My Visit with an Alabama Fan

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I'm not going to mention names or places, but in my daily travels I have contact with a lot of people and pretty doggone often, I run into someone who is a Hog fan that lives in the Tulsa or Oklahoma City areas.

Today I ran into a potential customer/decision maker who happened to be a Alabama fan. He had moved to this area several years ago from Alabama and had kept his allegiance to the Crimson Tide. As I normally do when I enter someones office I pay close attention to what is on the walls to help strike up a conversation and hopefully create a more personal relationship with them. I noticed all of the Alabama memorabilia in this guys office right away and I said, "gee, I don't know if we can do business or not", and of course, I grinned. He asked why and I told him that I was a Hog. A nice conversation about the SEC ensued and our mutual dislike of Auburn (I won points there). He said that he had attended a lot of Alabama games in RRS and thought it was a great place and that everyone over there had always been very nice to him when he attended, even in his Alabama gear.

Then he asked, where are we playing this year? I said, "Oh, we are in your house this year for your Homecoming Game". He looked shocked and said, "Homecoming?, I wonder if we really gave that enough thought?" "We don't need to be playing you guys for homecoming".

I'll be meeting with this guy again next week so I'll let you know if there are any updates. But folks, when you have Alabama fans on their heels, dreading to play you, you are doing something right. Woo Pig!

[Laughing Hog]

I'm not going to mention names or places, but in my daily travels I have contact with a lot of people and pretty doggone often, I run into someone who is a Hog fan that lives in the Tulsa or Oklahoma City areas.

Today I ran into a potential customer/decision maker who happened to be a Alabama fan. He had moved to this area several years ago from Alabama and had kept his allegiance to the Crimson Tide. As I normally do when I enter someones office I pay close attention to what is on the walls to help strike up a conversation and hopefully create a more personal relationship with them. I noticed all of the Alabama memorabilia in this guys office right away and I said, "gee, I don't know if we can do business or not", and of course, I grinned. He asked why and I told him that I was a Hog. A nice conversation about the SEC ensued and our mutual dislike of Auburn (I won points there). He said that he had attended a lot of Alabama games in RRS and thought it was a great place and that everyone over there had always been very nice to him when he attended, even in his Alabama gear.

Then he asked, where are we playing this year? I said, "Oh, we are in your house this year for your Homecoming Game". He looked shocked and said, "Homecoming?, I wonder if we really gave that enough thought?" "We don't need to be playing you guys for homecoming".

I'll be meeting with this guy again next week so I'll let you know if there are any updates. But folks, when you have Alabama fans on their heels, dreading to play you, you are doing something right. Woo Pig!

I have a friend / acquaintance / work buddy that is a huge gump fan. We have known each other for about 15+ yrs or so. Went over to Tuscaloosa and hung with his crew during Mallet's first year (I think that was the year) as well as at his house for the first 52 to arse kicking we got from them recently. Most of them that I've met through him seem to be reasonable and knowledgeable, confident, not cocky and their lives completely revolve around the team. When they are good, he knows it and will rib me as much as I rib him. When there may be a potential loss, he will say so. It sounds like you guys will get along and you should be able to make the sale.

[farmhawg]

Maybe he was working you to get a better price......😎

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I have a friend / acquaintance / work buddy that is a huge gump fan. We have known each other for about 15+ yrs or so. Went over to Tuscaloosa and hung with his crew during Mallet's first year (I think that was the year) as well as at his house for the first 52 to arse kicking we got from them recently. Most of them that I've met through him seem to be reasonable and knowledgeable, confident, not cocky and their lives completely revolve around the team. When they are good, he knows it and will rib me as much as I rib him. When there may be a potential loss, he will say so. It sounds like you guys will get along and you should be able to make the sale.

We'll see about the sale, but the important thing was, Alabama fans have come to respect, if not fear playing us. He couldn't believe that they had scheduled us for their homecoming, especially after scaring the crap out of them last year. I like it, fear the Hog!

