The ASU and Tempe piggies will be out in force for Fridays U of A vs ASU game shaking down people for trivil booze and drug related victimless crimes. Original Article Police patrols go up to greet UA DUI, criminal damage above normal for home football games by Brian Indrelunas published on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 About 80 police officers will be on hand as ASU hosts UA Friday for the rivalry football game, which has previously spurred a number of incidents, including an on-field brawl. Officers from the ASU and state departments of public safety will staff patrols scheduled before, during and after the game, said ASU spokeswoman Leah Hardesty. ASU DPS staffs its game-day patrols at the stadium in addition to its normal Tempe campus patrols, she added. "The patrol officers that cover Fridays and Saturdays on a regular basis, that doesn't change," Hardesty said. "What they do is put together a detail team specifically for the football game, and they handle any game-related incidents." Hardesty said the size of the game detail varies based on the size of the crowd expected to attend each football game. As of press time, about 65,000 tickets had been sold for Friday's game. The stadium seats just more than 71,000 people. "I think one of the bigger draws is it's around the holiday," said Mandy Tuitavuki, a social work graduate student. "Football is kind of synonymous with Thanksgiving." Billy McCall, a journalism freshman who has lived in Arizona all his life, said the rivalry between ASU and UA also boosts interest in the game. "It's considered the civil war of Arizona to many people, and it has such a history," McCall said. McCall, whose father is an ASU alumnus, remembered the 2001 matchup, when UA players celebrated their win by stomping on the midfield Sparky logo. That prompted an on-field brawl between Sun Devil and Wildcat players, The State Press reported at the time. Hardesty said no arrests resulted from the on-field fighting, and McCall said some people think the outcome of the game is about more than just football. "It's kind of silly to compare who's a better university by a football game, but that's what happens," McCall said. But Tuitavuki, who is originally from Washington, said the Northwest is home to similarly intense rivalries. "I think people just like to be competitive in general," she said. "I know it happens in Washington state and Oregon. They have the same civil wars over there." Even on home-game weekends this fall when ASU's rival did not come to town, daily police logs show an increase in criminal damage and DUI incidents on the ASU Tempe campus. An average of 4.8 criminal-damage incidents occurred this semester between Fridays and Sundays on home-game weekends, while the average number occurring on other weekends was three. The logs listed an average of 1.6 DUI incidents during home-game weekends. The average amount of DUI incidents listed during other weekends was 0.29. But the average number of other alcohol-related incidents changed little depending on whether or not the Sun Devils played at home. Incidents of drug and paraphernalia possession reportedly occurred slightly more often on weekends without an ASU football game. Tempe police did not have statistics comparing crime levels between weekends with and without football games, police spokesman Dan Masters said. Reach the reporter at brian.indrelunas@asu.edu.