The pre-game banner has been a tradition for more than 30 years — designed and painted by Arizona State University's Student Alumni Association (SAA) and held up for Sparky to destroy at the game. It promotes student pride in the Sun Devils and takes a light-hearted jab at the opposing team.
SAA students meet the Wednesday before the each home game to decide what they will write on their banner. They hope the phrase will make ASU fans laugh but irritate the enemy, sarcastically caricaturing their mascot.
Members who dedicate the most time creating the banner get the honor of holding it on the field as Sparky rips through to signal the beginning of play. Next time you see the banner being unfurled in the southwest corner of the field, cheer on the SAA — and the Sun Devils!
More Sun Devil community
'Stories of the Street' aims to humanize Phoenix's unhoused residents
When Sreevarenya Jonnalagadda first volunteered at the André House homeless shelter, she wasn’t sure how to act. “I didn’t know what to do with my legs or my hands — I was just, like,…
Stellar student finds friendship is the best algorithm
They were two retired neighbors, dogs at heel as the evening sun slanted over Hayden Lawn, watching the students in the AZ Saber club swagger and spar with glowing lightsabers. Dave Mills and…
5 years young: Mirabella at ASU keeps redefining lifelong learning
Mirabella at ASU celebrated its fifth anniversary on Jan. 22 with a progressive dinner party for its nearly 400 residents, marking how far the university-based retirement community has come since…