By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devil game days are big deals at the Stewart household, but they require patience. The boys, Noah (8) and Eli (6), normally have flag football or soccer games in Chandler in the morning, so the family can't start putting on its game faces until the afternoon.
The early afternoon.
"The boys are always super excited when they know we're going to an ASU football game," said Holly Stewart (nee Azevedo) said. "They like those eye black stickers that have a pitchfork on them. They start putting them on five or six hours before the game starts and it slowly builds from there."
Time will tell what fruits come from their labor, but Holly, a former ASU soccer player, and Riccardo, a former ASU football player, are doing their best to raise the next generation of Sun Devils through full immersion in the diverse ASU experience.
You could say the Stewarts are the ultimate Sun Devil family.
Riccardo, a four-year starter (2001-2004) and three-time All-Pac-10 honoree at safety, is now the lead pastor at Redemption Church in Tempe. After graduating, he worked in the ASU admissions office and later served as the football team chaplain for the first three seasons of Todd Graham's tenure as coach.
Holly, an Academic All-American defender from 2003-2004 (after transferring from Santa Clara), graduated last month from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. She was elected to the editorial board of the Arizona State Law Journal (law review), she received her juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, and she was elected to the Order of the Coif, the equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa for law graduates. Holly was also president of the Christian Law Society during her final year.
Not to be outdone, the boys appeared in this heartwarming, "Ignite The Power Within" commercial for the 2016 football team.
"About this time last year we got an email just saying they were looking for two kids for the commercial and they thought the boys would be great," Riccardo said. "People had seen us with the boys because we go to practice. We're always around. We go to football games, basketball games, baseball games, softball games…
"My boys were super into the commercial and it was hilarious to watch. They were naturals. The people that know them knew it wasn't acting. That was just them being them."
Holly, Riccardo, Noah and Eli live near Sun Devil Stadium so they like to ride their bikes to football games, meet up with friends and other members of Sun Devil Nation at Parking Structure 5 to start the tailgating tradition that precedes kickoff. When the cheerleaders come by, Noah and Eli never miss a chance to take photos with them.
The Stewarts attend every home game and one out-of-state game per year (Washington last season; Stanford this season), so they have built up a collection of memories. Because home games normally kick off a shade after 7 p.m. to beat the heat, Eli often falls asleep in Holly's lap around the fourth quarter, but in 2014, a photo captured his expression when the Sun Devils lost to Arizona in Tucson, missing out on a chance to win the Pac-12 South title.
"Eli's in Holly's lap wearing his Will Sutton jersey and the saddest face in the world," Riccardo said, laughing. "He doesn't really know what's going on, but Noah was super sad because he gets into games so Eli was sad, too.
"Eli asks Noah what happened and Noah tells him ASU lost. Eli says: 'Did UA lose, too?'"
Holly is currently studying for the Arizona bar exam, which she will take in July. The couple, which met at ASU, will celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary with a trip to western Europe after the exam, and Holly already has a job lined up with regional law firm Ryley Carlock & Applewhite upon their return.
"It was something I had always considered doing as an undergrad but between school and soccer, I was so exhausted that I was ready for a new chapter with a family so I decided not to pursue it right away," she said. "I've always had a passion for justice and to serve our community and we decided the time was right."
Holly and Riccardo had long discussions about the time she would have to devote to school, and what it would mean for the family, but they agreed it would be a positive.
"The boys were ready to handle her being in something as intense as law school but she was still present here, being a great mom and a great wife," Riccardo said. "It changes the dynamics of the family but in a good way. From my perspective, I think it's good for them to see her going to school and not just as a lawyer. It shows them how hard you have to work for something and their mom becomes a role model in a different way."
Holly and Riccardo don't know if the boys' ASU roots will lead them to follow in their parents footsteps, but they have a good head start on loyalty building. Aside from Sutton, the boys developed a relationship with Sun Devil greats D.J. Foster and Jaelen Strong. The ties that bind will only grow with each passing year.
