My two cents: Arizona, Arizona State caravans will take different roads
Arizona and Arizona State separately announced they will have spring caravans, visiting regional cities next month to generate support and help sell football tickets. You couldn’t get two more different approaches.
Arizona and its marquee coaches will visit Pinetop, Tempe, Green Valley and Yuma.
ASU’s athletic department leaders will visit Las Vegas; Yuma; Orange County, California; and two Phoenix suburbs. Tucson? No.
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Three years ago, Arizona’s planned visit to a Tempe sports bar was canceled when the restaurant owners became aware it might create some political damage to host the Wildcats.
Last year, the Sun Devils made their first Tucson stop in memory, but it didn’t go down well. The restaurant at which ASU boosters had a rally, El Saguarito, had been part of the UA food service at basketball and football games in 2014-15, and for a dozen years before that.
But after ASU’s caravan left Tucson, the UA and El Saguarito soon parted ways. As part of litigation in which El Saguarito asked for $110,000 in damages, documents stated that cancellation of the contract “may have” been hastened by ASU’s visit.
I chuckle at the use of the words “may have.”
