In anticipation of the new year, we’ve pulled the Sync crystal ball out of storage, dusted it off and taken it for a spin. We peppered it with questions about 2014 news, sports, entertainment, music and food. The answers were sometimes predictable, sometimes shocking. So here they are: Sync’s predictions for 2014. Remember, our crystal ball has been wrong before. You’ve been advised.
FOOD
by Emily Van Zandt
While we can’t tell if cupcakes will lose their charm or if we’ll get burnt out on bacon in 2014, there are a few things that we feel pretty comfortable guessing about. Here’s a look at the top five things we expect to see in central Arkansas dining next year.
Patio season will start in March
Thanks to earlier-than-normal ice and snow in 2013, we’re already prepared to kick back in the sun with a beer or two. Whether spring comes rolling in early or not, I predict that patio season will start extra-early in 2014. As the days start getting longer, Arkansans will begin making their way outside to drink, even if it means piling on a few extra layers. Expect bar patios to start filling up in mid-March.
Capital renovations will shake things up
Wish Ashley’s at the Capital Hotel was a bit more relaxed? You may be in luck. Ashley’s chef Joël Antunes has hinted at a revamp coming for Ashley’s this spring, including a menu update, an added bar and a more casual atmosphere. The renovations are scheduled to start in March and finish mid-April. Ashley’s will be closed for five or six weeks while the construction takes place, but when it’s open again, I can see it being more popular than ever.
Food writers will write Tweet-only reviews
After spending what seems like the majority of 2013 doing nothing but tweeting among themselves, the Little Rock foodie community will move completely over to the social platform in 2014. Forget lengthy blog posts and detailed print stories. Next year, food reviews will be summed up in 140 characters or less, allowing the food tweeters to never have to look away from their feeds. (We kid. Kind of.)
Restaurants will focus on younger clientele
Focusing on 20- and 30-something diners is long overdue in Little Rock. Big-name restaurants maintain an older vibe and price out many younger diners, leaving us crowding the bar at more casual spots. With the opening of swank downtown bar and restaurant Cache, I have fingers crossed that booths and tables in 2014 will soon be filled with a younger crowd willing to drop a few extra dollars on a high quality meal.
The power lunch will be the new dinner date
With uber-trendy spots like South on Main (maybe Bruno’s in 2014? Please?) offering up lunch menus, making your date a lunchtime affair will be the move in 2014. It’s cheaper, less intimidating and a good way to get out of the office for an hour or so. Plus, you can steer conversation to complaining about your co-workers, you don’t have to worry about drinking too much and you have a set time limit. You can save dinner and drinks for date three. Lunch is the way to go.
SPORTS
by Nate Olson
They say sporting events are unpredictable. That’s not so. They are easy to predict. The accuracy of those predictions? Well … that’s another story. Anyway, here are five prognostications for the wild and wacky world
of sports in the year ahead.
Arkansas Travelers mascot a unicorn … kind of
In the fall, the Arkansas Travelers unveiled new logos and colors and announced the retirement of Shelly, the friendly horse mascot. The team said it’s going to reveal a new mascot that is a “legendary creature, an omen known to bring good luck.” So, in early 2014 the Travs unveil the creature — a unicorn.
However, the unicorn looks a lot like Shelly with a horn glued to his head in a “swamp camo” uniform. That’s because it is Shelly. Turns out, rebranding isn’t a cheap process, so the unicorn idea is a last-minute cost-cutting measure.
Hogs will be dancing
The SEC may only qualify a handful of teams to the NCAA tournament, but Arkansas will be one of those teams. Even without securing a quality nonconference win at the Maui Invitational, Arkansas’ 25-6 mark and 14-4 SEC record make them a shoe-in even before the league tournament, where they will nab a pair of victories.
Arkansas has a good mix of young talent and some veteran leadership, so winning on the road won’t be as difficult as last year. The emergence of Rashad Madden at the point guard spot makes Arkansas tough to beat, especially at Bud Walton Arena, where they again go undefeated.