[Laughing Hog]

We'll see about the sale, but the important thing was, Alabama fans have come to respect, if not fear playing us. He couldn't believe that they had scheduled us for their homecoming, especially after scaring the crap out of them last year. I like it, fear the Hog!

I understand. It's a great feeling after what we've been thru the last few years. It's time to start adding some W's to that feeling. Once we start beating them again, we will see a lot more respect from many more in the media, etc.

[B501]

Alabama fans have come to respect, if not fear playing us.

highly doubt they fear a team they havent lost to in nearly a decade - just saying.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

highly doubt they fear a team they havent lost to in nearly a decade - just saying.

As I said earlier this week, the players don't fear our team, but they are learning to respect our team and having to play them, and that says a lot. Fans tend to be the ones who "fear" and whether you want to believe it or not, there are Alabama fans who "fear" playing us and in this particular case, it had to do with us being their homecoming opponent. I think they were hoping for a "rent-a-win" for homecoming and their fans know that the outcome of their game with us, especially after last season, remains in doubt.

[bamapig]

I live in Huntsville Alabama so I am surrounded by bammers as well as being engaged to one. Believe me when I tell you everybody in this state wishes we weren't their homecoming opponent. I for one hope t-town is a sad and desolate place after the game!!! WPS!!

[Steef]

highly doubt they fear a team they havent lost to in nearly a decade - just saying.

Typically, you schedule a 'sure win' for homecoming. It's a bummer to lose that game.

This guy was implying we were no longer a sure win. That's all.

Not fear. Just respect. Which is a WHOLE lot more than we've gotten from them in recent memory.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Typically, you schedule a 'sure win' for homecoming. It's a bummer to lose that game.

This guy was implying we were no longer a sure win. That's all.

Not fear. Just respect. Which is a WHOLE lot more than we've gotten from them in recent memory.

Well now, that is IT in a nutshell. But let me tell you, what I saw and heard today was a combination of dread, fear and respect. He couldn't believe that we were scheduled for their homecoming game. "How could they do that?" was his response and something other, as mentioned above. He questioned the logic of Alabama for having allowed this to happen. I left him with a, "Woo Pig" as my parting comment and he responded with (of course) "Roll Tide". 

[Sir Oinksalot]

...I'm so sick of Bama fans being scared sheetless in fear of the Hogs, I'm BORED with it already...

[MuskogeeHogFan]

...I'm so sick of Bama fans being scared sheetless in fear of the Hogs, I'm BORED with it already...

Of course you are.

[reddogjcss]

I have some BAMA friends and they stated playing us for home coming was crazy. Said going to be a battle and did want home coming distractions for our game. They stated we barely beat u last year and Hogs should have one. They said we where only getting better and they had peaked.
They felt it was a very idea to play us for homecoming and hope we are not playing with a big chip on our shoulders because it is homecoming

[OLDHOG]

All I want from a Bama fan is what I give them, Respect. Thanks for posting.

[lumphog]

highly doubt they fear a team they havent lost to in nearly a decade - just saying.

You'd be WRONG....they FEAR the Hogs....It's coming and they KNOW IT

[Hawgzinbowlz]

You'd be WRONG....they FEAR the Hogs....It's coming and they KNOW IT

" WOO PIG "

[Locutus_of_Boar]

There are two possibilities here:

First the practical.  Assuming Bama's homecoming like most schools needs to fall in from late September to early November then the scheduling excludes Middle Tenn, Ole Miss, and Charlestown Southern.  That leaves ULM on September 26th which is still very early or Arkansas, Tennessee, or LSU.  Obviously they wouldn't risk the LSU game and probably don't want to give Butch Davis any more incentives.  Arkansas might be mildly irritated at the slight but Vols fans would go nuts.

So it comes down to ULM or Arkansas and Saban looking at Bama's schedule sees Arkansas sitting there between road trips to Athens and College Station and realizes he needs a motivating incentive for his own team by telling them Arkansas will be pissed at the thought of being the homecoming foe.

