Life as a Hogs fan

As a small town girl from northern Arkansas, I’ve known no other life than that of an Arkansas Razorbacks fan. I grew up learning how to call the Hogs, “never yielding,” and spending Saturdays in Fayetteville at Donald W. Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium. As I’ve grown up, my interest in Arkansas football has gone from excitement and anticipation for game days to unenthusiastically looking over the stats the next Sunday. I still consider myself a fan, just more of a lukewarm one than the passionate one I was when I was younger. Looking back, I begin to wonder just when my disinterest began. My best bet would be that it was when I actually started understanding the game and realized the disappointing fact that every Razorbacks fan is faced with: We just aren’t good at football.
Take last Saturday’s game. Arkansas played the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on their home turf in Tuscaloosa and got beat 48-7. Even with their Heisman-trophy nominated quarterback Tua Tagovailoa out with an ankle injury, the Crimson Tide made easy work of the Hogs. Backup quarterback Mac Jones passed for 235 yards and three touchdowns, while Hogs quarterback John Stephen Jones passed for 49 yards and one touchdown. The Razorbacks gave up 24 points from turnovers. The game marked 13 straight losses to Alabama for the Hogs, and put their 2019 SEC record at 0-5 under Coach Chad Morris.
A big question we Razorbacks football fans are being faced with is simple: Why can’t Morris find a quarterback who will work? Last season, he replaced and rereplaced three promising quarterbacks — Cole Kelley, Ty Storey and Connor Noland — none of whom pulled off an SEC victory. This year, he’s faced with the same issue with three new quarterbacks — Ben Hicks, Nick Starkel and John Stephen Jones. At any rate, the quarterback situation needs to be figured out. You can’t win in the SEC without a consistent quarterback, as we see every week.
Something I have always wondered is how diehard Razorbacks supporters keep their enthusiasm, season after season, game after game. It would be easy to do something similar to what I did and lose interest after a losing spell or yet another coach change. But every time the Razorbacks are playing, you’d better believe that there will be fans tailgating and cheering from the stands and in front of their televisions. I’d like to believe that supporting a losing team just has a unique way of bringing its fan base together. You and your fellow fans experience heartbreak after heartbreak together, something that is sure to bring out camaraderie in fans, no matter their differences.
I’m holding out hope that the Razorbacks can pull off an SEC win sometime this season. Maybe it will be this Saturday, when they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at home in Fayetteville. I’m also holding out hope for my excitement about Razorbacks game days to be rekindled. There is something special about watching football — and enjoying it — with people who love the same team you do.