7A-West football dominance continues
A 7A-West team won the Arkansas High School Football Championship for the eighth straight year in 2013 when Bentonville beat Cabot. It was the first time since 2006 the game hadn’t been an all-West affair. Some were hopeful the Panthers could break the streak.
However, Bentonville beat Cabot 39-28, preserving the run. And they’ll win another state title next year with junior quarterback Kasey Ford leading the way. It will be another 7A-West showdown at War Memorial Stadium as Fayetteville bounces back after an early exit this year losing its bid for three straight titles. The Bulldogs make it back and lose to Bentonville for the second time in four state title meetings.
Arkansas football still rebuilding in 2014
The Razorbacks snap their all-time record nine-game losing streak (not in the season opener at Auburn, though) but don’t go bowling. It’s close but won’t happen until at least 2015. After opening the Bret Bielema era in 2013 with three straight wins, Hog fans were encouraged. However, as the competition stiffened, reality set in. The cupboard was bare, and the defense was especially atrocious. Arkansas improves in 2014, but the Hogs are still young and have to navigate a schedule that includes nonconference games that aren’t gimmes — at Texas Tech and at home against Northern Illinois. Look for Arkansas to finish 5-7 but to be more competitive and in more games in the fourth quarter.
Cowboys still mediocre at best
The Dallas Cowboys — “America’s Team.” Not anymore. The Cowboys still get prime-time coverage, but lately it’s only magnified their lackluster play.
Dallas has made a habit of coughing up second-half leads. Owner Jerry Jones, an Arkansas native, tried to shake things up by taking play-calling duties away from head coach Jason Garrett and giving them to former NFL head coach Bill Callahan. That didn’t work well, and neither did hiring over-the-hill veteran defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.
Garrett and Co. hang on to their jobs thanks to quarterback Tony Romo not playing in the regular season finale loss to Philadelphia. However, Dallas has another horrible draft as its general manager, who should have stepped aside a few years ago, continues the vicious cycle of average or below-average play. It’s 8-8 again in 2014 with more Romo picks in the fourth quarter.
Music
by Shea Stewart
What does 2014 hold for local music fans? I certainly don’t know as I’ve never claimed to be a clairvoyant. (Awesome? Yes. Able to see future events? No.) But here are a few things one might expect from the local music scene in 2014 (I think).
Verizon Arena will continue to attract big-name concerts
This is less a prediction and more a case of business as usual. 2013 was a huge year for concerts at central Arkansas’ biggest venue. (Good job, Verizon staff.) Concerts by Justin Bieber, Fleetwood Mac, George Strait, Luke Bryan and Bon Jovi were sell outs, and other shows, such as P!nk and Jason Aldean, attracted more than 12,000 music fans to the 14-year-old arena. And what was to be one of the largest shows of 2013, Jimmy Buffett, was canceled. 2014 brings more great shows to Verizon. Sure, there’s Cher in March, but what about Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z or Kings of Leon?
War Memorial Stadium will host one huge concert
Country music superstar Garth Brooks, who hasn’t toured in more than a decade, choosing instead to raise a family with his wife, Trisha Yearwood, is touring in 2014. Or so he said on Good Morning America in early December. Will Brooks visit central Arkansas? If he does, War Memorial Stadium is the perfect spot for his massive tour. The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel and Elton John, the Eagles, George Strait and ’N Sync have all played the stadium, but it has been years since the stadium hosted a concert. That should change in 2014. If not Brooks, how about a return of The Stones or a visit from U2 or Metallica?
A big-time indie act will visit central Arkansas
Central Arkansas is filled with country music fans, with country (or kind-of country) acts filling venues small and large. What kind of acts don’t visit central Arkansas? Most of the bigger indie groups. Think arena-worthy indie bands such as Arcade Fire, The National, Vampire Weekend and others. Kudos to the local venues that attract the Okkervil Rivers and the like of the world, but the metro needs more larger indie bands visiting.
