So, without further ado, here is Bacon Bits LXV.
I Am A Hog…It’s Who I Am
Volume LXV
June 24, 2007
The Great Divide.
Much is being made about the chasm that separates Razorback fans these days. It’s almost like moving to Alabama. Their state constitution requires that one declare as a Crimson Tide or Tiger fan within 14 days of closing on your new mobile home.
In Arkansas we’ve tweaked the rules a bit. The Razorbacks are the only game in town. With all due respect to my mascot-less distant cousins to the northeast, there is only one program in this state worth following. It has always been that way and always will be.
But not to be left out, we’ve created our own bubbling pool of controversy to keep up with the Joneses from other states. But before you dip your toe into this whirlpool I offer one piece of advice. Take a long, hard look and you’ll find the congregants of one side to be all darksiders, the other side to be all huggers. Make sure you figure out on which side you want to soak before you dive in.
You see, there’s no welcome wagon waiting for you if you if you don’t fully embrace one side or the other. But if you think you’ve made that darksider or hugger commitment, grab your nose and dive on in…the water’s fine.
In the middle of the pool is a growing vortex. Should you think the middle ground is fine let me warn you. The vortex is awfully powerful. You will be spun to one side or the other.
The danger of hanging out in the middle is great. If you dare tread water there you’ll find nobody really wants you. It is a mysterious trap of quicksand, and you are wrong if you think it safe.
Logic would lead one to believe that you can support the program and be desirous of a coaching change. It’s the common middle ground position that was safe in season’s past. It was a great place to be when Lou Holtz left. It was a safe bet when Ken Hatfield jetted to Clemson. It was the prevailing stance for Razorback fans during the demise of Jack Crowe and Danny Ford. But now? Now it will drown you faster than a USC post play.
Supporting the team and wanting a new coach are regularly shared positions for the vast majority of teams with a grumbling fanbase. But not here and not now. These are mutually exclusive positions that draw ire from both camps.
The huggers are scrambling so fast to defend the head coach that they can’t amicably discuss the x’s and o’s of our football team. Be careful to question the one-dimensional aspect of our offense. You’ll get splashed in the face with comments defending hundreds of text messages. Or better yet, somebody who has not one grain of insider knowledge of Mitch Mustain will assure you that it’s common knowledge that he was a trouble-maker and he worked with Gus to torpedo the team. Bah.
And if you face the darksider camp to tell them that your allegiance to Arkansas predicates an allegiance to the head coach just get ready. You’re about to get cannonballed with allegations of loving the coach more than the program. You will likely be accused of wanting to win at all costs.
And the ironies are amazing.
The left-wings of each group stand totally against their own cause.
Darksiders have been willing to drag a family through the mud to prove that the coach should be ousted. This lunatic fringe screams unfounded allegations of marital infidelity from the mountaintops and attacks the coach for his lack of integrity. Hmmm…
Wait just a minute there huggers. Your head coach has allowed one of his own to be eaten up by the other coaches. Remember “High School”? Remember him calling the media slaps, yet giving obvious favoritism to Rick Schaeffer, Chuck Barrett and Otis Kirk by allowing inside information and exclusive scripted interviews that cast a glow on the program? A glow brighter than the golden sheen from the “Boot” now permanently housed in the LSU trophy case? Remember an average career SEC record? Hmmm, again…
While I don’t pretend to be one who floats in the middle, it is fairly obvious to me that the outer fringe darksiders and huggers are dangerous to the program, dangerous to the coaches, dangerous to the players and dangerous to the fans.
It is time for some reunification. It is time for the fan base of Arkansas to come together to support the program, even if a large percentage of Razorback Nation desires a coaching change. The time has come to want to win football games. We are precariously close to having life-long fans root to lose because their hatred for our head coach is clouding the passion for the Razorbacks. That is sad.
Here’s one small example. I wanted Scott Inman to do the Razorback Play By Play. He didn’t get it. I didn’t care for Chuck Barrett as the choice but I do know one thing. He loves the same Arkansas Razorback team that I love. And because of this I offer my pledge of support to him. We will be going into many battles together and I look forward to hearing him call many touchdowns in the years to come.
I don’t like Houston Nutt as our head coach. But he, like Barrett, does love the same program I love. That makes us kindred spirits even when he runs smoke-draws on 3rd and 25.
It’s time to make the pool a safe place to be for all fans. We can all express our pleasure and displeasure with the coaching situation, but neither position makes us more of a fan than the other. Being an Arkansas Razorback is far more important than one coach…Houston Dale Nutt. And years from now the University of Arkansas will have a football team, Houston Nutt will not be coaching it, and a whole new division of fans will exist in support or opposition to him.
Just remember this. We may be dipping in different sides, but we are nonetheless in the same pool. At least we’re not in Alabama.
Bacon out…
