the game. I’ll admit, it was nice to see players frustrated and angry when things went badly as well as excited and happy when plays succeeded. But the layers did not appear to have a lot of drive in them. It was supposed to be a game-like experience yet it appeared very few players played with a lot of intensity. I hope this is not a sign of how the season will be. But after last nights performance, in which the 1st string offense manage just two field goals in the second half, I predict we will be 7 and 5 this coming season. I hope the Devils prove me wrong!

ASU kills the ‘Cats

On Saturday, my beloved Sun Devils went down to Tucson and took care of business. I’ll be honest, I was not sure what to expect with the game. Watching the Devils kind of unravel against UCLA a week before and seeing the UofA Wildcats win three straight against ranked teams, I was real nervous about the outcome of the Duel in the Desert. But ASU showed what it’s made of. The heart and soul. The love for the game and for it’s coach. And especially the dislike for UofA.

The Sun Devils beat UofA pretty convincingly. Some will say that it is because the Wildcats lost their starting quarterback. I don’t think so. I think the Devils had the best team on the field that day and I am proud of the performance they gave. It is a great way to end the regular season and I look forward to a bowl game.

The only thing I do regret is Scott and I decided not to make the trek down to Tucson this year and opted to watch the game on TV. Hindsight is 20/20 and we both have sores asses from kicking ourselves for not going.

And with the rumblings that our head coach is going to get fired, it makes it all the more upseting that we didn’t get to soak up the atmosphere of Koetter’s likely last win against the dreadful Uof A.