The Angry Divide

[Steef]

Do I expect and demand to win every game?  Of course not.  But...if we ain't winning, I ain't happy.  Just the way I see it...

We aren't winning right this minute. And yet, I'm VERY happy with what's happening in recruiting.

I was VERY happy with the effort our Hogs gave in the LSU game. Maybe not all the execution...but the effort was FABULOUS. It denoted a sense of teamwork. They had 'bought in' to where they were going as a team....even at the end of a very long and dismal season.

Vince Lombardi and the Packers lost a lot, too. Until they meshed as a TEAM....and became World Champions. People still talk about that team. Did you know they had one...and only one....first round draft pick on that team? Paul Hornung.

Bart Star was 17th round.

Worked out.

Doesn't mean Bret is Vince Lombardi. But his VISION is exactly the same. And his history tells me he can pull it off.

So yeah...I'm very hopeful. And happy.

[Hawgon]

Please expound on that prediction.  What is it that happened that makes you feel that we can't be any good for 5 years, and what exactly will make us good at any point following that?  Blind luck?  New staff?  New AD?  The next Cam Newton? 

Why gloom and doom for 5 years, but then things will turn around? 

I don't even care to talk about football.  Have at it.  Knock yourself out.  Suffice it to say, that I have no faith in the administration or the coaching staff.  The five years is merely a number.  It might be a decade for all I know.  I just don't really care enough to argue with you about it.

[DukeOfPork]

So, you're saying there's a chance

WPS :razorback:

Yes, but just a sliver of a chance.

[DeltaBoy]

Good Post Steff.  My issue is Bobby won and got me to believing we could beat anybody with a few breaks.  Now I am afraid we could not win the Sunbelt.

[LZH]

Didn't say we didn't a RIGHT. In a free society, we have RIGHTS.

But we didn't earn them.

Which makes us pundits. Observers and kibitzers. Which is what I said.

A lot of us have opinions about military actions, too. But those who've served, have earned those opinions far more than the comfortable taxpayer on his couch.

The taxpayer should be mindful of the guys/gals who made the effort.

WE should be mindful of the young men who sweat and bleed for our Colors.

I understand that, but if we're sending money to the RF, we are buying the right to have a say.  Doesn't mean anyone has to listen.  But as long as you keep the kids' names out of it, everyone who's getting paid big money is fair game, imo.

[Steef]

Razorback football is so far down my list of concerns right now that I haven't posted on this forum in a month.  And frankly, I don't care one way or the other what happens next year.  It will not affect me one way or the other.  So, it cannot be said that I am angry.  However, threads like this serve no useful purpose but to bring the so-called divisions you claim to the abhor, to the fore.

And yet, you post angrily in it.

You are angrily and vehemently fighting for the right to be divided and angry.

[Hawgon]

Vince Lombardi and the Packers lost a lot, too. Until they meshed as a TEAM....and became World Champions. People still talk about that team. Did you know they had one...and only one....first round draft pick on that team? Paul Hornung.

Actually, Lombardi's worst record with the Packers was 7-5 and that was in his first year after the team had gone about 1-10 the year before with another coach.  The very next year he won the NFC West and went to the championship game.

[Steef]

I understand that, but if we're sending money to the RF, we are buying the right to have a say.  Doesn't mean anyone has to listen.  But as long as you keep the kids' names out of it, everyone who's getting paid big money is fair game, imo.

Never said otherwise. Never advocated censorship.

[Hawgon]

And yet, you post angrily in it.

You are angrily and vehemently fighting for the right to be divided and angry.

That is exactly right.  I'm not angry at all about football right now.  I'm completely apathetic about it.  Call it a defense mechanism if you will.

And no, merely because I disagree with you, I'm not angry.  You always think that when someone disagrees with you that it is some kind of personal thing.

[LZH]

Never said otherwise. Never advocated censorship.

Fair enough.

[hogblitz]

Even if BP was still here, we wouldn't have had double digit wins the last couple of years.

The idea of Arkansas lingering at the top of the SEC on a regular basis is a fantasy.  13 other schools are trying just as hard as we are and about nine of them have way more resources and way more access to recruits than we do.

You do the math.

