Pinch Me
August 26, 2008 at 7:35am by HogBaller
Filed under Arkansas Razorbacks, Football
A new era of Razorback athletics begins when Bobby Petrino unveils his team on Saturday. And frankly, I haven’t been this excited about a season opener in a very long time.
If you remember the predictions we made last month, you know I pushed my fellow RazorBloggers out of the way, drank the entire pitcher of Hog Kool-Aid, and then boldly predicted nine wins for this season.
Certainly back in December of 2006, few if any Hog fans would have dared hope that we would one day be naming a coach of the caliber of Bobby Petrino to lead the Razorback football program.
And even fewer could have foreseen the fallout from an administration that had lost touch with its stakeholders: the Arkansas Razorback fans.
While I don’t want to dwell on past events (they are all well documented on this site and others), the last 12-18 months on The Hill have to at least be recognized as an unprecedented period of change and upheaval. I doubt we will ever witness anything like it again.
I think only SMU after the ‘death penalty‘ could lay claim to having more administration changes in such a short time frame. The irony is that an out-of-control SMU administration lost their football program, while an out-of-control Razorback fan base helped to save their program by demanding change.
Which begs the question…how in the world did we manage to go through all of this without the fan base and program imploding? Not to mention all of the other drama and events that swirled around the program like an F5 tornado: email-gate, text-gate, banners, Darksiders, Huggers, FOI requests and more infighting than a family reunion of the Hatfields and McCoys.
Again, I ask, how in the heck did we manage to come out of that mess smelling like a rose?
While many may argue about my prediction for this season, I think most will agree that the future of Razorback football looks bright and Coach Petrino and Jeff Long are the reasons why.
For now, I just need someone to pinch me. Because when I see Bobby Petrino and his team running out of the “A” at the game on Saturday, I know I won’t believe my eyes. I’ll still think I’m dreaming.
HogBaller, I’m not sure that we are “smelling like a rose” yet but I think there is a bud forming right now. It will be interesting to watch this bud continue to grow and see if it fully blooms like we all hope. Maybe, just maybe, this bloom will last more like a carnation vs. a rose. Carnations will hold it’s petals much longer than a rose!
I’m with you OwassoHog. We may not be “smelling like a rose” but at least now we’re not smelling like dog dookie. And for that, I’m grateful.
Bobby Petrino.
That is the answer to the question. It is hard to give Long too much credit. The two Tommys and the boy from Wake were at the top of his list. Any of those would have been second guessed by one faction of the fans. None of them would have had the potential of Bobby.
Maybe dumb luck is also the answer. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
Dale had no business in the SEC. The personality cult that Frank created for himself was a disaster. I hope we will remember that lesson. When he ran off Lou Holtz he should have been put on notice. When he hired Jack Crowe he should have been retired. Penn St. and Florida St. are in the neverending run of 7-5 seasons until they finally wake up and smell the coffee.
The Fans. Razorback fans would not be ignored. Timing. The game had passed Frank by. Even the board knew we had to move on or miss out.
We are sitting pretty. I am one of the few people who believes that Petrino will stay and that we have a 10 year run ahead of us that will resemble the Spurrier era at Florida. Once he has done it and done it again, he may move on.
I’m with you Blind. There’s something about this guy that make’s me think he’ll be here for a while. It would be easy for any fan to have blind optimism, but the truth is, after all he’s been through over the past year, with people calling him a quitter, cavalier on the go, or just plain dis-loyal, are missing the boat because of sour grapes. The man climbed the ladder of sucsses, and came away unimpressed with what he saw at the top. He’s glad to be back in the college game where he belongs, as he has stated in so many words, more than once. All I have to know is what he did at a virtual basketball school, in only 4 short years. I think he has something to prove to all of his nay-sayers, and will be around much longer than those people think. He’s in a prime recruiting area, coaching in the SEC. He know’s Texas, OK, and Louisiana are loaded with talent to go along with the ever-improving home state talent. He has all of the right assistant coaches in place to help him sucseed once again. Don’t be suprised if Bobby Petrino has the Hogs in the NC hunt in 3 or 4 years.
Like you, HogBaller, I would have never envisioned this time last year Bobby Petrino being here now and the energized hope of the Razorback Nation. During the coaching search, none of the names I was hearing excited me very much but I am a dutiful Hog fan so I would have “drank the Kool Aid.” I was stunned that we ended up landing Petrino and have been very interested in watching his regime take shape. I am looking forward to seeing the Petrino game plan this Saturday and am hopeful that BlindHog’s long-term prediction comes to fruition!
