Razorfest 2015, and the Spring Red/White game are over. The team shows a lot of potential, and I hope you have a successful season. You represent the state on the national stage in college football, and I'm truly pleased to see the program return to relevance. I hope the trend over the last couple of years continues.
Having said that, I need to let you know I've bought my last Razorback gear, and have attended my last Razorback game until one thing changes: It's time to play the Red Wolves.
When the 2013 football season came around, it was no secret to anyone that the Razorbacks were going to have a very, very tough season. The newspaper had also listed Arkansas State's coming football schedule, and I saw that Idaho was on there. My wife is from Idaho, so I thought it might be fun to watch the game and do a little "trash-talk" with the spouse. (The fact they were coached by the other Petrino was just a happy bonus).
I hadn't seen ASU play since the '80s and, honestly, expected "small-school" football. I was wrong. ASU has a quality stadium, the band is fantastic, and the game resulted in a good, old-fashioned thumping of Idaho.
A good time was had by all.
But I also remember looking at A-State's schedule in the program guide, and noticing how many of those teams the Razorbacks had played over the last few years. Troy. Missouri. Auburn. ULM. It got me to thinking, and doing some checking.
Out of all the states around Arkansas, it seems only one other state doesn't play a football game against another in-state school, and that's Missouri. In the entire SEC, only one other state hasn't played an in-state school in football in the past five years. Again, Missouri. So, prior to Missouri coming into the SEC, Arkansas was the only member that hadn't played an in-state school recently.
I've heard the arguments against UA and ASU playing, and they just don't hold water, in my opinion.
"It'll hurt Razorback recruiting in the state." Well, let's see. Arkansas has 2.9 million people. Mississippi has 2.9 as well, yet Ole Miss and Mississippi State play every year. Both teams were ranked this past season, so it appears their recruiting is fine.
"It'll divide the fan base." The states of Alabama and Oklahoma each have two schools with very devoted fan bases, and all of those schools thrive on the national stage.
"It'll never be much of a game." Most years, that's probably true. And yet, LSU has played the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Northwestern State. Tennessee has played Austin-Peavy and Chattanooga. Texas A&M has played Stephen F. Austin and Lamar, and so on and so on. There are multiple examples throughout the SEC of schools playing "Who's that?" from inside their own state. Were they much of a game? Probably not, but they still played the game. Also, "most years" means that in some years it would likely be a game. Would anybody have truly felt comfortable betting against the Red Wolves in 2012 or 2013 in a game against the Razorbacks? I wouldn't.
There's one simple reason to play the game, though: It's the right thing to do. Every year, all major college football teams, including Arkansas, play a couple of "tuneup" games against teams from smaller conferences. They pay these smaller schools very well to come get their heads bashed in.
Last year the Razorbacks paid Nicholls State and Northern Illinois over $100,000 each to come play football. A nice payday for both teams, who promptly took that money back to their home state. It'll happen again this year when UTEP and Toledo come to play. And, just like every year, sports announcers will complain about the poor turnout at War Memorial stadium for the nonconference game.
Wouldn't it make far more sense to keep that money here in our home state? Doesn't it make more sense to have a game at War Memorial that people would be actively interested in, even if it were a blowout? Doesn't it just seem like the right thing for the state's primary football program to do, to stimulate our economy instead of some other state's?
It does to me. That's why no more Razorback gear, and no more attending Razorback games for me. I'll head over to Jonesboro once or twice and catch a game, buy some Red Wolves gear and stimulate the Arkansas economy. It'll be fun.
Don't misunderstand. As I said, I hope the Razorbacks do well this season and beyond. I'll be cheering for you, and I hope the day comes that I'll be able to buy your stuff again, and catch a game, but the first time will be at War Memorial Stadium against the Red Wolves of Arkansas State.
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Frank Smith lives in Hackett.
Editorial on 05/02/2015