How do you know BP would not have sustained the success?  I said many times before his firing that he would go at worst 8-4 on a given year if the wheels fell completely off .  One of my favorites from people would be their opinion of his recruiting.  There is no way to know what he would have continued to do.   The recruiting is impossible to gauge on what Bobby would have in place if not for the firing.  I will tell you this.  Brandon Allen would have had a better season last year if BP was here.  The passing game would have been much better and the offense as a whole much better.  We might have had defensive problems but we would have out scored a few teams.  His coaching would have made the team make postseason play.  JMO but we will never know.

[hogsanity]

There is no vast angry diveide in the fanbase in general.  There are small splinter groups of angry "fans" that seem to be likely to be angry no matter what.  There is a groups that wants a wide open sling it around style.  There is a group that wants Long fired for firing Petrino.  There is a group that thinks only Petrino can win here.  There is one that thinks Gus is the be all end all of coaching. There is a group that does not like BB because he is a "yankee". 

These groups though, are small, even in total. Yes, they are vocal on message boards, and on the radio call in shows, but their bark is much worse than their bite. A majority, a vast majority, of fans will be happy when the Hogs win, upset for a while when they lose, but at the end of the day they also realize the only way the can possibly impact things is to stop ging to games, and as we have seen, even in bad year, the Hogs still put lots of fans in the stands.

[DeltaBoy]

The Biggest change I have seen is the birth of the WWW and Hogville.  We went from reading Orville Henry, SI and the Dallas Morning News to the WWW . Used to we had Hog discussions at the Barber Shop, Water Cooler or the Lumbershed; today we go to Hogville with almost the population of Pine Bluff to cuss and discuss Hog sports.

[EastexHawg]

Yes, they are vocal on message boards, and on the radio call in shows, but their bark is much worse than their bite. A majority, a vast majority, of fans will be happy when the Hogs win, upset for a while when they lose, but at the end of the day they also realize the only way the can possibly impact things is to stop ging to games, and as we have seen, even in bad year, the Hogs still put lots of fans in the stands.

How many people were in the stands at the last game in Little Rock?

It's naive to believe people are going to continue to make the same effort to attend games, and spend/send as much of their money, to view a losing to mediocre team.  Revenues went up something like 60% when Petrino's Hogs were winning.  They have fallen off since.  There is no need to explain the drop because everyone with half a brain understands what is going on.

Bud Walton?  People used to will their tickets to their descendants when the Hogs were a national power.  How easy has it been to get tickets for the last several years?

People are willing to pay and pay big to watch a winner...but to paraphrase Patton, most wouldn't give a hoot in hell to see a loser.   

[urkillnmesmalls]

its kinda like being a parent.

two types of parents, both presumably love their kids(giving you Long supporters the benefit of a doubt). One side says "oh, little johnny would never get a speeding ticket , that just cant be"..they sweep it under the rug, pretend it never happened, and hope like hell it doesnt happen again . These are  the Long lovers...and then there's the "little johnny im curb stomping your ass and you will never drive again till you get a 4.0" type....the supposed Long bashers.

same goal, different methodology.

i believe in tough love. Hogs suck right now, and alot of the issue is pointing directly at the self-aggrandizing AD. tis a fact.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/self-aggrandizement

btw i included a link to the definition of self aggrandizement for your folks living around the river valley of Russellville and or  the slums of the Pine Bluff metro area's benefit. You are welcome.

This post should be stickied.  Not because it's profound, but rather because it explains a lot when you look at the root of why we have this supposed "divide." 

Very, very, very few things in life are this black and white.  They almost always fall into some level of gray area.  When you choose the extremes, it fosters extreme emotions, reactions, and behaviors.  It leaves no room for common ground, and that's where the issue lies with Hogville in my opinion.  The insinuation is that if you support the program and believe things are progressing, then you're a blind JL lover and BP hater.  If you don't feel it's headed in the right direction, you're a JL hater and a BP lover.  Most people...fall somewhere in between those two spectrums, but the arguments lead toward those extremes.   

Hope is not a strategy.  But if you have a strategy, and you're moving forward, then there's hope.  I felt like the LSU game last year illustrated that even with some very green players on the field, we showed improvement.  That's what I wanted to see.  I had HOPED we would win 6 games and make a bowl, and I said before the season ever started that we would have to avoid key injuries, or we would have to have our opposition have a few key injuries.  Our starting QB had a fluke injury, and was never back to 100%.

Remember...MOST fans I can recall on this very website had penciled in Auburn as a win for us.  Why was that?  Because we dominated them the past two seasons right?  There was not ONE person who predicted that Auburn would play in the NC game.  GM showed that he could take those perennial top 10 recruiting classes and turn things around quickly. 

