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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Runnin' Hog Wild

For some reason, the SEC has this endearing little nuance where they refuse to announce official game times until a few days prior to the actual game. In this case, they decided a week before kickoff to play the game at 11:21am on Saturday morning. In addition to wreaking havoc with our travel logistics, these early start times deflate the overall gameday atmosphere. With such an arbitrary early start time, fans (students especially) barely have a chance to roll out of bed and get to the game in time for kickoff. Nevermind have enough time to squeeze in a solid shift of tailgating and pregame festivities to get adequately warmed up for the contest ahead.


Regardless, Razorback fans did an admirable job getting in some early prep time, and while it wasn’t the most raucous atmosphere we have been to, the tailgating passion unique to the SEC was clearly evident in Fayetteville. I spotted more than a handful of trailer smokers in the parking lot, a leading indicator of adept tailgaters.


As for the game itself, the Arkansas and South Carolina squads were pretty evenly matched during the first half, with both playing some rather stingy defense, as they headed into the locker room at the half knotted at 10 apiece. In the second half, however, the Hogs came out like a ball of fire and ripped off 23 unanswered points on the shell-shocked Gamecocks to cruise to a rather handy victory. Cannon armed Razorback QB Ryan Mallett finally found his stride in the second half, connecting on bullet like passes and softening up the Gamecock secondary enough to free up a few nice long runs by the Hogs.



Razorback Stadium, having been recently renovated, is an impressive facility equipped with the latest field turf and replete with their own “Pigscreen” jumbotron. But it’s the fan’s that truly make Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium an imposing place to play. The Razorbacks lay claim to one of the most eerie cheers in college football, the “Calling of the Hogs”: Wooooooooo. Pig, Sooooie! The cheer is purported to have started in the 1920’s when some local farmers, disappointed at the teams play, began hog calling them for encouragement. The cheer stuck and the “Calling of the Hogs” has been an Arkansas tradition ever since. Hearing the forbidding sound of the Hog call by 68,865 fans is quite a unique experience, and would run chills up my spine if I were on the opposition.


To get a feel for the cadence of this distinct cheer have a look at the videos (not ours):






Final score: Arkansas 33 South Carolina 16


Go Hogs!!!





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