I will interview Jimmy Page
Music writers are failed musicians. I learned early on I would never be a wizard of the guitar like Jimmy Page. I could barely play the bass well enough to make it through some Pearl Jam covers with my short-lived college band. So what, I’ll never play like the greatest guitar player of all time. But I will interview Led Zeppelin’s Page one day. I think this is the year. What does this have to do with the local music scene? Nothing. But it’ll make me happy.
A central Arkansas hip-hop artist will break out
How good is the local hip-hop scene? Damn good. There are a number of hip-hop artists making great music locally, and central Arkansas hip-hop is its own thing. There’s a little Dirty South of Memphis in the mix. Some of Houston’s slow drawl. And even some of Atlanta’s poppier hip-hop. But all those influences, mixed in with Arkansas’ deep belief in the blues, soul and R&B, means Little Rock hip-hop is something special. Enough to catch the eye of outsiders? There are several local hip-hop artists working hard to bring their sounds to national attention.
News
by Stephanie Maxwell and Shea Stewart
History repeats itself, right? So even though predicting the news seems a fairly impossible task, there are always going to be certain daily (and weekly) headlines that are somewhat predictable. Using 2013 as a guide, here's what we think might be in store for central Arkansas in 2014.
Conway residents follow Park Hill’s lead and go wet
A November special election resulted in North Little Rock’s Park Hill neighborhood knocking over a 47-year ban on alcohol sales with 80 percent in favor of wetting the neighborhood. There are still plenty of dry townships and entire counties in Arkansas — but which will be the next to ditch prohibition in 2014? Our money is on Faulkner County, or at least Conway. Sure, the city issued its first permit for a private club in 2004, allowing alcohol sales on the premises of businesses with permits. But we expect an increase in petitions calling for an overturn of the county’s 1943 ban in 2014.
Asa Hutchinson ends the reign of the Mikes
Speaking of elections, Arkansans will elect a new governor in 2014. Right now, candidates are, in one corner, Democrat Mike Ross, former U.S. representative; and in the other, one of the following Republicans: Curtis Coleman, state Rep. Debra Hobbs and Asa Hutchinson, former head of Border Transportation Security, former U.S. representative and former administrator of the DEA. With Hutchinson the current favorite Republican candidate, it’s most likely he and Ross face off. So does it look like Arkansans are ready for a third “Mike” in the gubernatorial seat? Not likely. In an October poll by Talk Business and Hendrix College, Hutchinson led 41-37 against Ross, with 22 percent of the 600 polled undecided.
More low-income Arkansans will get health insurance
About a month after the new insurance marketplace “opened” at healthcare.gov, The Atlantic published an article headlined “The State Where Obamacare Is Working” about — you guessed it — Arkansas, one of the only states where the Affordable Care Act is actually accomplishing its goal of providing health insurance for low-income citizens. Here’s to 2014 being the year that more kinks are smoothed out and low-income families in Arkansas can finally get coverage at a reasonable price.
The Big Rock Interchange will start making more sense
The ongoing revamping of the Financial Centre Parkway, South Shackleford Road and Interstates 630 and 430 interchange looms like some half-finished, grown-up building block monstrosity on the western Little Rock skyline. Who knows where all these flyover ramps stretching into the heavens and new roads heading nowhere will go when finished? But the approximately $130 million makeover, begun more than four years ago to relieve traffic at Arkansas’ busiest interchange, will start making more sense in 2014. The project, whose planning stretches back to 2004, is slated for completion sometime in 2015. Here’s betting all those firmament-heading flyover ramps and roads to nowhere all start connecting to terra firma and other roads in 2014.
An Arkansas politician will embarrass us on Twitter
Twitter can be a great platform for public expression. The 140-character format forces one to keep things short and concise, and tweets can be composed in an instant, so it’s easy to update followers in real time during press conferences, sporting events — whatever. But those same aspects make it far too easy for some people to tweet whatever the hell they’re thinking without, well, thinking. When you’re representing our state, please, for the love of all that is good in The Natural State, think twice or thrice before sending out an asinine tweet that will be picked up by national news outlets. We’re trying to get the rest of the country to see that sometimes we know what we’re doing (see previous prediction), and public displays of ignorance aren’t helping.