One Fan’s View from Camp Tontozona
Our fan on the street offers an up-close-and-personal, first-hand account (and plenty of photos) of Arizona State’s scrimmage at Camp Tontozona.
Pads are popping as coaches bark out orders, fans are scattered where ever there’s a tiny scrap of flat land, and pint-sized Sun Devils of tomorrow are busy tossing rocks in the spring.
Must be Camp T.
There’s just something about all that maroon and gold set against a crisp, green backdrop at Camp Tontozona. It was a picture perfect Saturday for what is likely ASU’s final practice in the tall pines outside Payson. As Echo from the Buttes lamented last week, the team’s new practice bubble in Tempe likely spells the end of a wonderfully unique ASU tradition.
Since this was probably my last trip to Camp T, I took special care to soak in the sights and sounds of Saturday’s scrimmage.
From a football perspective, it wasn’t the most thrilling day. The offense struggled from the get-go, and the offensive line wasn’t exactly making the fans forget about the 55 sacks allowed last year. Yes, starting receivers Chris McGaha and Michael Jones were held out due to injuries, but even so, there were very few offensive fireworks. For all intents and purposes the defense looked good.
But much of the fun on scrimmage day at Camp T, takes place off the field. Little kids are everywhere, playing on the edge of the forest and being genuinely enthralled by a tiny little spring that empties into a pond.
There’s more and more dogs at camp every year. This beagle looks like he’s big enough to provide Rudy with some protection on the O-line.
Fans old, young and everywhere in between were decked out in every ASU garment imaginable. A few complained about the offense, and a few more (half) joked about making the trip to Pasadena in January. They all looked for some shade.
All in all, it was a great day at Camp Tontozona. But that green grass and those tall pines won’t be quite the same without some maroon and gold sprinkled in.
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