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With 24 days left until the college football season begins, we focus on an important tradition that spans time, space, and the index and middle fingers: the pitchfork hand gesture. A real shocker, right?
The pitchfork has recently replaced Sparky on our helmets as the main logo for Arizona State. More and more college fans across the nation have grown aware of our brand and what the pitchfork really means.
Long used by Sun Devil aficionados to signal their passion for ASU, the pitchfork hand gesture has been around for a while. I could bore you with a history lesson, but don't pictures paint a broader brush for the permeation of the pitchfork into Arizona State culture?
Sure, Brock Osweiler giving U of A fans the pitchfork is right below us. But don't you want to look back at our 2007 cheerleaders instead? I thought so.
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The pitchfork is infamous. Partially because people tend to incorrectly label it as the "shocker." Several poorly-informed news agencies claimed that George W. Bush was making a "shocker" hand gesture when he was really just doin' the pitchfork with the ASU track and field team in 2008 (see the image on the right side).
I enjoy the mock outrage on the internet every time the pitchfork is publicized in one way or the other. No, it's not a sexual reference. Yes, the pitchfork predates the shocker. Yes, ASU is a great school for allowing us to have this conversation.
When I see an ASU fan in DC, I throw up the pitchfork and give them a shout. They always send it right back.
What's your favorite pitchfork memory?
See the previous entries on House of Sparky's 100 day countdown here
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