LSU beat writer: Arkansas is a "packaged" rivalry

[Hornkiller]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/02/03/signing.day/index.html?eref=T1

While Alabama has intense, longstanding rivalries with Auburn and Tennessee, LSU had lacked a worthy nemesis for decades.

"LSU really no longer has a natural rivalry," said longtime LSU beat writer and columnist Glenn Guilbeau of Gannett News Service. "I would say Auburn was LSU's biggest rival before Saban went to 'Bama. It used to be Tulane in the old days, but Tulane has been mostly bad for a long time. Ole Miss was a true rival, but that also ended at about the time Archie Manning left. Arkansas is a packaged rivalry with a trophy and all, but it's not a rivalry."

I wonder if he's speaking for the entire LSU nation?

[Jim Harris]

A few more Arkansas beat downs of LSU and Lester and it will be.

[sowmonella]

No....Mandell's just a tool.

[hogpowr]

The longer they think it isn't a rivalry, the better, we'll just continue to kick that ass.

[hogzilla3]

He says that as we keep kicking that azz

[DirtyTeeth]

2 years in a row - and they have nerve.

[TNRazorbacker]

I agree, it's not a real rivalry in the same way many around the SEC are, i.e., Alabama-Auburn, Alabama- TN, TN- Florida, etc. It is a fun game that I look forward to every year and while there's no love lost for LSU I don't feel that deep seeded hate that one does for a team you really have a rivalry with.

I do miss what we had with Texas. You can't manufacture a rivalry like that, it has to grow and fester over time. That said it could eventually get there with LSU, it's got the makings.

[HouTxRzbck]

I actually agree with him.  Once we got to the SEC they made a trophy and said "Play, you are rivals now playing for a trophy."  Once SEC bound it seemed this was forced and LSU was our rival now instead of Texas or A&M.  The more we play and the more we beat them the more it was turn into a real rival instead of a so called "packaged" rivalry.

[DMacIsASaint]

I have talked to LSU fans. They are starting to hate us. Losing to us two years in a row pissed them off. If we make it three, I think that could be the beginning of something, especially if Bobby sticks around for a while

[jgphillips3]

At the time we joined the SEC, LSU sucked as bad as we did.  Both programs were in need of a rival and some enthusiasm in the newly expanded league.  LSU had fallen greatly from its glory days and wasn't regarded by the powers of the league back then as much of a rival.  Therefore, they tried to drum up a little border rivalry for two teams that weren't doing much else at the time and hoped the day would come when we both returned to prominence (like 2006).  That's why we got shipped to CBS as the turkey day game.  As we rise and they stay about where they are, the rivalry will grow.  It just may take 20 years of competitive games to entrench a true rivalry.  Arkansas is still a new kid to the old school SEC guys.

[SamBuckhart]

Sam knows rivalry. They aint no Texas. We are happy to beat them two in a row. We are tickled to beat them two in a row. But we have an organism when we beat Texas two in a row. The Barney Purple and Miss yellow crowd many have some winning years, but they will A L W A Y S be pretenders in my military mind. Sam I Am

[wamplers]

us young whiper snappers that weren't around for the TX ARK rival I think see LSU as our rival.  At least I do, especially if we keep beating them like we have in the past 5 years in such a exciting way.  I hate TN but i know they think we are the fly in the room.

[sivad53]

Sam knows rivalry. They aint no Texas. We are happy to beat them two in a row. We are tickled to beat them two in a row. But we have an organism when we beat Texas two in a row. The Barney Purple and Miss yellow crowd many have some winning years, but they will A L W A Y S be pretenders in my military mind. Sam I Am

an organism, maybe an amoeba!!!!

[Darren DeLoach]

i do not think it is without due cause that i believe the ole miss game is now the most heated conference game for our program now.

the glee that would be shared by hog fans everywhere, if we go down into oxford and thump houston's rebels, will surpass all but those monumental longhorn victories.

i have a personal disdain for lsu but that is because my parents lived in gonzales and baton rougue over an eight year span that introduced me to some of the bayou's "un-finest."

so i love to call some of those goofs when we hand them their tiger tail on a platter.

[cdclark09]

What it a packaged rivalry? Yes
Is it a rivalry? Yes
Is it a GREAT rivalry?  Not yet but it's getting there.  That final game is going to decide a lot of SECW titles in the next 10 years.

If Ole Miss becomes a 'rivalry' that will be a shame to our program.  That means that the game against Ole Miss must be for who gets their 6th win and becomes bowl eligible. 

[drivetimeporks]

personally i dont think LSU is our big rival...  i think its a younger generation thing...  but if you go by W- L  s only, texas shouldnt be our rivals either, as theyve owned our a$$es   over time

[EastexHawg]

He is exactly right.  We moved the game to Thanksgiving, put it on national TV, made up a trophy, and tried to invent a rivalry.