If Arkansas wins he can use that as a post game press conference tirade to blame the media for distracting his own players.  It certainly easier to explain losing to Arkansas than wht might happen if ULM repeats what they did in 2007.

[Hogarusa]

Alabama could schedule any team in the country for homecoming and feel confident that its a 'sure win.'

I would be much more confident about the Hogs chances if they weren't the homecoming opponent

[Vantage 8 dude]

While I don't doubt that SOME 'Bama fans have greater respect for the Hogs after last year, I seriously doubt that the vast majority are all that worried. Unfortunately saying one thing and really meaning it, as we know, are often poles apart. What we're going to have to do to really get their full attention and respect is to finally "kick the door in" and beat them on the field. Playing them close, while obvious progress, ain't going to cut it any longer!!

[MuskogeeHogFan]

While I don't doubt that SOME 'Bama fans have greater respect for the Hogs after last year, I seriously doubt that the vast majority are all that worried. Unfortunately saying one thing and really meaning it, as we know, are often poles apart. What we're going to have to do to really get their full attention and respect is to finally "kick the door in" and beat them on the field. Playing them close, while obvious progress, ain't going to cut it any longer!!

Last year was a "wake up call" for some of their fans, but I am pretty sure that most think it was just one year and they escaped and that they will be getting back to business as usual this year. I don't think that is the case, but I am pretty sure that most of them probably feel that way.

[WizardofhOgZ]

Maybe he was working you to get a better price......😎

My first thought as well . . . lol

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Maybe he was working you to get a better price......😎

Ha! He's going to get that anyway.

[MJ2]

Been said several times before, but we (AR) are way down Alabama's list of concerns.   They generally look at their schedule preseason and mark it down as a W, the way we always look at MSU and put a W.

[Pigsknuckles]

Been through several cycles of RRS Bama games and the tailgate meetings with traveling Bama fans. Never observed any behavior but that of courtesy and respect from those fans. All fan bases have their lunatic fringe, but it's been my experience that the majority of those who are willing to travel several hundred miles to support their team usually maintain a classy countenance.

[Vantage 8 dude]

There are two possibilities here:

First the practical.  Assuming Bama's homecoming like most schools needs to fall in from late September to early November then the scheduling excludes Middle Tenn, Ole Miss, and Charlestown Southern.  That leaves ULM on September 26th which is still very early or Arkansas, Tennessee, or LSU.  Obviously they wouldn't risk the LSU game and probably don't want to give Butch Davis any more incentives.  Arkansas might be mildly irritated at the slight but Vols fans would go nuts.

So it comes down to ULM or Arkansas and Saban looking at Bama's schedule sees Arkansas sitting there between road trips to Athens and College Station and realizes he needs a motivating incentive for his own team by telling them Arkansas will be pissed at the thought of being the homecoming foe.

If Arkansas wins he can use that as a post game press conference tirade to blame the media for distracting his own players.  It certainly easier to explain losing to Arkansas than wht might happen if ULM repeats what they did in 2007.

What Did I miss something? When did Butch Davis begin coaching a team that's going to be on 'Bama's '15 schedule? I'm obviously behind the times.

[NaturalStateReb]

My visit with a Bama fan:

"Want fries with that?"

[East TN HAWG]

My visit with a Bama fan:

"Want fries with that?"

Do you work at Burger King or McDonalds?  LOL

[jmark]

i think its a storm that's been brewing since coach B got here.

Before coach B got here Arkansas had a ridiculous football the program. (sorry, i don't want to hear all the crap about how "great" Petrino was ) We were looked at (and still today) as an irrational fan base that was supporting a football program that was not as good as we proclaimed.

Today the Razorback Football Program is back on track to kick some sec *ss.  fans are lucky to have CBB.  and as it turned out AD JL has become a good ambassador for the Hogs.  national respect is coming.  JL and CCB have earned this respect for us.  that's something to be very proud and excited about. 

