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I just need to rant...

Started by rogersvillemohog, September 25, 2017, 12:33:16 am

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rogersvillemohog

I've tried to stay away from the message boards ever since Bret's first year, because I couldn't deal with the negativity. I continued to stay away because I just knew that I we would turn things around. Then Auburn happened last year. I tried to chalk it up to a long run of games without a bye and Gus just being an a-hole. As the next few games went on, it became very apparent that the problem was bigger than that.

I remember walking out of the game in Columbia, Missouri last November. I don't think I had ever been that upset about a game. I live in Missouri and I knew I'd have to hear about all the BS for the next year. But the point is, I had a fire in my stomach and I was pissed off. Things only got worse after the Belk Bowl.

Two weekends ago, things came to a head for me. Remember me saying I had never left a game so pissed off at Missouri? Well, the folks at the tailgate were in for a rough next hour as I carried on and on through my scraggly, ripped up voice. I wanted to complain about how there was no way TCU deserved to be on that field with us. I wanted to yell about the most pathetic Razorback Stadium crowd I had ever encountered (I did my job. I could barely talk for 3 days). Everything was frustrating from the crowd, to the new stadium food, all the way to the coaching. It was hot, I had been out in the sun all day, and my pre-game buzz had officially wore off.

Let's move on to yesterday. People had told me "If Arkansas loses the fan base will go from pissed to apathetic." I thought I wholeheartedly disagreed with that sentiment. But something happened to me when Austin threw that pick right in front of me. All of the passion, all of the hootin' and hollerin' that I had done for that game, the 5 hour drive, everything about the weekend just seemed to not matter. It was almost as if, with that single play, I turned into exactly what I had been railing against for all this time. It was like I didn't care. So, I did what I thought I'd never do and I picked up my red sport coat, made the long walk back to the car, and did the whole thing in silence.

I'm not sure if it was because I've watched that exact same thing happen year after year after year in Dallas, the cumulation of being 1-4 in our last 5 and losing the way that we have lost, or if it was that darned $15.4 mil. Listen, I think Bielema is a really solid dude but this just isn't working. I think the same thing about Jeff Long. I hope they go somewhere far, far, far away from Fayetteville and have success. But walking out of that stadium, I think truly for the first time ever in my life, my passion and drive and love for the Razorbacks was killed. I had to put on that ridiculous red sport coat and realize that no matter how much I moan and complain, there is an extremely high chance that Jeff Long will be at Arkansas for another year and Bielema will likely be here until next November. I guess I do have a little bit of care left in my, because that thought still makes me sick to my stomach. But what makes it churn worse is that the culture that we've created has come back to bite us in the butt. There's no booster big enough to put pressure on Jeff Long, there's nobody on the board of trustees that will hold Long accountable.

In these times, I try to remember the two things that I know Nolan would say... "I created a monster, and eventually that monster gets hungry and sometimes he'll eat you." I'm just trying to figure out if the monster is the fan base eating Jeff Long and Bielema, or if Bielema and Long are the monster eating the fan base. Nolan would also say "not all sickness is death." I'm not so sure about that saying this time. I need something good to happen to this program, because I feel like I'm stuck in Groundhog Day. "That first step's a doozy!"
Arkansas Football: It's the players running through the A, Hog Hats, and Big Red. It's more than 70,000 fans calling, "WOO PIG SOOIE!"

Arkansas Football: It's the State of Arkansas banding together behind one team, and a mascot like no other. Those select few who put on the jersey are... chosen. They wear the colors, they pay the price, and they succeed. They are exceptional, they are Razorbacks.

Together we stand as tall as the towers of Old Main. Our memories are etched in stone like names on Senior Walk. And our blood flows Razorbacks Red. For 100 years we've been Hogwild and today we continue the tradition.

We are Arkansas Razorbacks!

PygmalionEffect2

QuoteI'm just trying to figure out if the monster is the fan base eating Jeff Long and Bielema, or if Bielema and Long are the monster eating the fan base.

President Donald Trump, on "60 Minutes," Nov. 13, 2016
"Facebook and Twitter were the reason we won this thing."

Hannity - This Nunes memo is going to make Watergate look like someone stole a candy bar.

 

sickboy


BigHog396

Quote from: rogersvillemohog on September 25, 2017, 12:33:16 am
I've tried to stay away from the message boards ever since Bret's first year, because I couldn't deal with the negativity. I continued to stay away because I just knew that I we would turn things around. Then Auburn happened last year. I tried to chalk it up to a long run of games without a bye and Gus just being an a-hole. As the next few games went on, it became very apparent that the problem was bigger than that.

I remember walking out of the game in Columbia, Missouri last November. I don't think I had ever been that upset about a game. I live in Missouri and I knew I'd have to hear about all the BS for the next year. But the point is, I had a fire in my stomach and I was pissed off. Things only got worse after the Belk Bowl.

