Razorbacks Need Support From Fanbase, Not Dwelling on Arkansas' Past Failures

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Most Arkansas fans are in prove it mode when it comes to talk during the offseason.

Even during spring ball, most were skeptical about how coaches and players promoted the program because they don't want to get their hopes up.

Back in the day, before spring games were mostly televised nationally or streamed by ESPN, fans would show up for Houston Nutt, Bobby Petrino and the early days of Bret Bielema. Even when Chad Morris' first showcase was played inside Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium there was a modest crowd.

The 2020s have seen interest die off in waves as former coach Sam Pittman failed to keep fans engaged following a 9-4 season in 2021. He wasn't able to capitalize on that rich opportunity, nor recapture the magic that started his tenure.

While a lot of that was out of his control with all the unexpected changes happening across college football, Arkansas ultimately failed to equip Pittman with the resources needed to be successful. As a result, fans soured on what became a regular 7-6 tenure down the final stretch, and ultimately, he was fired.

As the Razorbacks' Red-White game took place last weekend, there was a noticeable lack of interest in attendance. But those who did show up showed enthusiasm and excitement filled with hope first-year coach Ryan Silverfield can turn things around.

Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver CJ Brown in spring practice. | Munir El-Khatib-allHOGS Images

Junior wide receiver CJ Brown is a former in-state recruit, growing up just down the road in Bentonville, and has personally witnessed the ups and downs of Arkansas football.

Brown said the biggest component missing is the connection between the Razorbacks' program and its fans, which he wants to see change moving forward.

"[Fan support], that's a big deal for me," Brown said following Arkansas' Red-White Game. "We have a great fanbase. Being able to get out here and show them what we've been working on all all winter, all spring, and just getting them involved."

"I like the whole day we've got planned out, I thought that was pretty cool. Then we're gonna go do the autograph signing."

There are several players on the roster who have been at Arkansas when things were going right in some way, and have probably told the transfers or incoming freshmen what they ought to expect.

For Kentucky transfer EDGE rusher Steven Soles, he's witnessed rabid atmospheres across the SEC. Despite not playing inside Razorback Stadium before, he mentioned his plan to maximize fan engagement if he had scored in some fashion during Saturday's spring game.

"I loved [the atmosphere]," Soles said. "I don't think that was the full capacity or full energy that we will have, but I [was planning] if I would have caught a pick or a touchdown, I told my teammates I was going to jump in the crowd and that that's how that's how I was going to see what the fans was really about.

"But [fans] coming out regardless and their energy, it was good. I liked it."

The reality is, Arkansas is in the midst of a first-year transition and while there is optimism at certain positions, changes overnight may or may not happen this fall.

To some, Silverfield wasn’t the splashy hire who immediately energizes a starved fanbase. He didn’t walk in with the national buzz like a Lane Kiffin.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during spring practices. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

Others liked the idea of someone like Alex Golesh, who might sell tickets based off his coaching history at Tennessee, but he was also 0-3 against the Razorbacks new head man during their time in the American Conference, respectively.

Sure, for a program like Arkansas' that has been burned before, hesitation is understandable. That's why Arkansas fans face a major choice moving forward.

Support isn’t just about only celebrating success, but helping build it by having fans in the stands every game. It's also avoiding people going to social media blasting how Arkansas is going 2-10 based off Silverfield's "All In" catchphrase he coined long before ever stepping foot on the University of Arkansas Campus.

Home field advantage is what matters in college football, and Arkansas fans will have their chance to shine brightly seven times, including five games against SEC opponents.

Energy matters. Momentum matters.

And when a new coaching staff is trying to establish their identity, culture and belief inside a locker room, the environment around the program either accelerates that process or slows it down.

Current players, prospective recruits and transfers can see it, feel it, and believe Arkansas is a place they don't want to be.

If Razorback Stadium becomes an afterthought early in Silverfield’s tenure, they might as well bulldoze the place down, because it makes everything that much harder. Development takes longer, confidence wavers, and those once close games tilt the other direction just like they have in recent years

But when that place is engaged, when it’s loud, when it's rocking like it use to, the Arkansas fanbase can change things.

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