Can't we at least wait to see what BB can do with even some top 20-25 classes before we decide that gloom and doom are imminent?        

[Redhogs]

Not many as splintered as us?  Not many if any outside of Kentucky have had the 2 year on field suckfest we have had.  Go back to OM boards 3 years ago before Nutt was fired or A&M boards before they wised up and fired Sherman and at the same time were debating on whether to leave the B12.  It's all context and timing.

Winning solves/solved everything.  The biggest real unique issue that splintered Hog fans was the GSD, and now that it has been more or less settled the rest of it is same as every other losing program that gives a $hit about football.

Exactly..no more complicated than this. +1

[Dark Helmet Hog]

Started with HDN.

Our fanbase learned how to be divided. You were either a ‘hugger’ or a ‘darksider’. It’s no longer important who was right or wrong, because the lesson learned was…we could argue and fuss with each other…AT each other…instead of discussing football.

You know, I used to really like college football. I mean…the actual play of the game. Now, I’m supposed to measure my pleasure EXCLUSIVELY by whether or not we win or lose.

By that criteria, only the fanbase of an undefeated team can find any joy. Ever.

So we’ve been divided by Nutt. And Mitch. And Teresa. And Gus. And Jeff. And Mike (it’s not football…but we fussed) And Bobby. And Ryan. And Willy. And motorcyclegate. And Jeff again. And Gus again. And coaching searches in general. And JLS (never have understood blaming a figurehead for behaving like a figurehead, but that’s just me). And Bret. And Jen. And (sigh) Gus….AGAIN.

And right now it’s Ash.

There is a multi-page thread trashing a coach for leaving…and apparently we(someone) didn’t like him anyway. So the folks who are glad he’s gone…are trashing him for leaving.

Can’t make this stuff up.

I used to really like college football.

I never got to wear the Colors. Did you? I’m a former UA student, but I didn’t ever dress out in the uni’s. So any opinion I voice about them NOW…I haven’t really earned the right. We all…on any message board…just ASSUME the right. But unless you actually sweated and bled…and wore the Colors well…you’re just a pundit. Like me. And what we choose to say, and how we choose to say it…tells the world who WE are. But not who the TEAM is.

You know what’s significant about the LSU game this past year? Those kids…those MAGNIFICENT young men in Hog Colors….were STILL TRYING!!
After everything I just listed. After a spirit-crushing season and (probably) watching themselves get completely dissed on Hogville…THEY were TRYING to win!

We don’t. Not so much. We don’t have teamwork here. We just try to beat each other. In our never ending quest to ‘be right’…or ‘be right…ER’ than the next guy, we are just sucking the joy out of being fans of football…and Hogs.

Our team is gonna keep trying to win, whether Hogvillains (sic) try or not. We’re going to be BETTER in 2014 than we were in 2013. And we’re gonna be DANGEROUS in 2015.

Bret might have made some faux pas in his first year, but he knows how to coach. He obviously knows how to recruit. He and the staff are getting athletes who will add to the strength of our team.

And he’s building a football team the way it should be built.

By 2015, we’re going to have to fabricate some crisis or another. Or that divide will just go poof. Maybe we can argue about there being nothing to argue about.

And some of us... are renewing our faith and joy in college football...win or lose...whether the rest of you want us to or not. Because Hogs will be on the field, playing their snouts off!

Great post.

[DLUXHOG]

Simply put, Support the Hogs..... Leave the personal agenda out of it..........  (you can't win all of them............. even Bama, Texas, Nebraska, Miami, USC, and OU have had some down years)

Win or Lose.....Support the Hogs.    (I'm also a UA grad)..... 

[snoblind]

Good post, Steef.

[LZH]

Simply put, Support the Hogs..... Leave the personal agenda out of it..........  (you can't win all of them............. even Bama, Texas, Nebraska, Miami, USC, and OU have had some down years)

Win or Lose.....Support the Hogs.    (I'm also a UA grad).....

+1 for the avatar.  Open Range is a great flick.

[Redhogs]

This started long before the current two year suckfest.

The infighting has been going on throughout the entire Internet Age.  As soon as the Forest City Joes of this world obtained internet access, we started complaining and attacking each other. 

I don't agree with Steef's optimism; he is definitely blowing smoke up his own arse in predicting 2015 glory.  But I do agree with him that we are unnecessarily adversarial in general...and always have been.

