Robert Shields where art thou?

[LittleRockHog2120]

Patiently awaiting your words of wisdom.

[onebadrubi]

Who?

[MalzahnFan]

I am as well! It's always refreshing to hear a central Arkansan who isn't one of HDN old cronies - Sunshine Pumper.

[Pulled(PP)pork]

He's taken a side job in replacing malfunctioning stadium clocks


PP

[HamHands]

PP  I agree. How hard is it to get a scoreboard or game clock to work? EVERY game played there has had one or the other malfunction during the game.

[Robert Shields]

UA Doesn't Deliver Product Worth $100 Ticket at War Memorial Stadium

Robert Shields

The Arkansas Razorback football team took a huge step back this week in Little Rock against the Georgia Bulldogs. Before the game, there were very few Razorbacks fans who would have expected an absolute beat down in the first half to essentially end the game – but that's what they got.

There are two things that became clearer this weekend that sheds light on where exactly the Razorback football program is at this moment. First, Texas A&M is a really bad team, and just a few weeks back the Razorbacks let an inferior team get away with a victory they never should have had.

Secondly, the Razorbacks had a chance against an Alabama team that for whatever reason took last week off from football, yet the Razorbacks could not take advantage of a rare opportunity being virtually handed to them.

How will the SEC losing streak ever end if they can't pull off just one of those two wins?

Overall, Saturday's edition of Razorback football looked exactly like the teams that got shellacked last year. The defense was exposed like Swiss cheese right out of the gate.

It was also disappointing that the running game was stymied by the Georgia defense at times forcing the Razorbacks to go to the air, which this offense was never designed to do. You can skip watching Razorback games and look at the box score, and if you see Brandon Allen had to throw more than 40 times, the Razorbacks lost.

The overall disappointment was compounded by the fact that the same mistakes over the last three games continued to be repeated. The missed extra point after the Razorbacks' first score against Georgia was deflating to the fans especially in the face of what was the exact difference in the Razorbacks' loss to Alabama the previous week. If you had hoped before the Georgia game that such mistakes had been rectified, the answer is no.

Even further disappointment is that mistakes such as turnovers keep haunting this team. The lack of ball security is disconcerting. The Razorbacks had three turnovers against Alabama, and they were up to the task this week against Georgia to better that mark.

Without the turnovers, maybe the game against Georgia would have been competitive.  Apparently all the experts liked the Razorback chances, as at least four on CBS Sportsline had the Hogs winning as did analysts on ESPN and the SEC Network.

Instead, the streak of losses against SEC teams went to 16 in a row and the last 12 belong to Bret Bielema. Even more shocking, the Razorbacks have lost their last three SEC games in Little Rock and four out of their last five in the Old Gray Lady. The once impenetrable confines seem no different than any other place the Hogs have been slaughtered during this most dire time for Razorback fans.

Bielema heads into a dangerous game this weekend and maybe a crossroad for him as the fan base will get nasty if the Razorbacks lose to the UAB Blazers because the program is supposed to have advanced way past the point of losing to non-SEC teams on its regular season schedule.

In spite of the product on the field, Ole Miss fans would be proud of the Razorback fans as they won the party, though.

The tailgating around War Memorial Stadium and in particular on the golf course was gargantuan. It was certainly one of the largest attended tailgate events ever at the stadium and easily exceeded 80,000 people. Many said it was the largest ever. It was epic to say in a word.

The tailgaters hit it hard and arrived early at the golf course. Traffic was a mess and snarled as people vied to find their space to party. A first for the golf course, a man was seen with two large snakes wrapped around him. Having a little port-a-potty camping tent thing they make now is also coming into vogue on the golf course. I cannot blame people as the port-a-potties provided by the city are limited and overwhelmed by such a large crowd that is out to celebrate like it's the Burning Man Festival.

The Razorback mascot arrived around 11 a.m. on Markham Street getting his police escort. A Georgia fan nearby was actually excited to see the Razorback mascot pass. It was kind of like a celebrity star sighting for him. He was probably more excited than the Razorback fans and was surprised by its size.

The team arrived 30 minutes early than has been the customary practice in the past of arriving two hours before the game. The players arrived around 12:30 p.m. catching many fans unaware. Their arrival was also fast blitzing down the street at a high rate of speed. I witnessed no fans going out into the street as all stayed on the sidewalk to avoid getting run over by the speeding buses.

The fast approach gave fans little to no time to greet the team out on Markham for their approach, and it was a light turnout to greet them. If the plan is to kill the tradition of fans going out onto the street and beating on the buses and yelling at the team like they are rock stars, it could not be executed any better.

The fans arrived in the stadium expecting a victory, yet once again were disappointed. The first drive brought the fans alive, but that was to be it.

Some fans had to pay an extortion fee of $100 to witness this debacle. The fans got to watch another serving of losing football with the always looming threat that all games will be pulled out of Central Arkansas.

If they are going to lose, they can do that just as easily in Fayetteville and make more money.

It's a shame the UA football program could not match the same level of excitement as seen on the golf course by the fans. Like a bad breakup where one is saying to the other, "it's not you, it's me," maybe it's time for Little Rock to tell the UA to stop coming instead of the other way around.




Send your tailgate stories to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

[hogcard1964]

Good read.

[ADavisTheGOAT]

Who is Robert Shields?

[Pulled(PP)pork]

is the clock fixed already??