On another note, someone put out a Missing Person’s Report on Hogblogger……it’s been way too long since we have had some of his words of wisdom!
“Again, I ask, how in the heck did we manage to come out of that mess smelling like a rose?”
We haven’t.
We have a portion of the fan base that admits their actions were “out-of-control”, but still contends those were “to save their program”.
We have another chunk of fans that found those actions repugnant and cannot and will not say any change, no matter how good it MIGHT eventually be, was worth the damage to our fan base.
Almost all Hog fans, including me, share your excitement about our new head coach, and hope for better things for our beloved program. Once united in fervent support of our Razorbacks, the fan base now has been deeply scarred and it will be a very long time before that rift heals, if ever.
I think it best if we all don’t get to excited about this year. When you look at the depth chart and see all the freshman that are being counted on this year it should cause one to pause. It’s not as if we are playing in the MAC. Inspite of this I am anxius to see the new look and excitment that it will bring. realisticaly I would think a 4 -8 record would be a success. I sure hope I’m wrong about the record.
Little R, I’m not 100% sure but it is highly likely that HogBlogger is still speechless with the selection of Bobby.
Sorry Noxious,
Frank and Dale were the ones out of control; hiring coaches they didn’t want to coach and recruiting players that they didn’t want to play. And, then promoting them far and wide as the future of the program before running them off. These were actions that could only lead to a revolt. Especially on the heals of two bad years and high expectation dashed. It was as inevitable as the coming of spring. It took two huge egos to miss that.
Razorback fans are united behind Petrino and winning. Dale will be a source of amusement and discourse for years to come.
Years from now when the mini-series of Frank’s life is finally made the last six episodes, fully a third of the documentary, will be about Dale. It is truly Skakespearian in nature and scope; Hamlet, Macbeth, Cleopatra, and Houston Dale Nutt.
How long have these readers been fans????
It was Frank Broyles who put us in position to now earn 15 mill per year on TV revenue alone. Long doesn’t hold a candle.
It was Houston Nutt that brought us from just wanting to beat SMU (after it had succumbed to the death penalty) to expecting us to win SEC Championships. Without his success, we wouldn’t have these expectations.
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid guys – you seem to enjoy being comfortably numb.
How’s it going Frank? You and the CTWF talking a lot??
It’s probably best to leave most of the past alone, but I will give Nutt his dues. He did put us back on the map, for the most part. It’s sad his ego, along with Frank’s growing to enormous porportions, would get in his way of a great future, by running off a coach and a couple of players, that could have helped us in that direction. Sadly,he is a product of human nature, and his own sins are the reason for his upheaval. He know’s it, and we know it.
Moving to the SEC was a great move. Frank gets all of the credit for that.
Sorry, I can’t leave it alone.
The fact that we couldn’t beat SMU went on the plate of Jack Crowe, Danny Ford, and Frank of the Ozarks. All Dale proved was that the players were on hand to do the job and then went on to recruit worse and worse year by year. After Holtz, Frank never hired an accomplished, name coach again. He learned his lesson and we paid for it for 25 years. You are about to see what a real coach can do at Arkansas, could have done all along.
If you are a generational alum will know that the name that was pushed by those in the know instead of Hatfield was Jimmy Johnson. You may remember the national/superbowl titles he won.
We all loved Frank for way too long. But, in doing so, we were swayed in our opinions about his effectiveness. Football coaches did not want to come here. It is over now.
I read a article somewhere on Nutt being the luckiest coach in the country. I have to say, I never agreed more. He inherited a very talented team, put together by Danny Ford, that only needed encouragement and confidence. Nutt was the the perfect cheerleader for the job, but was exsposed repeatedly over the next 10 years, while having to build his own teams, usually losing the top talent in the state, year end and year out at the QB and WR positions. When he finally wormed his way into landing a possibly a great QB and WR, he was exsposed once again by not knowing what to do with them, also exsposing his lack of leadership skills at the same time. He managed to take a few $mil., before he bolted to Old Piss for not much more base salary than he was already making, after convincing our nit-wit school councelor to release him from the “Golden Handcuffs”. Now it’s been reported that Old Piss allumi believe themselves to have a proven winner, after running off there old coach, who by the way put together a very talented team, like Ford did, before handing them over to the Nutt. What a lucky, lucky man you are Mr. Nutt. After you lead this new team of yours to a bowl game this year Hootie, make sure you text Donna on your Old Piss, paid for phone, a few minutes before the kickoff, and let her know your back.
