Is this the start of something special for ASU Football?

From the airport lounge getting ready to board my flight to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.

I was at a couple of dinner parties in the last week and the question of, “is it sustainable for Arizona State football?”, was front and center of the conversations. In most cases the people asking were alums, who are busy living their lives with ASU as something near and dear to them when it’s convenient(winning). Used to be I’d rant about things like the fans doing the wave while the Diamondbacks had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th, down a run to the Dodgers(true story), but as I’ve gone through the years of parenting, business, relationships, I find that getting into people just because a stadium isn’t sold out is not being in touch with reality. Missing family events to watch a mediocre product doesn’t make ANY sense. I give you this as a backdrop to my response to the dinner party question.
To those who asked, I simply said, “you bring up the 97 Rose Bowl team like it happened yesterday, going 25+ years without big success isn’t acceptable”. When you have a riverboat gambler as a head coach(which I like), there will be times where it doesn’t work out. I’m hopeful that if it’s the first quarter vs Texas and a 4th and 1 from ASU 35 is presented to the head coach, that he will punt the ball.
Is it a given that 2025 will once again be termed a “magical season”. Gotta get rid of the magic and EXPECT that the athletic department and central campus are doing everything needed for success. I still have my doubts that everyone is on the same page (especially from central campus), when it comes to a becoming a national power. Speaking victory is one thing, acting like a blue-blood, must-see national brand is completely another. Keeping Dillingham and his staff will be difficult. Winning brings wandering eyes and bigger challenges. No one can convince me that the president of the university will step forward and do everything in his power to keep the head coach in Tempe for many years. Also, look to the south and see how quickly tides can turn.
I am curious about the grit of the fan-base. If the Sun Devils win 8 is it a successful season worth supporting? I don’t know. No one knows. Having a few thousand at the spring game should be thing of the past. Having several open tables at the coaches radio show the week of the Kansas State game should not happen.
I’ve seen and heard more than enough from football staff to know that they have something special in the works, but when I hear that raising funds for NIL is still not on par with the Ohio States and Michigan’s, well, I just have to wonder if it ever will be under this president.
Dinner party conversations should be pleasant and non-controversial. While I explained my “we shall see” stance, some just wanted to hear “Go Devils”. Neither one of us is wrong…