Hello Hog fans!
My inaugural post, it's a beautiful thing... Here's the problem... I'm pissed off. On Wednesday night I went with my girlfriend to the Razorback basketball game and went quite early, lets say 6:15 for a 7:00 game, fully expecting that I would need to get there early to find a parking spot, because it wasn't Eastern Delaware St. for the blind we were playing, it was FREAKIN Oklahoma. So alas i find a spot, in the free section of course, and as we are walking to the game I am excited because I see people in red walking to the game with us and the cops are out directing traffic; it just feels like a real game and the Hog fans are out ready for some basketball!
Then came the reality: we give our tickets to the goofy, old, yellow-vested ushers and walked in. I immediately get goosebumps, as I do every time I walk in to Bud Walton, just as I did when I was a child going to watch my heroes, but it is different now. I feel strange. I see red, but the wrong red. I see the crap red of Oklahoma; a burning red that only signifies the freakin Sooners, and it pisses me off. I shrug it off as if it was bad luck and move on. We go to the concessions to get a drink and I try to not pay attention to fans around me, though I know the Sooners surround me. I decide to say nothing and go to my seats, and what do you know I sit in my season ticket seats and see...what? Three Oklahoma Sooner fans sitting next to me, and one of them happens to be a little kid who can't be 6-years-old and is shouting that Oklahoma is better than Arkansas. I curse to myself silently that I do not have a child to fight him...
As the game starts we show we are clearly better than them. Rotnei hits a 3 fighting off a pick from Delvon Johnson, then Jeff Peterson drives for a beautiful layup around Cade Davis and it's exciting. But here's my issue: I am literally surrounded by Oklahoma fans and it makes me sick. I here "Boomer Sooner," and "lets go OU," and I wanna puke. I must do a double-take to make sure the middle of the floor doesn't say Oklahoma. From the 16 and under timeout all I can think is: what the hell is wrong with HOG fans? Why am I and my girlfriend the only razorbacks I can see in my section? Why are Oklahoma fans, who lost the last game to Division II Chaminade, traveling 4 hours and showing better in Fayetteville than Fayetteville natives themselves? It's absolutely baffling to me... makes me sick. From there on I see basically a dominating performance from an undermanned Arkansas team. I mean, hell, Delvon Johnson is our only man bigger than 6'8" and he is showing big man skills, blocking shots, and making great post moves. We actually look good. Our pressure defense is good and we are running finally (something I haven't seen in years) and unfortunately, all I can hear is the bullshit from the OU fans behind me. We end up winning comfortably and I am happy. We did it, a big win on our floor and less than half of the fans to see it.
Everything I felt that night leads to this: Where are the HOG fans? Are we too excited about the prospects for the Sugar Bowl in football; are the students studying for finals (seems unlikely judging from experience); or do we just not care about basketball anymore? I remember the day we celebrated basketball like we do football... I am clearly not asking for that but how bout we give Pel and his pigs a little credit. We may not be great this year but we are improving and if anyone noticed we have the #4 recruiting class in the nation next year and things are looking good! Show up and support these guys for christ sake. Times will be better, and I don't know about you, but I would rather be the guy who supported them no matter what, than be the guy who jumped on the bandwagon when we win more than 15 games... I wanna be the guy who said "I told you so," rather than the guy who said "Who knew we were good?" It's time to celebrate your teams no matter the situation because we are a great university and we should act like it!!!
Go Hogs Go! And there is plenty more to come from the Real Razorback
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