Basically, we are a stupid and emotionally unstable fan base.

Stupid last sentence...we are no different than any other fan base that cares about their program..at least we don't poison trees and dangle our junk, or shoot people for that matter...wise up...people are people. So tired of posters putting down our fan base as worse than any other, guess it makes you feel superior and above others... huh?

[The NewEra]

I think it's funny that all you have to do to start a fight on Hogville is to start a thread about a divided fan base. 

[urkillnmesmalls]

Stupid last sentence...we are no different than any other fan base that cares about their program..at least we don't poison trees and dangle our junk, or shoot people for that matter...wise up...people are people. So tired of posters putting down our fan base as worse than any other, guess it makes you feel superior and above others... huh?

If there is anything our fan base should have the finger pointed at them for, it's how some people choose to pull their support at the first sign of adversity, not how passionate or nuts we are. 

You named things that have been done that are acts of vandalism or violence.  What Arkansas has a history of doing is utilizing FOI, flying banners, and taking out ads in newspapers in order to force the hand of those in charge to make changes. 

What I think a LARGE segment of the fan base has failed to realize is that we currently have NO REASON to believe that a losing coach is going to remain in place after given sufficient time to produce.  The influence of the GOBN is greatly diminished, and I have nothing to make me think that objective views of the sports programs aren't going to be the norm moving forward. 

[Großer Kriegschwein]

Started with HDN.

Our fanbase learned how to be divided. You were either a 'hugger' or a 'darksider'. It's no longer important who was right or wrong, because the lesson learned was...we could argue and fuss with each other...AT each other...instead of discussing football.

You know, I used to really like college football. I mean...the actual play of the game. Now, I'm supposed to measure my pleasure EXCLUSIVELY by whether or not we win or lose.

By that criteria, only the fanbase of an undefeated team can find any joy. Ever.

So we've been divided by Nutt. And Mitch. And Teresa. And Gus. And Jeff. And Mike (it's not football...but we fussed) And Bobby. And Ryan. And Willy. And motorcyclegate. And Jeff again. And Gus again. And coaching searches in general. And JLS (never have understood blaming a figurehead for behaving like a figurehead, but that's just me). And Bret. And Jen. And (sigh) Gus....AGAIN.

And right now it's Ash.

There is a multi-page thread trashing a coach for leaving...and apparently we(someone) didn't like him anyway. So the folks who are glad he's gone...are trashing him for leaving.

Can't make this stuff up.

I used to really like college football.

I never got to wear the Colors. Did you? I'm a former UA student, but I didn't ever dress out in the uni's. So any opinion I voice about them NOW...I haven't really earned the right. We all...on any message board...just ASSUME the right. But unless you actually sweated and bled...and wore the Colors well...you're just a pundit. Like me. And what we choose to say, and how we choose to say it...tells the world who WE are. But not who the TEAM is.

You know what's significant about the LSU game this past year? Those kids...those MAGNIFICENT young men in Hog Colors....were STILL TRYING!!
After everything I just listed. After a spirit-crushing season and (probably) watching themselves get completely dissed on Hogville...THEY were TRYING to win!

We don't. Not so much. We don't have teamwork here. We just try to beat each other. In our never ending quest to 'be right'...or 'be right...ER' than the next guy, we are just sucking the joy out of being fans of football...and Hogs.

Our team is gonna keep trying to win, whether Hogvillains (sic) try or not. We're going to be BETTER in 2014 than we were in 2013. And we're gonna be DANGEROUS in 2015.

Bret might have made some faux pas in his first year, but he knows how to coach. He obviously knows how to recruit. He and the staff are getting athletes who will add to the strength of our team.

And he's building a football team the way it should be built.

By 2015, we're going to have to fabricate some crisis or another. Or that divide will just go poof. Maybe we can argue about there being nothing to argue about.

And some of us... are renewing our faith and joy in college football...win or lose...whether the rest of you want us to or not. Because Hogs will be on the field, playing their snouts off!

Started long before Nutt

[SemperFi]

Nice job Steef! There are those that suck the life out of everything. They're unhappy and therefore WE must all be unhappy right along with them. The sky is literally falling at the slightest threat of adversity. We sling mud and cry foul just because we disagree with who was hired as the DL Coach. That was a pretty ugly thread and the guy hadn't even unpacked his bags yet to show us what he can do.

