Razorbacks to Start Their New Year on January 2nd
The Arkansas Razorbacks’ year got off to such a bad start, they’re calling a do-over. That’s thanks to a miserable showing in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic on Tuesday. Tuesday also marked the end to a strange season for the Razorbacks, and the beginning of a new era in Razorback athletics.
We here at the Fayetteville Flyer didn’t get our press passes in time to go to the game, so a few of us gathered at a friends house to watch the pummeling Arkansas received early Tuesday morning.
We also saw the all-red uniforms Arkansas wore in honor of Frank Broyles, who will move into a consultant role after retiring from his long time position as the Razorbacks athletic director.
We witnessed the first and last game of the Reggie Herring era, who on a related note coached one of the most poorly managed games in recent Razorback history.
It was the last chance to see Marcus Monk, Peyton Hillis, Matt Hewitt, and many others in a Razorback uniform. It was also likely the last time we’ll see either Darren McFadden or Felix Jones dawning the cardinal and white, as both are expected to declare themselves eligible for the upcoming NFL draft.
It was a happy day for the people who flew banners, bought ads, FOI’d, and generally hated Houston Nutt out of town. Even though the Razorbacks lost, there are several who are just glad to see a different face leading the team onto the field.
I didn’t agree with how Houston Nutt was treated by some of the more rabid (i.e. psycho) Razorback fans, but I was as ready as anyone to see a coaching change. Fact is, though, that the players who played for Nutt loved to play for him, and I can’t imagine his ouster didn’t have some effect on the effort we saw at the Cotton Bowl Tuesday. I believe that Arkansas was the better team, but the bottom line is, they didn’t come to play.
There were fumbles, penalties, missed assignments, mismanagement by the coaching staff, poor play caling (come on David Lee. I know you’re looking for a new house in Oxford, but couldn’t you stop for long enough to come up with something else to call after that first fake punt? You know, the one nullified by a time out. Did you really think you could do it two times in a row?)
It was an ugly game to say the least.
On January 2nd, Bobby Petrino takes over for the Razorbacks, who already said he wants to provide clean slates for all the returning players. A new football coach, a new basketball coach, and a new athletic director all within a year provide a perfect opportunity for a fresh start for the Razorback program. It’s a new year for Razorback athletics. We’re just gonna start a day late.
Discussion
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By JTrain on January 2nd, 2008
I’m with you, Jarsh. There’s no way I would have believed it either. Thank God it’s true, though.
By BadMinton on January 2nd, 2008
Thankfully the Diamond Hogs, Dolls, and RBI Girls will all be back to Baum in a little over a month. We have basketball in the mix too, but that crap pales in comparison to chicks chucking T-shirts and Cracker Jacks and getting obliterated on mixed drinks out past the left field wall.
By DBartho on January 2nd, 2008
Well said Badminton. Well said.