LONDON – Third-year ASU London student Akosua Otchere didn’t know what she was signing up for when she claimed her ticket for the Union Jack Classic.
At first, she thought it might be a game of what Americans refer to as soccer. Rightfully so, given that football is the native sport for Brits. Otchere quickly learned that she would be experiencing a new type of football – one that involves tailgates, marching bands and college mascots, all of which she’s never seen before in England.
Otchere will be one of the many students who will receive their first taste of college football when they file into historic Wembley Stadium Saturday to watch Arizona State take on Kansas in a Big 12 matchup at 9 a.m. MST.
The university is offering free tickets to ASU London’s 320 students, who will sit together in a one-of-a-kind student section at the neutral-site international game.
“I’m ready to watch the game. I’m sure it’ll be fun,” Otchere said. “I know that there’s running and that there’s a ball that looks like a rugby ball, but it’s not an actual rugby ball. It’s going to be cool, a nice cultural shift.”
As a carry-over student from the Arizona State co-founded TEDI-London program, which is now part of the newly created ASU London school, this will be her first exposure to life as a Sun Devil – quite literally. She hadn’t seen the Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, and nearly fell out of her chair laughing in shock when she saw him.
“I don’t really know what to expect because I haven’t thought about America a lot,” Otchere said.
Attending the game with Otchere is second-year student Meralou Verde. She also hasn’t watched much football living in the U.K. – most of their background knowledge comes from American movies.
“I’m actually excited for the marching band,” Verde said. “I guess I’ll figure it (the rules) out as I go. I’ll do a quick Google search.”
First-year student Shelby Connell might be able to help.
She’s more versed in the college football landscape, especially when it comes to the Sun Devils. The Scottsdale Chaparral High School grad packed all the essentials before hopping on a plane to travel across the pond to her new school in England.
As someone who grew up in the shadow of the then-named Sun Devil Stadium, attending ASU football games since she was 3 years old, her bag was filled with maroon and gold paraphernalia to rep her school. She plans to teach her peers about the Sun Devil football traditions and chants, like how to make a forks-up hand sign, while also helping them gear up for the game.
“I brought a full suitcase full of stuff,” Connell said. “I have all the merch, face tattoos, beads and we’ve got multiple shirts, so we’re merching everyone up.”
While Connell might help some of her peers look the part of typical college students cheering on their school on a fall Saturday, helping them understand the action on the field is a more complicated task.
Though many of ASU London’s students aren’t first-year students, they’ll need to take a crash course on football 101 through their peers.
“We’ll have to hype everybody up and be like, ‘Come on, scream! This is when you scream,’” Connell said.
Some students aren’t new to American football, having watched the National Football League.
However, very few of them have experienced the full breadth of what college football has to offer.
Spurred on by his dad, who is a big fan of professional football, ASU London student Gustavo Alves watched an NFL game a few years ago, leaving MetLife Stadium, the home of the New York Jets, impressed by the passion of American fans.
“Back in Brazil, we have our teams that we support, but it’s not that deep,” said Alves, who grew up in Brazil and is now attending ASU London. “You guys are like, ‘If I’m born here, I’m going to support this college. I’m going to support this football team, this basketball team.’ I think that’s great. I love that.”
Graduate student Melih Civici is eager to experience a college football environment for the first time. While it likely won’t be able to replicate the scenes he’s seen on social media like the 100,000-plus sea of gold at Michigan’s Big House or a rowdy Death Valley crowd for a sold-out night game at LSU’s Tiger Stadium, Wembley isn’t a bad fill-in.
“The energy is so different from a normal (English) football game,” Civici said. “When I see the videos, it’s totally different. And seeing them and being able to go to it in person now is like a really cool opportunity.
“I can feel the energy before the game. So many people are so excited.”
James Wood, a Brophy College Preparatory grad, will help spearhead the charge of trying to channel the energy into recreating the zealous student sections he’s contributed to back in the States. The school’s limited size will require a collective effort on Saturday.
“I think we’re going to have to bring the student section to Wembley,” Wood said. “I don’t know if there’s going to be a lot of people, but we’re going to have a lot of passion, so that’s what’s important.”
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