CBB once said at the time when the team hadn't won sec game,  "once we start winning, the wins will come in bunches".

We're coming for that SEC Championship and National Title.

Woo Pig!

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Been through several cycles of RRS Bama games and the tailgate meetings with traveling Bama fans. Never observed any behavior but that of courtesy and respect from those fans. All fan bases have their lunatic fringe, but it's been my experience that the majority of those who are willing to travel several hundred miles to support their team usually maintain a classy countenance.

I agree that most visiting fans that I have met at home games have been amiable, very nice people. Classy fans. Of course everyone with any sense at all are going to be this way when visiting an opponents home venue. I'm not saying that they all have "good sense" because there are always "those few". But overall, I have found most visiting fans to be very cordial.

[JansterZ71]

My visit with an Alabama fan:

Thanks for the pizza! Now get me off my lawn!

[Doug]

My visit with an Alabama fan:

Thanks for the pizza! Now get me off my lawn!

"Now get me off my lawn"?!

Might want to proof that before talking smack.

[SamBuckhart]

Good luck with the sale. I was a sales mangler for 30+ years. Hope you make grand theft profit off of him. Haha. Wooo Pig!

[Inhogswetrust]

Good luck with the sale. I was a sales mangler for 30+ years. Hope you make grand theft profit off of him. Haha. Wooo Pig!

All sales people have mangled sales at one time...........usually a lot of times.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

All sales people have mangled sales at one time………..usually a lot of times.

I just hope we "mangle" Alabama.

[The NewEra]

We'll see about the sale, but the important thing was, Alabama fans have come to respect, if not fear playing us. He couldn't believe that they had scheduled us for their homecoming, especially after scaring the crap out of them last year. I like it, fear the Hog!

I remember the Petrino team playing them at Tuscaloosa when I thought we had a great chance to win that game.  One hit on our small receivers by Hightower and you could all of the steam going out of our team.  Having a big, tough and physical group of players makes us a formidable foe.  A finesse team doesn't work well against a tough SEC football club. 

[The NewEra]

Been said several times before, but we (AR) are way down Alabama's list of concerns.   They generally look at their schedule preseason and mark it down as a W, the way we always look at MSU and put a W.

I hope they do discount us the way you think they will.

[JansterZ71]

"Now get me off my lawn"?!

Might want to proof that before talking smack.

Haha yes yes I should, but seriously,  majority of Alabama fans are EBT hard carrying white trash.

[ricepig]

Haha yes yes I should, but seriously,  majority of Alabama fans are EBT hard carrying white trash.

Only a Barner, or maybe an Aggie would know if they were "hard."

[LJHOG]

Once we start beating them again

what you mean, again??

[Country Stylz]

I'm not going to mention names or places, but in my daily travels I have contact with a lot of people and pretty doggone often, I run into someone who is a Hog fan that lives in the Tulsa or Oklahoma City areas.
Today I ran into a potential customer/decision maker who happened to be a Alabama fan. He had moved to this area several years ago from Alabama and had kept his allegiance to the Crimson Tide. As I normally do when I enter someones office I pay close attention to what is on the walls to help strike up a conversation and hopefully create a more personal relationship with them. I noticed all of the Alabama memorabilia in this guys office right away and I said, "gee, I don't know if we can do business or not", and of course, I grinned. He asked why and I told him that I was a Hog. A nice conversation about the SEC ensued and our mutual dislike of Auburn (I won points there). He said that he had attended a lot of Alabama games in RRS and thought it was a great place and that everyone over there had always been very nice to him when he attended, even in his Alabama gear.

Then he asked, where are we playing this year? I said, "Oh, we are in your house this year for your Homecoming Game". He looked shocked and said, "Homecoming?, I wonder if we really gave that enough thought?" "We don't need to be playing you guys for homecoming".

