Discouraged Hog Fans Need to Help By Looking in the Mirror

Arkansas hopes to end disappointing two-game losing streak with Gators in town

Arkansas Razorbacks fans call the Hogs in the second half of the Hogs' 75-60 victory against the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners at Bud Walton Arena on Dec. 7. Hogs coach John Calipari hopes Arkansas' faithful fans show up in force today against No. 8 Florida. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Let me say it for all of Razorback Nation: What in the name of John Tyson, NIL and John Calipari is going on here? None of you, me included, expected this when Calipari packed his Big Blue Nation bags and moved to Fayetteville.

An 11-4 record? Sure, not bad. But in games that really matter for NCAA seeding purposes, the Hogs are 1-4. What's worse is how poorly they've played in those losses.

Arkansas had a chance to beat Baylor and Ole Miss, yes, but were put away early by Tennessee and Illinois.

Worst defeat this season? Unquestionably the 73-66 setback to Ole Miss on Wednesday.

Following the humiliating blowout at Tennessee, everybody figured Calipari's team would rebound as most good teams will — by winning the next one at home. Thanks largely to the best half Johnell "Nelly" Davis' has enjoyed in his 13 Arkansas games, the Hogs led 27-18.

Davis had 11 points and had buried three of his four 3-point tries. 'Twas just how Calipari drew it up on the flight home from Tennessee.

Then, the roof fell in, the boat sprung a leak, and the car ran out of gas. Pick your silly analogy but the Hogs fell apart.

The Rebels slow-played their way to a 32-13 run over the next 12:40 to grab a 10-point lead. What was most discouraging was the Hogs were outhustled, outplayed, out-willed for the second straight game.

Calipari said he was disappointed, not discouraged. OK, but if you watched as a fan, it was downright discouraging to see the once-proud Razorbacks give in to a team with less talent in front of the home folks.

Bud Walton Arena ain't what it used to be, I'm told. Too many corporate seats and suites, crappy music nobody wants to hear and canned theatrics during timeouts.

It's important to remember this is a college arena. The cheerleaders and pom squads should lead cheers during timeouts.

The band should play at every timeout. The student section should go wild, and older fans should follow suit, in a more reserved manner, of course.

But the Bud Walton crowd should be on its feet, do the Hog call with enthusiasm, and cheer throughout. It's not like going to the movie or the opera.

Stand up and cheer. Mostly, show up.

This photo below wasn't disappointing to see. It's worse than discouraging. It's disgusting.

For a game against a ranked team https://t.co/5n4GwzUSC7

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) January 9, 2025

I know lots of folks are blaming Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek for turning Walton Arena into a boring NBA-wannabe. I agree the marketing department seems misguided.

I know the Hogs aren't winning and fans are indeed discouraged. But not all those empty seats are because tickets being sold to corporations.

There are thousands of empty seats although the official attendance on my box score listed 19,200, which is capacity. The arena might be sold out but folks ain't showing up.

And those who come are sitting quietly way too often. I know it might not be easy to go to every game, but the SEC schedule is set up for two homes in a week, then two away.

If you buy the ticket, show up. If you don't want to show up, sell the ticket.

If you can't sell it, give it someone who will go, whether that's a relative, friend, neighbor or co-worker. Just fill the seats.

You can blame the coach and the team for not playing well. That's legit. You can blame them all you want, for anything you want.

But home court is supposed to be an advantage. It's fans who make it an advantage, but Razorback fans aren't holding up their end of the bargain.

Bud Walton has long been called, at least in Northwest Arkansas, the Basketball Palace of Mid-America. That phrase was likely coined by John George, the the marvelous man on the microphone at Walton and long before that, in Barnhill Arena.

When it opened for the 1993-94 season, Walton Arena was special. It was big, it was bold, it was better than any home court in the SEC.

That's not just because of the building. The team's talent fed off of that energy and made the Hogs' home court the most feared in the SEC and one of the Top 5 or so in the country.

What happened in the first game played at Walton Arena? The No. 2-ranked Hogs destroyed a Missouri team 120-68 that featured first-round NBA talent.

Fans were pumped, players were energized by the crowd. Mizzou never had a chance.

What happened to the Tigers that season? They went 14-0 in the Big 12 and reached the Elite Eight. It was just a magical day in Walton Arena, and there have been many since.

The fans filled the place, knew when to crank up the noise to make the Hogs' defense tougher and instill fear into the visiting team. They'd go crazy over breakaway dunks and sustain a deafening noise throughout a TV timeout, successfully hindering the opposing team and pumping up the Razorbacks.

I've seen many visiting teams fold under that two-fold pressure — from talented Arkansas players and a fan base that refused to let their team lose. Those days appear gone.

The fans don't show up, don't seem to cheer like the old days, and it's sad. That doesn't mean the magic can't be recaptured, but it's up to the fans as much as the players.

I suspect the Hogs will put forth a Herculean effort against Florida on Saturday in an attempt to avoid an 0-3 start in the SEC. They could use some help from an arena packed with frenetic, friendly fans .

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