Could the Sun Devils’ Territorial Cup guarantee backfire? History says it’s possible

Arizona Wildcats linebacker Ray Elzey and Arizona State tackle Johnny Baklarz happened to be coworkers at a Tempe butcher shop one summer.

During one of their shifts, Elzey just couldn’t resist sending some Territorial Cup trash talk Baklarz’s way.

“To make a long story short, I told him we were going to run his team right out of the stadium this year,” Elzey said.

When they met on the field a few months later, Elzey quickly noticed he was being singled out for punishment by Baklarz and his teammates.

“I guess he remembered what I said, and he went back and told his coach, and he put it on their bulletin board for the whole season,” Elzey said.

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard Elzey’s story: His confrontation with Baklarz happened 73 years ago.

The favored Wildcats left Tempe with a 23-0 victory in that 1942 Territorial Cup game — but Elzey, who went on to serve in World War II, learned an important lesson.

“Never encourage an underdog,” he said. “I learned my lesson well while in the Navy, because they had a slogan: Loose lips sink ships.”

To be sure, Tuesday’s statement by three ASU seniors — quarterback Mike Bercovici, tailback D.J. Foster and safety Jordan Simone — doesn’t match the audacity of Elzey’s remarks.

By promising to conduct themselves as champions on and off the field, the trio simply sought to generate some excitement for the upcoming season. With the Sun Devil basketball team coming off a surprising upset of the No. 6 Wildcats, the timing could not have been more perfect.

But the most notable comment made in that mission statement was the very last sentence, and it came in the form of a bold guarantee:

One last note: The Territorial Cup will return to Tempe this year.

The message to fans in that final sentence was simple: “We get it. Losing to that school down south is unacceptable. It won’t happen again. We’re going to make things right this season.”

There’s nothing inflammatory there. That final remark, along with the overall message, was perfectly respectful and responsible.

But here’s another guarantee: The Territorial Cup prediction that Bercovici and Co. conspicuously attached to the end of their mission statement will make its way through the Wildcat locker room early and often this year.

Of course, many players and coaches, not to mention most journalists, scoff at the idea that bulletin-board material actually makes a difference on the field. Nonetheless, comments similar to the guarantee made by the three ASU seniors are often used to help light a fire under a team — and according to some with experience in this particular rivalry, it works.