Devils in Depth: Sports

“Devils in Depth” is a project that gets down to earth and captures the diversity of Arizona State’s student population. We engage in conversations with students in an effort to learn more about their passions and get a feel for who they really are. Then we ask them their thoughts on a central theme. This week’s theme is centered on people’s favorite sports.

Joey

“I just like how you can facilitate and you can constantly be moving and you’re never just standing still, at least you shouldn’t be. I never enjoyed baseball or any of those sports because I like doing something 24/7 and I like physical activity so, basketball seemed like a good fit for me.”

“Steph Curry is the athlete that I point to because I’ve modeled my play style from him and my mentality. I’ve worn his shoes for the past four years, I’ve been a big fan for a while.”

Rashaud

“When I was in high school I tried out to be on the basketball team but I never made it. I don’t know why I fell in love with basketball, everything was just pushing me towards basketball. I would always want to play with my friends. I would play a lot of street ball with them.”

“In basketball there’s many routes you can take and tricks you can do, and so many ways you can get the basketball it the hoop. I can see that in acting as, there’s so many routes you can take and so many obstacles you can overcome just to get to the same goal. Basically like getting the basketball into the hoop, me taking a certain route of acting and getting to where I’m going to be. There’s just so many routes you can take for both.”

Ashley

“[Soccer] is a universal sport. Football’s fun, but pretty much an American thing. Baseball travels a little more than football, but soccer’s number one. Everyone knows soccer. It’s very aggressive, very emotional.”

“Soccer has taught me about just putting everything you have into what you want. It’s very goal-driven. It’s just a very passionate sport, it’s a “teamwork to make the dream work” thing.”

Elena

“I played tennis all throughout middle school and high school. It was really competitive, it taught [me] a lot about working with people if you play doubles.”

“I was a yoga instructor all last year, and that taught me a lot. Most people don’t see that as a sport, but it is a sport. You do a lot with your body. I’ve learned a lot of mindfulness practices from it, like holding space for someone — if someone is angering you in your life or they don’t want to be in your life at that point, just hold space for them and hold like a little section in your life for them, so if they do want to come back, they have the ability to.”

Kevin and Joseph

J: I’m into esports, I don’t have time to follow it super closely. I mostly follow league of legends because I play league of legends quite a bit.

K: A lot of smash bros melee and project M for those of you who play it. Shoutouts to Ilovebagels.

J: I think league of legends is so unique in the esports scene or in sports in general. The game that you can play by yourself is pretty similar to the game you see on broadcast and stuff. Obviously there’s the level of skill that’s different, but it’s the same map and the same champions. There’s a lot of things that you see and you can take from watching that professional level of play and apply it to your own game.

K: I Think it’s really interesting because one of the big things that is in some ways similar and same way different in sports versus esports, is the idea of putting yourselves in the shoes of the competitor. There’s a lot of people who watch football who do not play football, which is not to say they aren’t tying into this because at some point they played it in like their childhood, but it’s even more the case in games. You watch people play the game because you play the game.

Maddi

“I’ve played soccer all my life. It’s what made me happiest in high school.”

“[I learned] persistence, teamwork obviously. ‘When you get knocked down, get back up’ is what I learned the most.”