"Stomp the Bus" is the name given to the entrance video played before every

Arizona State Sun Devils football The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University in the sport of American football. The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

game at

Sun Devil Stadium Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the southwestern United States, on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona. It is home to the ASU Sun Devils football team of the Pac-12 Conference. The s ...

. It was created in 2004 as a way to increase supporter participation and features a giant personification of

Sparky the Sun Devil Sparky the Sun Devil is the official mascot of Arizona State University. Originally the ASU athletic teams' mascot was an owl, then became a "Normal" (because ASU was founded as a normal school). It was later changed to a bulldog in an attempt t ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

's mascot, crushing the bus of the opposing team underfoot.

Video

The video starts with a solar flare from the Sun that launches towards Earth and lands in Arizona. A giant Sparky emerges from that flare. Sparky then walks across Arizona, passing known state landmarks such as the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

and Camp Tontozona before arriving in Tempe, where the university is located. The scene then cuts to a view of Sun Devil Stadium with a bus covered in the opposing team's colors and logo (which change depending on the game day opponent). The giant stomps the bus underfoot before stepping into the stadium and spiking his

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

into the field.

History

The original "Stomp the Bus" video was created in 2004 by True Story Films. The video became popular with ASU students and became a tradition prior to every Sun Devils home game. In 2011, "Stomp the Bus" was not played during the Sun Devils' season, which led to fans lamenting the apparent demise of this modern tradition. However the reason for the omission was that the video was being updated to improve the quality using new editing techniques and to include the student who played Sparky at the time. The playing of "Stomp the Bus" returned to Sun Devil Stadium the season after. The updated "Stomp the Bus" was well received and was the joint winner of the 2013

Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards The Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards are a division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Rocky Mountain Southwest chapter was founded in 1959, and is responsible for granting the Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards, awarding scholarships ...

for Best Editor – Short Form (Promos, PSAs, Commercials, Opens, etc.). In 2018, Sun Devils coach

Rob Likens Rob Likens (born September 5, 1967) is an American football coach who is currently the wide receivers coach at Southern Methodist University. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona State University. Likens ...

stated that he felt that seeing "Stomp the Bus" was so inspirational, he believed it might have had the effect of inspiring ASU's opposition.

References

{{Reflist Arizona State University Films set in Arizona Films shot in Arizona Films about giants 2004 films Arizona State Sun Devils football

External links

The "Stomp the Bus" film