TRUE rivalries don't have to be invented, and they don't have to be packaged.  They are because...well, because they are.

What we have with LSU is a well hyped game, but for the definition of what a rivalry REALLY is you need look no further than...

Arkansas vs. Texas

I know a lot of the younger fans don't like to hear that, but it's the truth.  Anyone who was in DWRRS the night we played them in 2004 knows what I am talking about, and we weren't even any good that year.

[drivetimeporks]

He is exactly right.  We moved the game to Thanksgiving, put it on national TV, made up a trophy, and tried to invent a rivalry.

TRUE rivalries don't have to be invented, and they don't have to be packaged.  They are because...well, because they are.

What we have with LSU is a well hyped game, but for the definition of what a rivalry REALLY is you need look no further than...

Arkansas vs. Texas

I know a lot of the younger fans don't like to hear that, but it's the truth.  Anyone who was in DWRRS the night we played them in 2004 knows what I am talking about, and we weren't even any good that year.

east texas, i like your posts, you make alot of sense to me however,    is it a rivalry when the all time record is so lopsided?

[psooie]

Yeah, it was a package game but now its turning into a real rival game...hey i am all for giving LSU a rival ...let jerry jones have LSU play Texas A&M instead of the hogs, than let him schedule the hogs-horns at his new pad as an annual game and than move the OU-texas game to campus when their cotton bowl contract is up.

[1964]

east texas, i like your posts, you make alot of sense to me however,    is it a rivalry when the all time record is so lopsided?

The record's only lopsided for now.

[drivetimeporks]

The record's only lopsided for now.

dude , i wont be around in 50 years when its even.... assuming we  win out

[Hoggish1]

What it a packaged rivalry? Yes
Is it a rivalry? Yes
Is it a GREAT rivalry?  Not yet but it's getting there.  That final game is going to decide a lot of SECW titles in the next 10 years.

If Ole Miss becomes a 'rivalry' that will be a shame to our program.  That means that the game against Ole Miss must be for who gets their 6th win and becomes bowl eligible. 

I have to agree here 100%!

Old Myth is just a game I want to kick nutz up someone's as*.  It has nothing to do with a football team.  Otherwise, they are just a team in our way to another west win and the SECCG.

[kgr]

Sorry folks, but to be a rivalry, it has to go both ways.  the aggies are texass big hate.  Then oklahoma.  We were an important conference game that usually decided the championship.  Tex and the Aggies hate each other.  That is their rival.  We weren't and never will be.

Now, we keep whupping LSWho's arse when they are supposed to whup ours and it will turn into a rivalry

[DeltaBoy]

What till we beat them some more.  After trolling Tigerdroppings I see it as being a Rivalry.

[prelawhog]

us young whiper snappers that weren't around for the TX ARK rival I think see LSU as our rival.  At least I do, especially if we keep beating them like we have in the past 5 years in such a exciting way.  I hate TN but i know they think we are the fly in the room.

I'm in the same boat, as a younger fan I see LSU as our biggest rival. Don't get me wrong, I still hate texas and have great respect for that rivalry and the SWC days. However, a large part of a rivalry is familiarity with the other team, and with us only playing texas a few times since we've joined the SEC, I just don't see that as a rivalry now.

[EastexHawg]

east texas, i like your posts, you make alot of sense to me however,    is it a rivalry when the all time record is so lopsided?

Texas leads their series with Texas A&M by 67-36-5.  They went 31-3-1 against the Aggies from 1940 thru 1974.  Do you think that series only became a rivalry in the mid 1970s and beyond?

Arkansas has beaten Texas three out of the last five and split with the 'Horns since 1986.  I have lived in Texas my entire life.  Trust me, they hate us.  They hated us in the 1960s and 70s when we were vying for conference championships and national honors with them, and they started hating us again once we started kicking that butt recently.

Again...if you were in the stands on September 11, 2004...nothing more needs to be said.  There was an atmosphere, an "edge" to the crowd that night, that says it all.

[Ash]

My entire extended family is from Lousiana. Every one of them that follows LSU considers Arkansas their big game every year.

[hoggeek]

Sam knows rivalry.

George is gettin' nervous!

[HamHands]

With a few more wins and if we start stealing recruits from them, LSU becomes a rivalry. I hate Ole Miss now that Nutt is there. Not a rivalry game, but a hatred for the coach and the whole football program.

