That Pain Hog Fans Feel is Hope and It's a Good Thing

Saturday proves Pittman brought back a feeling an entire segment of fans have never felt before

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Sep 25, 2022 6:13 PM EDT

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

ARLINGTON, Texas – It was almost instantaneous. If there weren't the context of what had just unfolded on the field at AT&T Stadium it might have been mistaken for a mass power outage or a massive cyber attack.

Almost as soon as it became obvious Texas A&M was going to take a final knee with no chance for Arkansas get the ball back, the numbers tracking Razorback fan activity online fell to almost nothing in a matter of seconds.

It not only had a creepy effect, it carried a strong singular message.

Sam Pittman has done his job.

This was made most obvious the next morning by a singular tweet by a Razorback fan who simply wrote "Why does it hurt so bad this time?"

That's simple. Arkansas fans had hope.

It's something that went away a decade ago when Bobby Petrino nose-dived off the side of the road and that hadn't been felt to this level since the early days of Houston Nutt and Clint Stoerner.

There's a whole section of the fan base who felt hope for the first time this season in regard to Razorback football. When hope is combined with a loss to a lesser team in heart-breaking fashion, there's nothing left in the void where hope once was but pain.

That much is obvious by the number of cell phone screens in need of repair today.

It's something Georgia dealt with for a long time that has been extensively documented by a character literally personified as a frustrating girlfriend named Hope in the SEC Shorts series.

What Hog fans need to prepare for is what happens if Arkansas rebounds and takes down a beatable Alabama team in Razorback Stadium this weekend.

The hope that just ripped their hearts out late Saturday night as A&M fans belted out their nonsensical chants while filing into the Dallas Cowboys parking lot will return and be stronger than ever. If wins keep piling up and the Aggies lose to Alabama the following week, plus a loss to Ole Miss later on, it will hit a peak equivalent to the summit of the Titan roller coaster at the Six Flags next door.

What happens when Arkansas faces Ole Miss and LSU would then determine whether Razorback fans are going to plunge into a thrilling ride to the SEC championship, whipping around through stomach twisting turn after turn, or a deadly drop with the track gone at the bottom.

The next few months are either going to be the experience of a lifetime, or, as happened with the "Jump Six" play near the end of the second half, a moment they will never forget for all the wrong reasons.

And that's a good thing.

No one was throwing phones, screaming obscenities, or logging offline out of furious rage just a few years ago. Instead, they were out on the lake, on a deer stand or patrolling the local shopping centers.

The stadium was virtually empty, and as Arkansas embarrassed itself time and again, no one cared. Apathy does not even begin to describe what Arkansas fans felt.

However, a shade over two seasons later, and Hope has found her way into living rooms, bedrooms, and, yes, even 5 a.m. trips to the bathroom, across Arkansas. Sam Pittman, Barry Odom, Kendal Briles, KJ Jefferson and Bumper Pool are a big reason why she's there.

There's a reason football Saturday is followed by the Sabbath, especially in Arkansas. A lot of people need to be asking for forgiveness and healing today after the events of Saturday night.

They also need a quick lesson in hope and faith that every fan needs to push on to the next week and next season.

One day Arkansas will actually win a national championship that appears in the sports almanacs. That year could still be this one.

When that day comes, Hope and the pain that comes with her will move on.

For now, Hope is here and, more often than not, she's going to hurt Razorback fans while crushing their hearts in the most painful of ways.

That's Sam Pittman's fault.

And that's a good thing.