"Both of us had really positive experiences at ASU," Holly said. "By nature of that experience and enjoying our time here, we feel a certain allegiance and tie to ASU. Nothing could intervene or stop that now."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devil game days are big deals at the Stewart household, but they require patience. The boys, Noah (8) and Eli (6), normally have flag football or soccer games in Chandler in the morning, so the family can't start putting on its game faces until the afternoon.
The early afternoon.
"The boys are always super excited when they know we're going to an ASU football game," said Holly Stewart (nee Azevedo) said. "They like those eye black stickers that have a pitchfork on them. They start putting them on five or six hours before the game starts and it slowly builds from there."
Time will tell what fruits come from their labor, but Holly, a former ASU soccer player, and Riccardo, a former ASU football player, are doing their best to raise the next generation of Sun Devils through full immersion in the diverse ASU experience.
You could say the Stewarts are the ultimate Sun Devil family.
Riccardo, a four-year starter (2001-2004) and three-time All-Pac-10 honoree at safety, is now the lead pastor at Redemption Church in Tempe. After graduating, he worked in the ASU admissions office and later served as the football team chaplain for the first three seasons of Todd Graham's tenure as coach.
Holly, an Academic All-American defender from 2003-2004 (after transferring from Santa Clara), graduated last month from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. She was elected to the editorial board of the Arizona State Law Journal (law review), she received her juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, and she was elected to the Order of the Coif, the equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa for law graduates. Holly was also president of the Christian Law Society during her final year.
Not to be outdone, the boys appeared in this heartwarming, "Ignite The Power Within" commercial for the 2016 football team.
"About this time last year we got an email just saying they were looking for two kids for the commercial and they thought the boys would be great," Riccardo said. "People had seen us with the boys because we go to practice. We're always around. We go to football games, basketball games, baseball games, softball games…
"My boys were super into the commercial and it was hilarious to watch. They were naturals. The people that know them knew it wasn't acting. That was just them being them."
Holly, Riccardo, Noah and Eli live near Sun Devil Stadium so they like to ride their bikes to football games, meet up with friends and other members of Sun Devil Nation at Parking Structure 5 to start the tailgating tradition that precedes kickoff. When the cheerleaders come by, Noah and Eli never miss a chance to take photos with them.
The Stewarts attend every home game and one out-of-state game per year (Washington last season; Stanford this season), so they have built up a collection of memories. Because home games normally kick off a shade after 7 p.m. to beat the heat, Eli often falls asleep in Holly's lap around the fourth quarter, but in 2014, a photo captured his expression when the Sun Devils lost to Arizona in Tucson, missing out on a chance to win the Pac-12 South title.
"Eli's in Holly's lap wearing his Will Sutton jersey and the saddest face in the world," Riccardo said, laughing. "He doesn't really know what's going on, but Noah was super sad because he gets into games so Eli was sad, too.
"Eli asks Noah what happened and Noah tells him ASU lost. Eli says: 'Did UA lose, too?'"
Holly is currently studying for the Arizona bar exam, which she will take in July. The couple, which met at ASU, will celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary with a trip to western Europe after the exam, and Holly already has a job lined up with regional law firm Ryley Carlock & Applewhite upon their return.
"It was something I had always considered doing as an undergrad but between school and soccer, I was so exhausted that I was ready for a new chapter with a family so I decided not to pursue it right away," she said. "I've always had a passion for justice and to serve our community and we decided the time was right."
Holly and Riccardo had long discussions about the time she would have to devote to school, and what it would mean for the family, but they agreed it would be a positive.
"The boys were ready to handle her being in something as intense as law school but she was still present here, being a great mom and a great wife," Riccardo said. "It changes the dynamics of the family but in a good way. From my perspective, I think it's good for them to see her going to school and not just as a lawyer. It shows them how hard you have to work for something and their mom becomes a role model in a different way."
Holly and Riccardo don't know if the boys' ASU roots will lead them to follow in their parents footsteps, but they have a good head start on loyalty building. Aside from Sutton, the boys developed a relationship with Sun Devil greats D.J. Foster and Jaelen Strong. The ties that bind will only grow with each passing year.
"Both of us had really positive experiences at ASU," Holly said. "By nature of that experience and enjoying our time here, we feel a certain allegiance and tie to ASU. Nothing could intervene or stop that now."