Comments on: Stagnation Leads To Apathy

By: What’s wrong with BWA at hyperLunk

What’s wrong with BWA at hyperLunk — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 13:58:12 +0000

[...] glad I’m not the only one to wonder how Razorback games at Bud Walton Arena have become so boring. I’m not talking about the players, although one could certainly make that case during the [...]

By: hogfan949701

hogfan949701 — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:14:02 +0000

I was a member of the Hogwild band from 1987 through 1992. Boy, those were the days, at least from 87-91 when Robken was at the helm. It was wild, crazy and an absolutely tremendous experience that I was lucky enough to be a part of. Most of the alumni of the the HogWild band (which Robken created by the way with the help and support of Eddie Sutton) call the band the "Hog-Mild" band now. There was a complete change of mindset that I saw start happening when we would go to Barnhill South (Reunion Arena) for the SWC Tournament in Dallas. They would always try to play those Dr. Pepper, et al commercials during the time outs. They actually had an arena manager (marketing person i'm sure) that would tell our graduate assistant over a headset when we could and couldn't play music during the time outs because the planned on playing a stupid commercial. My thought at the time and even today is; "if I wanted to watch a freakin' commercial I would have stayed home and watched the game on TV. I remember numerous times that our GA would be getting the message to not play and Robken would go ahead and fire us up and get something going that got the crowd going absolutely zonkers! Basically he said screw the system let's entertain the crowd! Heck that's what they were there for!! Shanklin came up to us in the HogWild set numerous times when Robken was there and told us to stop playing right in the middle of a set and we would scream and yell at him to "get the Hell outta here!" I know that he has what the UofA feels that he has a job to do, but nothing sells stuff more than an exciting atmosphere and winning team!! Much like Johnny Carson, you will never ever find a replacement for Jim Robken. He was one of a kind. I really miss him.

By: Pignatious

Pignatious — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:57:07 +0000

I could not agree more with this post. Get rid of Gunter! We need a new band director in the worst way. I'm not happy with the same old, same old and I don't believe other fans are either. We need to be constantly evolving to up with other programs. The Bud has become a parody of what real Razorback games should be about. Most of it is Heath's boring basketball style, but a lot of it rests with the sorry entertainment aspect. My wife is an OSU grad and says the cheerleaders and drill squad are just not up to speed. We need to really clean house from top to bottom and start fresh.

By: TipsterHog

TipsterHog — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 23:45:44 +0000

Tyler…thanks for your comment. We'll always welcome you providing your "inside" opinion here.

Sorry about using that pic from the USC b-ball game. Trust me…that game was such an ugly blowout…we all looked that way. Most of us were just looking that way sitting on the couch at home without a camera there to "record the moment."

Anyway…we all know the pic below is the way you guys were 99% of the time this year. Thanks to you and all the other members of the spirit squads for all your hard work and effort.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/103/300592286_53fa286416_m.jpg" />

By: Tyler

Tyler — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:54:09 +0000

Thanks for putting my picture on the site. Yes that's me depressed on the megaphone in Spokane, WA. Some of your arguments are valid but remember the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. The best the for BWA (as a student and a fan) would be to relocate the student section to something like what the Cameron Crazies have. What would be better than that? I know: for some of these sponsorships to lower the costs of student tickets. 4 years ago they were about 130$ for all the home games. It boiled down to about eight bucks a game but it was still a pretty penny to drop for a college student living on Ramen. Now, they break the tickets up into packages of about four games each and you have to select which one you want. In conclusion, I had to become a cheerleader to get in for free and get closer to the court. Mediocraty is hard to get pumped up about from a distance and for money we don't have. (i realize this post is late and probably nobody will read it, but i just felt like an inside opinion would be nice.

By: Gas Hawg

Gas Hawg — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 21:06:46 +0000

I remember starting that Fuji Sucks chant that 10K Hog mentioned – it was because the guy had just made a half court shot but they didn't want to give him the money – total B.S. The bottom line in any big league program is sponsorship – the Hogs have it but no variety of it which is why when you go to BWA all you see is Wal-Mart and Tyson ads to go with a little ring of Coke ads.

I went to law school from 00 through 03 and never missed a home bb game. Those were tough times. I look forward to future and being able to watch an entire BB game on TV without having to leave the room in frustration. Go Hawgs!

By: RadioBoy

RadioBoy — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:35:43 +0000

I have been saying this so long that somebody thought I had either, (a) written this or (b) you are reading my mind.

I'm not a big fan of the piped in stuff, but I am a huge fan of spontanaity (I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong, but I don't have time to look it up).

We need a different band director, but that won't solve the whole problem. We need to give the new, high-energy band director freedom to choreograph the show on the fly. Of course, that would mean prying control away from some fairly entrenched individuals.

IMO, the day the WT Overture was played during a time out called by the Razorbacks was the day the wheels fell off this wagon.

By: Waldron Hog

Waldron Hog — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 11:55:44 +0000

Fielding an exciting team who shows up to play every game (home and away) will put more folks in the seats. A result will be more noise anyway. Unless our new coach is given some control, I doubt we see any changes at all. Our leaders at the UofA don't seem to be much for change. They did try once with David Bazzell and the "Root Hog" thing which didn't go over very well. I don't think they've done anything since.

