Throughout the course of this semester I’ve had the chance to meet with many ASU athletes and listen to their stories. I would then share those stories with readers of this blog. The Sun Devil athletes explained how they get up early every day to work out, what keeps them motivated through hours of practice and how they still manage to stay up late doing homework and studying for exams. I chose to meet with ASU sport clubs and teams that I felt didn’t get enough exposure. They work just as hard if not harder then any of the other athletes on campus so their stories are just as important.
I hope my blog has allowed readers to see this and maybe even influenced some people to try out or attend a sporting event of one of these teams. Most of the athletes on each club said they would love for new members to show up, even if they were already in the middle of the season. They talked about how easy it is to form a bond with team members and how the sport becomes a key part of your life, even if you are new to it.
Talk to anybody who writes in a sports department for a major newspaper and they will tell you that because of cutbacks, most sports reporters are sent to cover only the most popular teams. The argument could be made that they get too much coverage. So much coverage, in fact, that some athletes on these teams tend to despise and even snap at reporters when they encounter just one question they don’t want to answer. See Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson’s latest press conference.
In this blog, I also chose to break down ASU football games and upcoming matchups. It wasn’t a great season but it wasn’t terrible either. They came close to beating several ranked teams including Wisconsin, Oregon and Stanford. They also lost to USC by only one point (in the Coliseum, nonetheless). Because this young team has shown they can hang with some of the top teams, it’s safe to say that they have a promising future. Last week, ASU manhandled UCLA 55-34 in their last home game of the season. Regardless of how Thursday night’s matchup with U of A in Tucson (this post was written before the game) ends up, this team has provided fans with something the squads of the last two seasons have failed to offer much of….hope.
While it was fun watching the football games and sharing my analysis of the games, I take greater pride in my stories on ASU’s other sports teams. From the ASU bowling team to women’s rowing to men’s rugby, it truly has been a pleasure getting to meet and write about all these dedicated athletes.
