ASU Baseball In The College World Series: Do Valley Fans Care?

by Cory Williams on Jun 19, 2010 1:23 PM MST in ASU Baseball

Sports fans in Arizona are known for their fair-weather temperament. Heck, we're fair-weather everything - look at the way valley drivers react to rainstorms during monsoon season. Are we just apathetic towards mediocrity, or does it run deeper than that?

Arizona State University has some excellent sports programs, none of which are big moneymakers (football is awful, and basketball is only just starting to earn respect nationally). ASU may have one of the top 3 baseball programs in the nation, but it's hard to gauge whether or not Phoenix residents even know or care about the team.

With a stadium that holds less than 5,000 fans and television ratings very hard to come by, I can only guess at the actual fanbase of ASU baseball. My question: should the university be investing more money into its baseball team to bring allure to its most prestigious sport?

As far as I can tell, the baseball team is receiving a fair bit of media coverage right now. They are the only good news in Arizona sports at the moment (the Diamondbacks are abysmal and Steve Kerr leaving town really puts a damper on the great 2009-2010 season). Sure, the Coyotes are going to stay, but who cares.

ASU alumni should be wearing their maroon and gold with pride this weekend, making it clear to those around them that they are pulling for the Sun Devils to come home from Omaha with the title. Viewing parties should be set up by local bars and restaurants. Youth leagues should be motivated to watch the amateur game unfold at the highest level - ASU baseball

Packard Stadium needs to be renovated, and additional seats need to be added. If it means we have to endure a little more construction hassle on Rural and Rio Salado, so be it. The team deserves to be well-funded, well-supported and appreciated by the entire city, not just the diehards and the boosters.

In a town that supports a winner, ASU baseball should be the hottest ticket.

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I care about the Coyotes.

I understand we come from all over the place, but in the end, THIS is the spot on Earth we all call home.
I know times are tough right now and the almighty entertainment dollar is not going as far as it use to, but I would hope the home town teams would work together instead of trying to tear each other down. {steps off soap box}

As far as the rest of your points, I must say I agree 100%

Anyone who attempts to generate random numbers by deterministic means is, of course, living in a state of sin.

by unnamedDBacksfan on Jun 19, 2010 3:44 PM MST reply actions

I'm not really interested in Baseball but I'm glad they are doing well.

I think the Suns are the only team around here that doesn’t have a fair weather fanbase. I know that with the Cardinals people wanted to jump off the ledge after a single loss all the time during the last 2 years.

I’m mainly a Football fan and I have always rooted for the Cards, I like the Suns and the Coyotes [again, not much interest in Baseball, but I want the teams from here to win]. But I see the fair weather thing you mentioned all over the place. Just jumping back and forth to whichever team is winning.

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan [I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].

I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad. And don't switch to whichever team wins the Super Bowl each year.

by JoeCB1991 on Jun 20, 2010 12:26 AM MST reply actions

Fair weather, and proud of it

Hell yes, I’m fair weather. I don’t root for other teams but my interest in the teams I care about (ASU, Suns, Dbacks, Cardinals, Coyotes) ebbs and flows. Why? Because none of these teams have shown they care to do what it takes to consistently win – so why should I care?

The Dbacks management team are in way over their heads and a full-scale house-cleaning is the only thing that will bring that franchise back to respectability. Sarver (Suns owner) does not have the financial resources to play with the big boys in the NBA. The Suns have been in business for over 40 years and two NBA finals appearances to show for it. The Lakers have won five titles in the last eleven years. The Coyotes are the laughingstock of the NHL. When they finally have a good team they lose three home playoff games and get bounced in the first round. The decision to build the arena in Glendale was ridiculous. The Cardinals will always be suspect as long as the Bidwells are involved. Only 18 months removed from the Super Bowl it seems as if half the team is gone. And like the Coyotes, the decision to build the stadium in Glendale was ridiculous. Finally, we come to ASU. 30+ years in the Pac-10 and two Rose Bowls to show for it. In the last 25 years I’ve seen three losses in the Holiday Bowl and three losses in the Hawaii bowls. I’ve seen coaches and ADs come and go. I’ve seen the program become the most penalized in the history of the NCAA. I’ve seen once incredible facilties become middle-of-the-road.

And people wonder why there are so many fair-weather fans? Frankly, I’m amazed there aren’t more of them.

by sundevils on Jun 20, 2010 7:35 AM MST reply actions