As Sam Keller and Matt Leinart strapped on padding in the locker rooms of Sun Devil Stadium, Michael Wittas was suiting up for a different kind of battle.
A battle of the marching bands.
Wittas, an ASU senior and trumpet squad leader, dawned his thick maroon and gold overcoat for what was one of the biggest home sporting events for ASU in the past decade.
"It's funny because I'm not that big of a sports fan, but I love getting out there and promoting the Sun Devils," Wittas said, as he shaded himself from Saturday's morning sun.
Not only did USC's visit to Tempe bring ABC and the national spotlight, but it also carried with it the self-proclaimed "greatest marching band in the history of the universe," in the USC Trojan marching band.
Granted, the Trojan marching band has been around for 125 years and has a list of accolades that includes 28 Rose Bowls, three Super Bowls and an Academy Awards show.
In 2004, the band even played with OutKast during the Grammy Awards.
Before the game, ASU marching band director Martin Province said that his students were prepared to focus on the music instead of the visiting band.
"One thing I like about our students is that they understand the difference between hype and other things, and they're going to go out and give the fans something to enjoy," Province said.
The ASU marching band has its own storied history, beginning in 1915 at the Arizona Normal School when it was dubbed the Tempe Bulldogs marching band.
The band was renamed in 1947 when the Sun Devil became the official mascot.
ASU has also played around the world, including performances at the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. In 1991, the Sun Devil marching band became only the 10th school and the first Pac-10 band to receive the Sudler Trophy award, which is given annually by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
Province said that its proximity to the coast might be why the Trojan marching band seems to get all the attention.
"It's just like anything else, they're on the West Coast, and when you live on either coast you get more attention," he said.
The Trojan marching band refused to comment on its self-purported greatness.
Senior drum major Tim Rall has been with the Sun Devil marching band for four years. He said he was confident his band compared favorably to USC's.
"A lot of people have been talking about the USC band this week, but we've been here for a while, and we do a new show every week," Rall said.
Reach the reporter at michael.fowler@asu.edu.
