PHOENIX — Think Arizona State was bummed to play in a bowl game only eight miles from its campus?
The Sun Devils disagree.
“Sometimes we travel so much during the year it’s super-nice to just stay home,” said senior quarterback Mike Bercovici, whose team faces West Virginia in Saturday night’s Cactus Bowl.
Besides, the players aren’t technically at home. They’re experiencing the full-bowl treatment while staying at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass, where resort officials equipped a room with pool tables, pop-a-shot basketball, video games and Bercovici’s specialty, ping-pong.
“I think I’m 22-1 at ping-pong, with that loss in the dark,” he said. “I could’ve posted my victims’ names on Twitter, but it’s been pretty ugly for those guys.”
The game-room memories stand out as the essential takeaways for Bercovici, who has traveled to bowls in Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego and El Paso, but says there’s something special about this year’s neighborhood game.
“The biggest thing is just being with each other—that’s what makes a bowl,” he said. “You have a group of guys who love each other and know how to have fun in a room with four walls.”
For top receiver D.J. Foster, a high school hero in Scottsdale who stayed home to play for Arizona State, this will be his second game at the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field. He played there during the Semper Fidelis All-American game before coming to ASU.
“Me being a local kid, I was excited to be going back there,” said Foster, who also found some intrigue in facing West Virginia.
“I’m a college football fan, so I watch a lot of games. I’ve been a fan of West Virginia, seeing them play all the way back to Pat White and stuff.”