Coach B is building this football team in the right direction and we are going to be successful under Coach B. Does that equate to a National Championship, not sure, but I do see us contending for an SECC and even winning one or two or three with Coach B at the helm. We're going toe to toe with the elite teams in college football for recruits and winning some of those battles while coming off a 3-9 record. That's impressive!

I'm in for the long haul and will continue to have hope and faith that the Razorbacks will contend and be relevant in the college football world, but we as a fanbase must allow Coach B the time to build his program and throw our support behind him in full force. WPS!

[jlhogfan]

A "content" fan base can be just as detrimental as a "rabid" fan base, IMO.  I still see it as a good sign that "fans" care enough and are not happy with the last 2 seasons.  When fans become "content" then changes rarely are forced to happen, then we become VT

[urkillnmesmalls]

Nice job Steef! There are those that suck the life out of everything. They're unhappy and therefore WE must all be unhappy right along with them. The sky is literally falling at the slightest threat of adversity. We sling mud and cry foul just because we disagree with who was hired as the DL Coach. That was a pretty ugly thread and the guy hadn't even unpacked his bags yet to show us what he can do.

Coach B is building this football team in the right direction and we are going to be successful under Coach B. Does that equate to a National Championship, not sure, but I do see us contending for an SECC and even winning one or two or three with Coach B at the helm. We're going toe to toe with the elite teams in college football for recruits and winning some of those battles while coming off a 3-9 record. That's impressive!

I'm in for the long haul and will continue to have hope and faith that the Razorbacks will contend and be relevant in the college football world, but we as a fanbase must allow Coach B the time to build his program and throw our support behind him in full force. WPS!

Great post, and the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.  I can comment on what I would like to see on offense or defense without having to hate BB. 

Most fans are doing what I highlighted.  The "dark siders" want to equate not having full stadiums or courts to fan discontent, and wanting change, but the truth is...Arkansas has a long history of supporting a winner more than a mediocre or poor team.  It doesn't mean they're sitting at home because they want people fired.  They just like to watch when we are winning.  We start winning...and the seats will be filled, and it won't take two winning seasons to do it.  It will take a key game or two.  Then those who insist that our fans are protesting by not coming will have to come up with a new story.   

[urkillnmesmalls]

A "content" fan base can be just as detrimental as a "rabid" fan base, IMO.  I still see it as a good sign that "fans" care enough and are not happy with the last 2 seasons.  When fans become "content" then changes rarely are forced to happen, then we become VT

But shouldn't we at least allow the coaches in place to have some time to develop continuity through improving recruiting ties and relationships, developing players, and fielding teams that are comprised of more upper classmen?  Isn't being "content" a bigger risk for the coaching staff than it is the fan base?  Unless I see BB being "content" with losing, as long as he's talking about SECC's and improving recruiting, he deserves my support doesn't he? 

I haven't talked to a single fan that is content.  I haven't heard a player or coach say they are content for either B-ball or football. 

The only place I see the discussion of "content" being relevant, would be with JL.  I'm not content with him until I see how things pan out with both MA and BB over the next few seasons.  Some want him fired yesterday over how he handled the BP debacle, but that has nothing to do with "content."  Let's see how the guys he has put in charge can do with a little more time.  Two more years...and we should know if it's time to consider some wholesale changes. 

[Hawgon]

Great post, and the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.  I can comment on what I would like to see on offense or defense without having to hate BB. 

Most fans are doing what I highlighted.  The "dark siders" want to equate not having full stadiums or courts to fan discontent, and wanting change, but the truth is...Arkansas has a long history of supporting a winner more than a mediocre or poor team.  It doesn't mean they're sitting at home because they want people fired.  They just like to watch when we are winning.  We start winning...and the seats will be filled, and it won't take two winning seasons to do it.  It will take a key game or two.  Then those who insist that our fans are protesting by not coming will have to come up with a new story.   

They're not protesting anything, they just don't care enough to buy tickets. 

[Steef]

For those who don't want to grab their ukuleles, gather around a campfire and sing kumbaya (neither do I)....there is still a vast gulf of emotion between that...and the carnivores we have become.

[Hogsenburg]

We aren't winning right this minute. And yet, I'm VERY happy with what's happening in recruiting.

I was VERY happy with the effort our Hogs gave in the LSU game. Maybe not all the execution...but the effort was FABULOUS. It denoted a sense of teamwork. They had 'bought in' to where they were going as a team....even at the end of a very long and dismal season.

