Looming on the Sun Devil football team's schedule is the yearly post-Thanksgiving game against rival UA.
While we'll love watching our boys mop up the Wildcats, we're dreading one thing: the trip to Tucson.
Their football program has reached rock bottom and even Mike Stoops won't revive it. The Sun Devils have spent time each of the last three seasons in the top 25 and they are currently 5-1.
The annual football game is more of a question of how much we'll win by than who will win the game.
We need something to shake it up.
The real pain in the ass with having UA as our rival is driving to Tucson, of all places, to watch the teams duke it out.
Does anyone really like Tucson? Does Tucson even like Tucson?
Tempe has class while Tucson has grass, and not the mowing kind.
Our city is famous for the presidential debate. Tucson is famous for marijuana busts.
We have fun in Tucson about as often as it snows in Tempe.
Speaking of snow, we've got a perfect solution to this standstill.
Let's can our rivalry with the 'Cats and start a rivalry with the 'Jacks.
Let us explain.
This isn't really about sports or championships. It's about the difference between Flagstaff and Tucson.
The volleyball team traveled to NAU Tuesday night and we sent a crew up the mountain with the team. They were more pumped about the city than the game.
Simply put, Flagstaff is 10 times the town Tucson is.
Flagstaff has mountains, snow, a better downtown, tons of small bars, better restaurants and the advantage of high altitude. Not an athletic advantage, but we're talking about how a person from the Valley gets intoxicated quicker at 7,000 feet.
A road trip to Flagstaff for any sporting event presents so many more possibilities for a good time. Not to mention the trek to Tucson has made Bland Magazine's scenic drive eight years running. At least the trip to Flagstaff has some personality.
Tucson is a desert; it's not like we haven't seen one of those before. Flagstaff has trees, or tall wooden things with branches and leaves. You may have heard of them.
Tucson is hot, just like Tempe.
Flagstaff is cool and actually has a fall and winter.
An October road trip to Tucson for a volleyball game gives fans nothing they couldn't see in Tempe. Except for more trash and that odd and somewhat musky odor that defines Tucson. Oh yeah, and lots of dirt.
It's high time we forget the whole 100-year plus rivalry.
At the very least, go support ASU teams whenever they travel to Flagstaff. You might find the atmosphere a little more bearable and a little less ... well, like Tucson.
At least your ticket won't be going to the UA athletic department.