[jdevers]

It would be much more of a rivalry right now if two years ago us beating them kept them out of the MNC and put them in just the Sugar Bowl instead.  Rivalries are created by hate, hate is only generated when the other team takes something you feel belongs to you.  Texas did this to us a LOT and we occasionally did it to Texas (especially during the 60s and 70s), we hated Texas more than they hated us because of this.  BUT there was still enough hate to have a rivalry.  We just don't like LSU, definitely don't hate.  A little vein in my head popped three years ago when they beat us and then we lost to Florida (who I can never really hate without playing them every year), but USC had already nearly drained all the blood out a few months earlier.  If the same thing would have happened with us 11-0 instead of 10-1, there would have been the beginnings of some real hate there. 

[HiggiePiggy]

Something that would make it more of a Rivalry is having them come to NWA  and play in our home   not  our Neutral field.


Home Field  is NWA   sorry for those that hate to read that.

[hogsanity]

Define rivalry.  To me, a rivalry is the one game your fans think you HAVE TO WIN.  Like Texas A&M/TX.  A&M could go 1-11, and as long as the 1 win is over the Horns, many of their fans are happy. 

Also, to me a rivalry has to be seen that way by both schools. 

[hawgeathawg]

"but it's not a rivalry"


We win a few more in the immediate future and it will be. 

[HighOnHogs]

We don't need a rival.  We just need to beat everyone we play.  Just ask Bobby Petrino.  He'll tell you.  I have a feeling that is his ultimate goal.

[ar_sports_talk]

We don't need a rival.  We just need to beat everyone we play.  Just ask Bobby Petrino.  He'll tell you.  I have a feeling that is his ultimate goal.

Win the games, then head to the strip club....

[leftymgp]

I agree with him.  LSU is pretty much just another game for me.

Although, if the games continue to be good, it'll develop eventually.

[Maximus_Hog]

The LSU rivalry will continue to grow esepcially since the came could decide which team goes Atlanta.  More on the line will mean more emotions

[Pigmund Freud]

Texas and Arkansas are related historically in a complex way and this contributed to a rivalry of sorts, also... the Broyles/Royal friendship complicated it. Texas will never admit ...ever...that any team that beat them hurt them. Their stance is to remain removed and have plausible deniability as to which losses were painful.  I think we have hurt them more than they will ever admit.

LSU is a gnat on a rotting carcass of a state. We should focus on beating Alabama frequently enough to irritate them. Their self esteem is not in the league with Texas.

[Jim Harris]

Sam knows rivalry. They aint no Texas. We are happy to beat them two in a row. We are tickled to beat them two in a row. But we have an organism when we beat Texas two in a row. The Barney Purple and Miss yellow crowd many have some winning years, but they will A L W A Y S be pretenders in my military mind. Sam I Am

How is beating Texas once or twice every 10 years, like it became in the 1970s, a "rivalry"? It wasn't a rivalry for them. OU and A&M were Texas' rivalry games when we played them every year. In essence, LSU could become that for Arkansas too: LSU won't care but Arkansas can consider it a rivalry.
The good news is that so much is happening between Ole Miss and Arkansas now that it could become the type of rivalry it was in the late 1950s and early 60s.

[31to6]

The good news is that so much is happening between Ole Miss and Arkansas now that it could become the type of rivalry it was in the late 1950s and early 60s.

This is low expectations.

If Ole Miss becomes our rival, Petrino will have failed.

[mweston]

Not necessarily....Ole Miss will be a rival as long as Hooten is their coach.  The history and the fact that we play them each year will help to strengthen that rivalry. 

I don't think the wins/losses matter as much as the emotion for the game and atmosphere that emotion provides.

[SamBuckhart]

I agree that the emotion for the game and the atmosphere define a rivalry more than wins and loses. If you never win I dont think its much of a rivalry. I look forward to the Lsu game in LR every other year. The Miracle on Markham games are moving toward the Expectation on Markham Street. We should expect to win that game. I was at the 79 Texas game in LR. After we won, you could hear the car horns honking for hours. Game week we would answer our business phone,"Beat Texas- this is (insert your name here). There was a Texas Game Week where you started "gettin your game face on" days before the game. I believe Ole Miss is a better rival  gamethan Lsu. More history IMO.

[hawgsav1]

We don't have a pure rival either.  The closest thing we have is LSU.  The closest thing they have is us.  Let us beat them a few more times and then they'll start to hate us, and we'll start to hate them.  Knock them around a bit, and they'll start to resent us and our gloating.  If we want a rivalry, all we have to do is beat them a few more years in a row and they'll hate us more than they hate Saban.