The Hog call is still the most intimidating thing we can do unless the building gets so loud you can't hear anything but noise. Only the team can cause that to happen. When it's like that, you can't hear cheer leaders or the pep band.

By: BACON BITS

BACON BITS — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:44:22 +0000

I guess the question you would have to ask yourself is at what point would you add to the overall presentation and music. Sure some techno and some Urban hits would get the players and students rowdy but some of the ticket holders are (let's just say a little more of a mature audience). Then you would have complaints about that.

I agree however that we need to add the speaker pounding music that the younger kids like. It will draw more recruits and add to the intimidation factor for visiting teams.

By: HogBaller

HogBaller — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 09:57:18 +0000

Moving the student sections around probably won't happen, but getting a change in the band, spirit squad and overall atmosphere is entirely possible.

Excellent article, I totally agree.

By: Bradley Ward

Bradley Ward — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:47:45 +0000

Great Post! So True! Really enjoyed reading it! Hopefully the PTB read it too!

By: 2hogfans

2hogfans — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:37:21 +0000

Fantastic Post! I could not agree more!

By: OwassoHog

OwassoHog — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:19:12 +0000

One additional item that I failed to mention about Jim… he was very good about keeping a somewhat respectful attitude with the band members for the other team. Maybe, just maybe the worst thing he'd generally let us do was to read the Hog Calls newspaper for the introduction of the opposing team. He'd let you have fun, enjoy the game, and cheer your hearts out for the Razorbacks but generally you were to respect the other team even when the team went below our area! This was in spite of how much we wanted to heckle Abe Lemons!

By: 10KHog

10KHog — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:00:40 +0000

Speaking of, where's the contests for money that they used to have. The only one I've seen lately is one shot at a three pointer for $25k. Come on, make it a challenge and you'll see the crowd get pumped up. The last time that happened that stupid kid won it and then they took it away and then they gave it to him… all the while the students yelling "Fuji Sucks"… marketing at its' finest!

By: GONZOHOG

GONZOHOG — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:56:12 +0000

I grew up watching Jim Robkin make his famous run around BarnHill Arena, on the last note of the the Hog theme song, just in time to finish, by picking up his wand at the last second, when it seemed as if all of the band members were running out of air. We had the coolest band director in the land, and everbody knew it. We watched Robkin do this almost every single televised game for years. He seemed as if he were a Hog mascot himself. I agree Sunshine, we need some of this magic back in BWA, like we used to have it in Barnhill. The Oldies are good for setting around with friends, throwing horse shoes. They don't belong in BWA at game time.

By: EArkHog

EArkHog — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:11:19 +0000

Back in the Good Old Days when I'd watch the razorbacks on TV, the announcer guys couldn't get enough of Jim Robbken and the band and that volume meter pumped up to the top when they'd do the Overture. I’d get chills. The hog call after the Overture would raise the hair on your neck, too. We need to win games, and we need Jim Robbken, too.

Get rid of that inflated doll thing that waddles around. That thing's gross.

By: Hogfan in Louisiana

Hogfan in Louisiana — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:22:33 +0000

Hey. I know I must be in the minority, but my sister and I attended an exhibition game at BWA this past November, and we had a blast! I know, we're in our 50's and had never been to BWA or Barnhill before, but we laughed our butts off! We sat across the court from the band and student section, and we loved the music and student choreography. When the cheerleaders would come out at time-out, the mascots were a hoot! At one point, the blown-up one put a megaphone on his nose. I just guess I saw the humor in it and enjoyed the heck out it! Of course, there were some season-ticket holders in front of us who turned around and said, very sarcastically, "They do it every game." You must understand, too, I live in Lousiana, and anything Razorback is very refreshing to me. I don't know when I will ever get to go to BWA again, but my one experience was one to remember.

By: Wood

Wood — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:13:00 +0000

What you have described is nothing different from the atmosphere at DWR. Commercial after commercial is played during every stopage of play. Yeah the Excedrin Headache (hit?) of the Game got the crowd into it and reved up. How many us thought when the Pig Screen was installed meant we would be watching commercials at a football game, one that we weren't watching on TV. Shanklin was only doing his job when he tried to rob 10KHog but seriously. More highlights from previous seasons or games earlier in the season would be an improvement, especially non-televised games.

By: Clint

Clint — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:19:16 +0000

I don't know if I really like the idea of the piped-in music or not. But I do have some of the same "oldies" that the band plays every game like the stupid "would ya be my girl" song or whatever it is. Also, I thought I can't tell you how old the Green Day "Holiday" song was. Look, it's a great song, but it has nothing to do with sports, isn't energetic for a Green Day song, and the political implications of the song just make it seem out of place at a sporting event. The fact that I had to hear it every game while the pom squad did their dated dance routine was bad enough.

By: OwassoHog

OwassoHog — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:39:59 +0000

FormerBandmember, I too played for Jim R. so we might have been in the band at the same time (I was pre BWA)! There are probably a lot of things that we could talk about why things worked with Jim. He definitely was a hoot! The location of where we sat in Barnhill. We were up in a section to ourselves and it was well positioned to enable the sound to be well heard. Jim was goofy enough to pull it off. So much so that he was given a conference championship ring (at least one year). To my knowledge, this was a complete shock to him (getting the ring) and it made him believe that he came as close to the team as could humanly possible for a band director.

This just doesn't seem to happen with Tim G.