TEMPE, Ariz. “”mdash; At Arizona State football games, the sea of
red in the bleachers of Sun Devil Stadium signifies the thousands
of Sun Devil fans showing up to cheer for their historically decent
team.
On Saturday, the sea of red at Wells Fargo Arena was a snapshot
of all the empty seats, as fans stubbornly refused to show up
despite the fact that ASU has one of the best teams in the
Pac-10.
“We have to keep winning,” said ASU center Ike
Diogu. “No one wants to come if we lose. If we keep winning,
word will start to spread and we’ll get more fans.”
Saturday’s game against UCLA drew just 9,242 spectators in
an arena that seats 14,088.
Perhaps even more troubling for Arizona State was the sparsely
populated student section. In a school of 42,000, the athletic
department only sold 2,000 student tickets for this season even
though season tickets cost $25. And only about 1,000 to 1,500
students show up for the games.
“We are more of a party school than a jock school,”
said Patrick Hennessey, a freshman at ASU who went to
Saturday’s game. “Sports takes a back seat to the
social atmosphere.”
Arizona State isn’t considered a traditional basketball
powerhouse. In the past 21 years, the Sun Devils have only two NCAA
tournament appearances, and haven’t won the Pac-10 since
joining the conference in 1978.
In a town with pro teams in every major sport and great weather
allowing for year-round outdoor activity, if a team isn’t
competitive, the fans won’t show up.
“When people are disappointed, they go away in
droves,” said ASU coach Rob Evans. “But they come back
little by little. You have to continue to build the program and
they’ll come back.”
People are starting to take notice of Evans’ program.
After averaging just 6,737 fans during the team’s first eight
home games this season, they have averaged 9,691 over the past
four. They had a season-high 10,104 show up for Thursday
night’s game against USC, and have already sold out
Saturday’s rivalry game against No. 1 Arizona.
So far, the team is 4-1 in conference games at home. But they
have yet to host Arizona or Oregon, and the results against those
two quality teams will be an important factor in determining
ASU’s eventual NCAA tournament fate.
That is why, several ASU players said, having their fans
establishing a hostile atmosphere for opponents is crucial to the
team’s ultimate success.
“We need that home-court advantage,” said Sun Devil
guard Kyle Dodd. “We will get one on Saturday, but hopefully
we’ll get more people coming out.”