[hawgsav1]

Btw, a lot of rivalries are one sided.  USC has won nearly 2/3 of its games against UCLA in football, and the rivalry is similarly lopsided in basketball.  However, they are certainly rivals (albeit of the blah fairweather Los Angeles type).  Arkansas had a similar rivalry with Texas.  Clemson-South Carolina is pretty lopsided as well in favor of the Tigers, yet I don't think anyone will argue that it is not a rivalry.  Texas-OU is lopsided in favor of the Longhorns as well.  Texas currently considers OU its main rival.  Why?  Well, OU has been quite successful against the cows over the last decade, including some nasty beatdowns.  Bottom line is, if we start winning a lot against LSPoo, it will become a rivalry. 

[Fatmanhog]

Btw, a lot of rivalries are one sided.  USC has won nearly 2/3 of its games against UCLA in football, and the rivalry is similarly lopsided in basketball.  However, they are certainly rivals (albeit of the blah fairweather Los Angeles type).  Arkansas had a similar rivalry with Texas.  Clemson-South Carolina is pretty lopsided as well in favor of the Tigers, yet I don't think anyone will argue that it is a rivalry.  Texas-OU is lopsided in favor of the Longhorns as well.  Texas currently considers OU its main rival.  Why?  Well, OU has been quite successful against the cows over the last decade, including some nasty beatdowns.  Bottom line is, if we start winning a lot against LSPoo, it will become a rivalry. 

this is very true and has a lot of points. how many series with any team is close to being eben? texas is our rival and ole piss will be a rival. hell i thin ki hate tennessee more than any one.

[olivebranchhog]

Something that would make it more of a Rivalry is having them come to NWA  and play in our home   not  our Neutral field.


Home Field  is NWA   sorry for those that hate to read that.

I am a supporter of WMS, living in Cabot It is a hell of a lot easier and cheaper for my family to get to the game in LR. But, I see your point on this. LSUX would be a bigger rivalry if the game was to be played in RRS. However, it wont be played there for the for seeable future so its a redundant argument until the contract expires.

[EastexHawg]

How is beating Texas once or twice every 10 years, like it became in the 1970s, a "rivalry"? It wasn't a rivalry for them. OU and A&M were Texas' rivalry games when we played them every year.

Again...

Series record, 1940 thru 1974:
Texas...30 wins
Texas A&M...3 wins
One tie

Arkansas beat Texas as many times in three years (1964-1966) as the Aggies beat them in three and a half decades.  Did that mean that Texas vs. Texas A&M wasn't a rivalry?

Arkansas beat Texas numerous times when the 'Horns were ranked at the top of the polls.  We knocked them out of national championship contention numerous times (1964, 1965, 1979, and 1981 come to mind).  We just plain cost them them another national championship in 1964, in fact.

Here's a quote from Longhorn all-time great Tommy Nobis, circa 1964:

"We think about Arkansas EVERY DAY".

I guess there is no convincing people who don't want to be convinced otherwise, but I have lived in Texas all my life.  I have known Texas fans all my life.  Hundreds of them.  No, thousands of them.  And I'll say it again...

THEY CONSIDERED IT A HUGE GAME.  THEY CONSIDERED IT A RIVALRY.

They may tell you otherwise now, mainly because they know how much it pisses some of you off and plays on Arkansas fans' insecurity, but they care.  Trust me, they care.

[drivetimeporks]

Define rivalry.  To me, a rivalry is the one game your fans think you HAVE TO WIN.  Like Texas A&M/TX.  A&M could go 1-11, and as long as the 1 win is over the Horns, many of their fans are happy. 

Also, to me a rivalry has to be seen that way by both schools. 

great to see you posting Hogsanity...  your Braves ready this year or are you planning on a long long loooooooooong season like me and my Rockies are eyeballing?

[crescentcityhog]

Btw, a lot of rivalries are one sided.  USC has won nearly 2/3 of its games against UCLA in football, and the rivalry is similarly lopsided in basketball.  However, they are certainly rivals (albeit of the blah fairweather Los Angeles type).  Arkansas had a similar rivalry with Texas.  Clemson-South Carolina is pretty lopsided as well in favor of the Tigers, yet I don't think anyone will argue that it is not a rivalry.  Texas-OU is lopsided in favor of the Longhorns as well.  Texas currently considers OU its main rival.  Why?  Well, OU has been quite successful against the cows over the last decade, including some nasty beatdowns.  Bottom line is, if we start winning a lot against LSPoo, it will become a rivalry. 

we have won alot against LSU since we joined the same conference as them ( SEC series record stands @ 10-7 in favor of them since '92,  and 6-5 since '98)  looks pretty tight to me..

[olivebranchhog]

great to see you posting Hogsanity...  your Braves ready this year or are you planning on a long long loooooooooong season like me and my Rockies are eyeballing?

You weren't talking to me but I see Braves and have to post. The Braves could either have a great season leading to a long playoff run, or it could be one of our worst seasons to date. Mediocre talent leads to mediocre play. Bobby will be getting thrown out of a lot of games this year.