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Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage calls out fair-weather fans

By Brenton Lillie

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After another disappointing loss in a disastrous season, Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage took out some frustration on Sun Devils fans.

With the score 35-0, and the Sun Devils inexcusably gifting the USC Trojans two touchdowns right before the half, the stands at Sun Devil stadium began to empty. Starting the season 2-1, but with a horrific loss to Texas A&M and two unimpressive paycheck games, Arizona State fans should have seen the loss coming.

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Nevertheless, fans are always optimistic about their team, and the seats were mostly full for the Pac-12 opener, until late in the second quarter after the aforementioned touchdowns. At that point, people left their seats in droves, hoping to escape traffic and get home in time to catch a better game.

Hard to blame anyone for not wanting to sit through the second half of a home blowout loss to a division rival, but running back Kalen Ballage apparently took exception to those who left early:

Those are indeed strong words, and while blaming the fans is quickly becoming a favorite past time of disappointing local teams, as Markieff Morris of the Phoenix Suns blamed the fans for a double-digit blowout home loss to the rival Spurs last season, I can understand Ballage’s frustration. His team stinks. His hopes of a championship season are mostly dashed. Things are unraveling fast for Ballage and his teammates. The fans leaving at halftime was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Ballage could no longer hold in his anger over this disaster of a season, and those fans were an easy target.

In some ways, I don’t blame him. 35-0 is bad, but it is not impossible to come back from. Teams have done it before. However, this is Phoenix, a transient town, and this is Arizona State, an inconsistent program without a strong loyal fan base.

This is Sun Devil Stadium, which while undergoing renovations, is one of the most antiquated buildings in the Pac-12. The backless, hard metal bleachers are something you expect at a high school football game. The restrooms are like a trip back in time, and this early in the season, even at night it is still rather warm outside. If the team is not winning, people cannot just hang out and enjoy the atmosphere.

Still, Ballage is a player who is playing for free, while plenty of other people in the organization make money. Those fans paid to come to the game, but Ballage is not going to see any of that money. There is something to be said about a player who is giving it everything he has simply because he loves football and not because he is making millions of dollars. In my opinion, an amateur athlete has a point in criticizing fans for not supporting him and his team. Ballage could have handled it better, but his point is sound, and he will not be reviled the way the Suns’ Morris was after his disgraceful comments.

He tried to clarify his comments after making the post.

“When you play this game you have so many emotions and I think you should or I don’t think you should play this game,” Ballage said, via Arizonasports.com. “You play with 10 other guys on the field and there’s a lot of different emotions. There’s ups and downs. Football is a roller coaster ride for 60 minutes.

“I love our Sun Devil fans and sometimes when we’re getting beat like that it’s hard for them to stay around, but we’re all a team and I think that they’re a part of this team.”

Hopefully the Sun Devils turn things around and the fans come out and support Ballage and his teammates. If not, there is no right answer as to whether Ballage is right to call out those who choose to leave early. Just a hope that fans and players understand each other, and understand this town.

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