I was fortunate enough to catch an interview of former ASU Sun Devil Danny White on the radio this morning.  He’s a Phoenix native and grew up in a Sun Devil household.  He truly bleeds maroon & gold.  In the interview, he provided a unique perspective to the rivalry that is Arizona State vs. University of Arizona football. 

The two teams first matched up in 1899.  That’s one of the longest running rivalries in college sports.  The winner of that first game (ASU) was awarded the Territorial Cup for the victory.  The cup was somewhat lost for a very long time, resurfacing in the early 1980’s.  In 2001, ASU President Lattie Coor declared that the winner of the rivalry game each year would take possession of the Cup for the following year.  While a recent tradition, I think it’s a perfect symbolism for the victor.

Today, the rivalry (also known as “The Duel in the Desert”) is a difficult thing to gauge for most Phoenix residents.  If you moved here from out of state any time in the last 20 years, you probably don’t even notice the greater importance of the game.  But if you consider the Arizona sports landscape leading up to around 1986, there was only 1 professional sports team:  the Phoenix Suns.  Almost all sporting news on local TV, radio, and print was focused largely on Sun Devil and Wildcat sports.  With no professional competition, college athletics were where it was at.  As well, prior to 1978, both teams were in the WAC, which has smaller schools (and weaker teams) than the PAC 10, resulting in the ASU vs UA game being the toughest game of the year for both schools.

The proximity of the 2 schools, the nature of the sport (football), and the media, resulted in the ASU vs UA game not just being a big game, it was the biggest game of the year.  And it hasn’t always been just bragging rights that have hung in the balance of the winning team.  Numerous times, the loser has been kept out of bowl games and/or even a National Championship (as was the case in 1986 for the Sun Devils).  If UA loses this year, they will be kept out of any bowl game.  If ASU loses this year, they will surely be kept out of a BCS bowl game.  Such is the case nearly every year.

So tomorrow, if you are in Phoenix or Tucson, and you are wondering why there is so much hype over this game, hopefully this helps explain it a little bit.  For true fans of either team, this game is indeed the most important game of the year. 

As far as the rivalry goes for me personally, I can attest that the best ASU game I’ve ever attended was the game in 1991 when ASU achieved victory for the first time after 9 straight failures over UofA.  For nearly a decade, the Wildcats had kept the Sun Devils from tasting victory.  As an ASU student and fan, being at the game when we finally broke through after years of futility, was a sporting moment I won’t ever forget.  (It ranks right up there with being at game 7 of the World Series in 2001.)

Please note, comments from Wildcat fans are more than welcome.  They’ll read even better after ASU wins on Saturday…Go Devils!  Kick the Cats!

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