TEMPE, AZ — It was a big day for college football fans in the Valley as ASU football kicked off its season Saturday with a home opener game against Northern Arizona University.
“We got here about 3:30 p.m., Yup. Got to get an early start,” said Paul Orlando, an ASU fan.
“I’m really hoping that we can kind of keep the spark from last year going,” said Megan Connor.
Excitement from last season’s Sun Devil success on the field led to a sold-out home opener game against NAU. Many at the stadium were tailgating for the first time.
“If I only have so much to dedicate, let’s do it while they’re a really good product, right? It’s harder to justify doing all this when we’re only going to win two or three games,” said Dave Zajdzinski.
“Now we’re back and I hope everybody just stays activated for the Valley,” said Lisa Connor.
Meanwhile, Scottsdale Police have activated a DUI task force over Labor Day weekend working in conjunction with Arizona DPS and other East Valley agencies.
“It’s so easy to swallow your pride and just ask a friend, hey, do you mind being our designated driver for the day, we’re going to go out and have some and we don’t want to get arrested for DUI,” said Scottsdale Police Department Officer Alejandro Barron.
Police say DUI numbers typically spike during most major holidays, but they are not sure if it is because of more drinking or more enforcement.
Making it home safely should be just as important as seeing the Sun Devils make it.. far.
“Farther than last year. I’ll leave it at that. I don’t know how far, but farther than last year,” said Andrew Turner.