Two weekends ago, things came to a head for me. Remember me saying I had never left a game so pissed off at Missouri? Well, the folks at the tailgate were in for a rough next hour as I carried on and on through my scraggly, ripped up voice. I wanted to complain about how there was no way TCU deserved to be on that field with us. I wanted to yell about the most pathetic Razorback Stadium crowd I had ever encountered (I did my job. I could barely talk for 3 days). Everything was frustrating from the crowd, to the new stadium food, all the way to the coaching. It was hot, I had been out in the sun all day, and my pre-game buzz had officially wore off.

Let's move on to yesterday. People had told me "If Arkansas loses the fan base will go from pissed to apathetic." I thought I wholeheartedly disagreed with that sentiment. But something happened to me when Austin threw that pick right in front of me. All of the passion, all of the hootin' and hollerin' that I had done for that game, the 5 hour drive, everything about the weekend just seemed to not matter. It was almost as if, with that single play, I turned into exactly what I had been railing against for all this time. It was like I didn't care. So, I did what I thought I'd never do and I picked up my red sport coat, made the long walk back to the car, and did the whole thing in silence.

I'm not sure if it was because I've watched that exact same thing happen year after year after year in Dallas, the cumulation of being 1-4 in our last 5 and losing the way that we have lost, or if it was that darned $15.4 mil. Listen, I think Bielema is a really solid dude but this just isn't working. I think the same thing about Jeff Long. I hope they go somewhere far, far, far away from Fayetteville and have success. But walking out of that stadium, I think truly for the first time ever in my life, my passion and drive and love for the Razorbacks was killed. I had to put on that ridiculous red sport coat and realize that no matter how much I moan and complain, there is an extremely high chance that Jeff Long will be at Arkansas for another year and Bielema will likely be here until next November. I guess I do have a little bit of care left in my, because that thought still makes me sick to my stomach. But what makes it churn worse is that the culture that we've created has come back to bite us in the butt. There's no booster big enough to put pressure on Jeff Long, there's nobody on the board of trustees that will hold Long accountable.

In these times, I try to remember the two things that I know Nolan would say... "I created a monster, and eventually that monster gets hungry and sometimes he'll eat you." I'm just trying to figure out if the monster is the fan base eating Jeff Long and Bielema, or if Bielema and Long are the monster eating the fan base. Nolan would also say "not all sickness is death." I'm not so sure about that saying this time. I need something good to happen to this program, because I feel like I'm stuck in Groundhog Day. "That first step's a doozy!"
Love it... and more and more of the fan base is getting this attitude.

I dropped my season tickets for the first time in a decade, because of what I saw on the field at the end of last year.  The last time I did that was for HDN's last season.  There comes a point where the money, time, and energy invested is no longer worth the frustration that you KNOW without any doubt, is coming on the field.

I said hiring CBB was a huge mistake when it was announced.  You can't beat the Alabama's and LSU's of the world at their own game, when you can't get recruits at the same level as what they can get.  Even though I knew it was a huge mistake, I knew we were going to be stuck with CBB for years, so I was willing to give him a shot.

I was still fairly supportive until the last few games of the year last year.  We had seen relatively consistent improvements before that, and the Alabama's and LSU's of the world are leaving the old-school pound you in the dirt football that made them as dominant as they were.  I figured if they were going to leave that style of play, and we were the only one's really trying to play it, we might have a chance... then Mizzou and VTech happened.

It has been glaringly obvious where our weaknesses have been throughout the CBB era.  Recruiting has not been at the level needed to be to try to play this style.  The king of OL coaches (at least that's what we were told when he was hired) can't put together an OLine that would be competitive in the FCS division.  We are starting a true FR walk-on, a true Soph that was a walk-on, and a converted DLineman.  How the hell does that happen?  Sixty percent of our OLine was not recruited/given a scholarship to play OLine.  I love how CBB dismissed losing Pittman as no big deal, and said he could be replaced with ease.  That might have been the case had CBB gone after any OLine coach with any experience, rather than going out and hiring himself a drinking buddy that apparently cannot coach the OLine, and won't recruit for the OLine.

I could go on and on about the lack of WR's, how pathetic our D has looked, the complete lack of fundamentals that has killed us on every big play they have given up, the absolute joke that our special teams have been for years, etc, etc, etc... but the results on the field speak for themselves.

We have given up large leads in 3 of our last 4 losses.  We have seen a team that shows no heart, and a coaching staff that shows no sense of urgency.  We have lost 4 of our last 5 games, none of which were against the top half of the SEC, with 2 of them coming against teams in absolute turmoil.

Everything points to massive coaching problems, that all start at the top.  The lack of discipline, the lack of talent, the lack of fundamentals... it's all there.  It has become more and more obvious over the last 5 or 6 games, and it's time to cut our losses.  At this point, I don't know what we could really do to turn it around.  We have an administration that has proven that winning does not matter to them, and there's not another Petrino sitting out there for us to go get.  I'm afraid we are going to have to go find an up-and-comer, and just hope that we can catch lightning in a bottle.