Vince Lombardi and the Packers lost a lot, too. Until they meshed as a TEAM....and became World Champions. People still talk about that team. Did you know they had one...and only one....first round draft pick on that team? Paul Hornung.

Bart Star was 17th round.

Worked out.

Doesn't mean Bret is Vince Lombardi. But his VISION is exactly the same. And his history tells me he can pull it off.

So yeah...I'm very hopeful. And happy.

+1 great post glad to read something positive on here for once

[urkillnmesmalls]

They're not protesting anything, they just don't care enough to buy tickets.

Precisely.  They're at home because they don't like to watch a loser.  They aren't convinced BB won't win, or that we'll never be good again without BP, or that firing JL would do anything to turn things around any quicker. 

Apathy is always a part of any fan base on some level.  It can be the people who have been on waiting lists for Green Bay season tickets for 5 years and have given up.  Or it can be the casual fan who typically shows up to two games a season, but doesn't want to come watch the team lose.

Just watch...now that Tiger Woods isn't winning like he was, and appears to be on the decline, golf ratings will decline.  Sooner or later, another phenom will come along, and he'll capture the attention of the fans who love to see excellence and winners. 

If we don't win...changes will come.  In the mean time, for those convinced that one season of BB to turn things around is going to forever leave the seats empty are misguided.  They'll come back MUCH faster than they left when we win a few games.     

[Hawgon]

Precisely.  They're at home because they don't like to watch a loser.  They aren't convinced BB won't win, or that we'll never be good again without BP, or that firing JL would do anything to turn things around any quicker. 

Apathy is always a part of any fan base on some level.  It can be the people who have been on waiting lists for Green Bay season tickets for 5 years and have given up.  Or it can be the casual fan who typically shows up to two games a season, but doesn't want to come watch the team lose.

Just watch...now that Tiger Woods isn't winning like he was, and appears to be on the decline, golf ratings will decline.  Sooner or later, another phenom will come along, and he'll capture the attention of the fans who love to see excellence and winners. 

If we don't win...changes will come.  In the mean time, for those convinced that one season of BB to turn things around is going to forever leave the seats empty are misguided.  They'll come back MUCH faster than they left when we win a few games.     

Assuming he wins.  But there was little excitement about the hire and there is less reason for excitement now.  Fans will tolerate a certain amount of losing as long as they are excited and/or optimistic about the future.

[Wants2Win]

Fans will unite when the administration stops torpedoing our program in good times. Has happened too many times over the years.

[Wants2Win]

Any fan who isn't at least frustrated with the current situation doesnt have W's at the top of their fan list.

[LZH]

Any fan who isn't at least frustrated with the current situation doesnt have W's at the top of their fan list.

Hater.

[Steef]

Any fan who isn't at least frustrated with the current situation doesnt have W's at the top of their fan list.

"The current situation"...is finally evolving into something positive. After a long dry spell.

If you look at the LSU game and see ONLY an "L"...you're missing the evolution.

[Wants2Win]

"The current situation"...is finally evolving into something positive. After a long dry spell.

If you look at the LSU game and see ONLY an "L"...you're missing the evolution.

Forgive me for not being excited about our evolution into a (hopefully) cotton bowl team.

[superior_wang]

Any fan who isn't at least frustrated with the current situation doesnt have W's at the top of their fan list.

yep.

amazed that there are those that have "just bring in $$" as their chief issue. Scotch swilling pseudo ceo's that have their EA's buy their kid's bday presents cuz they just dont give a $hiite. 

[LZH]

yep.

amazed that there are those that have "just bring in $$" as their chief issue. Scotch swilling pseudo ceo's that have their EA's buy their kid's bday presents cuz they just dont give a $hiite.

We can always count on you wang to bring a little sunshine into the discussion.

[superior_wang]

We can always count on you wang to bring a little sunshine into the discussion.

i know the type far too well!

fyi: the sun is poking out  between the snow flakes this am.

[LZH]

i know the type far too well!

fyi: the sun is poking out  between the snow flakes this am.

[bigbadhog]

There is no vast angry diveide in the fanbase in general.  There are small splinter groups of angry "fans" that seem to be likely to be angry no matter what.  There is a groups that wants a wide open sling it around style.  There is a group that wants Long fired for firing Petrino.  There is a group that thinks only Petrino can win here.  There is one that thinks Gus is the be all end all of coaching. There is a group that does not like BB because he is a "yankee". 