“Moving to the SEC was a great move. Frank gets all of the credit for that.” AGREED
“It was Houston Nutt that brought us from just wanting to beat SMU (after it had succumbed to the death penalty) to expecting us to win SEC Championships. Without his success, we wouldn’t have these expectations.” UHH….SOMEBODY RING THE GONG! He never got above his ego level. He did what he could for the program and after the first three years or so, never really tool the program to any heights beyond SEC runner-up. I would imagine a coach like Petrino could do more, we’ll see. I hope we give him time and he stays here to prove it. But I love his chances of beating the teams Nutt never could… and for the FANs and Universitys sake…. WIN A BOWL GAME. I’m not numb, I’m old, mid 50s and I remember what could be done, not what Numbnutt was able to do. I remember better and I expect better from the school.
If you’ll get off your Numbness Alum, I think you’ll go back and see what coaching can do for a school. Look back at LSU’s record over the years. Sometimes they were celler dwellers, or not competitive, same goes for U of Miami, Texas in some years, Alabama… what changed at those schools to make them competitive where you think they are all the time but not? The same as what happened here at Arkansas. The coach was changed. History shows it makes a HUGE difference on what the school success and subsequent years will be like. I remember the 60s and 70s when we were always good to great. I feel we’re making those huge changes that will bring us back to that again. And Petrino can do it. I’m ELATED beyond words for his capabilities. We have to walk before we can run and I think this is the year of a fast walk, we’re running from next year on. I’m hoping for 7-5 but will be happy with about anything as I know what can happen now. It never would with the Nutt-house still in tack. Go Hogs! Another GREAT article Hogballer.
Oh I remember the 60’s & 70’s alright. Beat Rice, TCU, and whoever else the State of Texas would throw our way and then lose to Texas. We’d have our Top 10 ranking, we’d lose to Darrell Royal, go to bowl game and sometimes win and sometimes lose (more often lose).
While that sounds like a slight to the teams of the 60’s and 70’s, it’s not intended to be one but rather meant to point out that the competition bar was lower back then compared to the SEC of the past ten years. Point is that it was far easier to be a top 20 or even a top 10 team in the SWC then it is in the SEC.
Call me NumbNutts if you want but I for one and damn grateful for what Houston accomplished. You say he was lucky; I say he played with the cards dealt him. When he had Clint Stoerner, we were a passing team. When we had Cedric Cobbs (who was an SI coverboy and briefly touted as the next O.J. Simpson by some), Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, we were a running team. Makes pretty good sense to me.
If you want more from a program, there’s little wrong with that but the constant drumbeat of “Houston Sucked” and “Finally we have a coach” by the readers/commentators of this site shows either historical ignorance or blatant stupidity. As of right now, I’m giving the benefit of the doubt but as the cadence continues, I have to wonder.
I don’t care if you have great running backs or not. That doesn’t automatically mean you can do nothing but run. If you have a great QB, that doesn’t mean you can do nothing but pass. Only an idiot would be one-deminsional in this day and age of big-time college football, and exspect to win consistantly, must less win an SEC crown. We’ve seen this up and down state of mediocraty for 10 years now, so if you can’t get it by now, there’s a pretty good chance it’s hopeless.
Is Generational Alum HDN in disguise? He implied HognTx called him NumbNutts. Or maybe he is JFB in disguise and the trueth of Frank running the football program from the AD position is really true. Either way HognTx, I think what you have said here is exactly the way I feel.
As for Generational Alum saying we are either blatantly stupid or we show historical ignorance, I will say this. HDN and JFB did lots for this university, athletic department and FB program. They should be commended for the positive things they did. There were several shortcomings in the past few years with both and it’s folks like Generational Alum who refuse to recognize those shortcomings which still irritate most of us today and keep the flames burning.
I’m not refusing to recognize shortcomings. If you go back and read the text of what I wrote, I am insisting on basically what you have said:
“HDN and JFB did lots for this university, athletic department and FB program. They should be commended for the positive things they did.”
That’s all I’m doing as well.
…..and for the negative things?
As for the negative things . . . they are irrelevant and have nothing to do with my central point.
That’s akin to saying Little Bobby can’t add or subtract when we’re discussing whether little Bobby can read.