Arizona State gave us a chance to believe again.
Sitting at the bar watching Ohio State blowout Oregon and next to me rolled up a Boise State fan.
I knew he was a Boise State fan because that was the first thing he said to me.
He asked who I was rooting for, I said I didn’t care, but one of my closest friends is a huge Buckeyes fan, so this is going his way, and we started to discuss things.
He was obviously upset about Boise State losing to Penn State at the Fiesta Bowl, but said it was one of those situations where you start to process it during the game.
That is the one thing about blowouts, or hell even what the Arizona Cardinals did this year, the hurt is gone.
Sure, we have some bitterness in us, but that is a different hurt than what happened to Arizona State.
We discussed how much that sucked, I told him I was only out tonight because my wife, a Notre Dame fan, had to wait 24 hours to cool off.
See, I can’t explain how, but my wife and mother-in-law were booked for Dallas for the National Semifinals. The money is back already, but the moment the chance of it happening is not.
That is the crazy thing about being a fan.
You care so much for one chance to get hurt.
I always talk about the Cardinals blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers, and how that was easier to get over as a fan than the Super Bowl.
In a blowout, there is no doubt. You can’t go back to individual situations and go… what if?
Yet, we would always want our team in the game like the Sun Devils yesterday, right?
Instead of the furious comeback that fell short, it would have been easier to be the team that didn’t belong… Boise State, Indiana… Oregon.
As opposed to wondering… What if? What if they don’t call a zero blitz on 4-13? What if the safety does his job?
What if the NCAA called actual targeting on an obvious call?
No, those are the moments we yearn for, but as Arizona sports fans… We know the reality is that it won’t be on our side.
But maybe the next one… right?