PP

[LittleRockHog2120]

Thanks Robert!

[mjsphd]

Even Hog-starved South Arkansans won't pay $100 to see Toledo.

[The_Iceman]

[The_Iceman]

UA Doesn't Deliver Product Worth $100 Ticket at War Memorial Stadium

Robert Shields

The Arkansas Razorback football team took a huge step back this week in Little Rock against the Georgia Bulldogs. Before the game, there were very few Razorbacks fans who would have expected an absolute beat down in the first half to essentially end the game – but that's what they got.

There are two things that became clearer this weekend that sheds light on where exactly the Razorback football program is at this moment. First, Texas A&M is a really bad team, and just a few weeks back the Razorbacks let an inferior team get away with a victory they never should have had.

Secondly, the Razorbacks had a chance against an Alabama team that for whatever reason took last week off from football, yet the Razorbacks could not take advantage of a rare opportunity being virtually handed to them.

How will the SEC losing streak ever end if they can't pull off just one of those two wins?

Overall, Saturday's edition of Razorback football looked exactly like the teams that got shellacked last year. The defense was exposed like Swiss cheese right out of the gate.

It was also disappointing that the running game was stymied by the Georgia defense at times forcing the Razorbacks to go to the air, which this offense was never designed to do. You can skip watching Razorback games and look at the box score, and if you see Brandon Allen had to throw more than 40 times, the Razorbacks lost.

The overall disappointment was compounded by the fact that the same mistakes over the last three games continued to be repeated. The missed extra point after the Razorbacks' first score against Georgia was deflating to the fans especially in the face of what was the exact difference in the Razorbacks' loss to Alabama the previous week. If you had hoped before the Georgia game that such mistakes had been rectified, the answer is no.

Even further disappointment is that mistakes such as turnovers keep haunting this team. The lack of ball security is disconcerting. The Razorbacks had three turnovers against Alabama, and they were up to the task this week against Georgia to better that mark.

Without the turnovers, maybe the game against Georgia would have been competitive.  Apparently all the experts liked the Razorback chances, as at least four on CBS Sportsline had the Hogs winning as did analysts on ESPN and the SEC Network.

Instead, the streak of losses against SEC teams went to 16 in a row and the last 12 belong to Bret Bielema. Even more shocking, the Razorbacks have lost their last three SEC games in Little Rock and four out of their last five in the Old Gray Lady. The once impenetrable confines seem no different than any other place the Hogs have been slaughtered during this most dire time for Razorback fans.

Bielema heads into a dangerous game this weekend and maybe a crossroad for him as the fan base will get nasty if the Razorbacks lose to the UAB Blazers because the program is supposed to have advanced way past the point of losing to non-SEC teams on its regular season schedule.

In spite of the product on the field, Ole Miss fans would be proud of the Razorback fans as they won the party, though.

The tailgating around War Memorial Stadium and in particular on the golf course was gargantuan. It was certainly one of the largest attended tailgate events ever at the stadium and easily exceeded 80,000 people. Many said it was the largest ever. It was epic to say in a word.

The tailgaters hit it hard and arrived early at the golf course. Traffic was a mess and snarled as people vied to find their space to party. A first for the golf course, a man was seen with two large snakes wrapped around him. Having a little port-a-potty camping tent thing they make now is also coming into vogue on the golf course. I cannot blame people as the port-a-potties provided by the city are limited and overwhelmed by such a large crowd that is out to celebrate like it's the Burning Man Festival.

The Razorback mascot arrived around 11 a.m. on Markham Street getting his police escort. A Georgia fan nearby was actually excited to see the Razorback mascot pass. It was kind of like a celebrity star sighting for him. He was probably more excited than the Razorback fans and was surprised by its size.

The team arrived 30 minutes early than has been the customary practice in the past of arriving two hours before the game. The players arrived around 12:30 p.m. catching many fans unaware. Their arrival was also fast blitzing down the street at a high rate of speed. I witnessed no fans going out into the street as all stayed on the sidewalk to avoid getting run over by the speeding buses.

The fast approach gave fans little to no time to greet the team out on Markham for their approach, and it was a light turnout to greet them. If the plan is to kill the tradition of fans going out onto the street and beating on the buses and yelling at the team like they are rock stars, it could not be executed any better.

The fans arrived in the stadium expecting a victory, yet once again were disappointed. The first drive brought the fans alive, but that was to be it.

Some fans had to pay an extortion fee of $100 to witness this debacle. The fans got to watch another serving of losing football with the always looming threat that all games will be pulled out of Central Arkansas.

If they are going to lose, they can do that just as easily in Fayetteville and make more money.

It's a shame the UA football program could not match the same level of excitement as seen on the golf course by the fans. Like a bad breakup where one is saying to the other, "it's not you, it's me," maybe it's time for Little Rock to tell the UA to stop coming instead of the other way around.




Send your tailgate stories to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

Oh hey, look at that. Guess what Robert?

[Doug]

[Hoggie17]

Good read.

And factual!

[BPsTheMan]

Some fans had to pay an extortion fee of $100 to witness this debacle. The fans got to watch another serving of losing football with the always looming threat that all games will be pulled out of Central Arkansas.

It's a shame the UA football program could not match the same level of excitement as seen on the golf course by the fans. Like a bad breakup where one is saying to the other, "it's not you, it's me," maybe it's time for Little Rock to tell the UA to stop coming instead of the other way around.