These groups though, are small, even in total. Yes, they are vocal on message boards, and on the radio call in shows, but their bark is much worse than their bite. A majority, a vast majority, of fans will be happy when the Hogs win, upset for a while when they lose, but at the end of the day they also realize the only way the can possibly impact things is to stop ging to games, and as we have seen, even in bad year, the Hogs still put lots of fans in the stands.

You are naïve.  Interest in Waning fast and look what has happened to our basketball team since that started with the firing of Nolan.  The results of the firing of Nolan and the firing of BP have so far been very similar... 

[HF#1]

When it comes down to it we all want the same thing.  Wins and championships...

[hogsanity]

You are naïve.  Interest in Waning fast and look what has happened to our basketball team since that started with the firing of Nolan.  The results of the firing of Nolan and the firing of BP have so far been very similar...

Really, well if AVERAGE attendance drops under 60K, then I will beleive you.  Until then, it is business as usual.  People gripe and complain, but still show up.  Be that way as far back as I can remember, which is about 40 years.

[Steef]

When it comes down to it we all want the same thing.  Wins and championships...

We all do want that.

But other than Bama right now, who could remotely EXPECT championships....plural?

No one.

So if you are only satisfied with that, then it's gonna be a long lot of years between happiness. And that isn't just true for us. It's everyone.
I

[Jek Tono Porkins]

Our fans just need to come to terms with where Arkansas is as a program. We're the 7th best football program in the SEC in terms of tradition. It's hilarious to me when we have coaching vacancies and everyone on this board starts throwing out the top names in the business as if we can get any coach we want. Not gonna happen.

For football coaches, Arkansas is a tough job. Everyone knows it. You're in the SEC west and the fans expect you to win big every year. They're known to do crazy things like fly airplanes with banners and FOI your cell phone records. Personally if I was a head coach I wouldn't touch Fayetteville with a 40 foot pole.

What this program needs the most is STABILITY.

[Atlhogfan1]

I agree steef.  Just knew posting it would result in the responses you received.  You , like myself, aren't a casual fan and don't like losing.  The ripping at our basketball program by those with an agenda contributed to killing a lot of my enthusiasm for the program.  The same is being done to our football program now.  Some fans aren't capable of acknowledging the situation and evaluating honestly.  They have to blame someone and want someone fired and believe they should be as disrespectful as possible towards the program they supposedly love.  In their minds, ends justify the means.  They can't accept what happens and the results that lead to circumstances like the rebuild we are in in football now. 

First of all, they're not mad just for the sake of being mad.  They're mad because the football program just had the worst year in the entire one hundred plus year history of the program and they don't agree with the direction of the program.  You don't have to agree with their anger, but you can at least acknowledge their reasons.

So, once again in order to promote unity, you start a thread bringing up the differences and castigating those with whom you disagree? 

I see very few thread around here started by people who are mad anymore but I see plenty started by people who just can't stand it that maybe not everyone agrees that everything is hunky dory in Razorback Land right now.

I don't have to acknowledge their reasons as long as they refuse to acknowledge the circumstances that put us in this situation.

[DukeOfPork]

How do you know BP would not have sustained the success?  I said many times before his firing that he would go at worst 8-4 on a given year if the wheels fell completely off .  One of my favorites from people would be their opinion of his recruiting.  There is no way to know what he would have continued to do.   The recruiting is impossible to gauge on what Bobby would have in place if not for the firing.  I will tell you this.  Brandon Allen would have had a better season last year if BP was here.  The passing game would have been much better and the offense as a whole much better.  We might have had defensive problems but we would have out scored a few teams.  His coaching would have made the team make postseason play.  JMO but we will never know.

You just described a non-double digit win season under BP.  And that's what I said it would be.

I don't see where we are disagreeing.

[DukeOfPork]

Stupid last sentence...we are no different than any other fan base that cares about their program..at least we don't poison trees and dangle our junk, or shoot people for that matter...wise up...people are people. So tired of posters putting down our fan base as worse than any other, guess it makes you feel superior and above others... huh?

Hogville posters are more stupid than most message board posters.  It's a fact.  Hogville is the butt of jokes on other boards.

Don't get me wrong, the board itself is great.  It's among the best in terms of layout, functionality, etc.  It's the unhinged opinions and histrionics that are tolerated here that makes HV such a farce.

Yes, Bama fans are insane.  Worse than us.  But we earned this:

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/the-ten-dumbest-fan-bases-in-america-4-arkansas-.php