I'll be meeting with this guy again next week so I'll let you know if there are any updates. But folks, when you have Alabama fans on their heels, dreading to play you, you are doing something right. Woo Pig!

I thought your story had sort of an erotic tone to it. I expected it to go XXX at any moment.

[Cinco de Hogo]

I was in a store today and I see a guy come in on one crutch and his right knee all bandaged up wearing Bama clothes.  He winds up ahead of me in line at checkout so I say to him, "that's what I like to see, an injured Bama player"  He looks at me for a second, takes in the Razorback gear I'm wearing(as usual) and says "Hog fan huh...I'm sorry".  So after talking to him awhile I tell him we are their homecoming game this year and he goes speechless for a few seconds then just shakes his head and leaves.  Really, that was the end of the conversation.  Don't know what he really thought about it.

[The Kig]

My daughter goes to school at Bama. Most of their fans that I talk to (no question where my loyalty lies when the two teams play) respect what CBB is doing.  They expect to win, but they have grown accustomed to winning... so they expect to win every game.  It isn't arrogance (at least from their perspective) because history is on their side.  Their perception is that so many teams in the West that are capable of giving them a real fight, but that they will eventually win.  After last year, the Hogs are now included in that group of teams. 

They don't fear us, but they do respect us.  Fear will only come when we can beat them and do it in a fashion that makes them believe that we could do it again the next year.  They don't fear or respect Auburn because they believe they only lose due to gimmicks and trickeration. 

We beat them last year everywhere except where it actually counts.  They are smart enough to realize that they got lucky.  If we do beat them this year, fear will come in knowing they have to come to our house next year and beat a program that is no longer "on the rise". 

[urkillnmesmalls]

After a few weeks in Florida, and the Disney parks, I had a chance to see many Bama fans.  I had Hog or Arkansas gear on and that sparked a few conversations.  I am just not one to talk trash when our team hasn't beaten them in nearly a decade.  I mean what was I going to say when they point out that we haven't beaten them in forever?  "Yeah, but we almost beat you in 2010, and last year we won everywhere except the scoreboard."       

I did make it a point to acknowledge them and ask them what they thought about our game this season.  I got a mix of people who didn't even know if it was a home or away game, and some that knew it was homecoming and said they were concerned about our recent uprising and the game last season.  They definitely weren't as arrogant and dismissive as I expected them to be.   

I don't know how seriously they took us last season, but our defense played masterfully to contain Cooper and I think it really comes down to how much drop off we see after losing our three best defenders.   

[hawgXi]

Alabama fans will always look fondly at Arkansas as thanks for PWB.

maybe so?

the bama fans I met at road hog park the past few years are friendly confident fans that know as much about our players as most razorback fans.

I get the feeling they have had a lot of respect for the hogs, and consider us a "little brother" in many ways.

one put it to me this way:  "we need you razorbacks to do good in the west".

translated:  the hogs can help bama quite a bit each year by knocking off auburn or LSU.  even OM, A$M, Mittittippi tate.

this bama fan felt if hogs can beat all the west teams, then all they have to do is beat us to get to seccg.

[Laughing Hog]

what you mean, again??

Ok, maybe I should have said 'more often' at this point in time.........

since the sec, before Satan, 8-7 vs the gumps, since Satan, 0-9

[TheRazorbackGuy]

Typically, you schedule a 'sure win' for homecoming. It's a bummer to lose that game.

This guy was implying we were no longer a sure win. That's all.

Not fear. Just respect. Which is a WHOLE lot more than we've gotten from them in recent memory.

I recall Frank Broyles scheduling Georgia for homecoming and it was raining and it was a Georgia blow out. I think scheduling FCS schools is proper for homecoming.

[flynhog]

I have a co-worker who is has moved back to Arkansas after being gone for several years. His last stop was Tusk-a-loosa for 12 years.  Naturally, he became a Bama fan 2nd only to the Hogs.  ALL of his Bama friends want nothing to do with BB or the Hogs. 

Makes me feel good.