THIS IS PART TWO OF THIS SERIES SO IF WHAT YOU WANT ISN’T MENTIONED CHECK CHECK OUT PART ONE HERE.
Razorback sporting events used to be such a cool thing to go to. Especially football and basketball games. No matter how good or bad the teams were, there was a sense of coolness & uniqueness to it. Made you feel like you were experiencing something you couldn’t get anywhere else in college sports.
Until recently.
Man, the atmosperes just have gone downhill over the past decade. I just don’t feel like I’m watching or experiencing a “Razorback Game” anymore. It feels like I’m experiencing a cookie cutter exhibition game in the NBA. It’s awkward, uncomfortable, confusing, loud, and unorganized.
So I have decided to take to the written word to express some small FIXABLE things that could happen in order to make Razorback game day atmospheres great again.
LET ME BE CLEAR BEFORE YOU START YELLING. I know that winning is the most important thing. But these are just a few things that come to mind to help when winning isn’t always there.
I am sure you will think of more than what I have. I am also sure that you will disagree with some of these things because you hate it. All of that is totally fine. Some of these things may not even be possible. But that’s why I am throwing them out there and seeing what sticks.
Let’s have fun with it shall we?
Make The Trough An Official Organization
This is one that will take effort from everyone involved but especially student leadership.
The Trough is the official student section of the Razorbacks. It once had quite a bit of organization where a group of students would take it upon themselves to be the leaders of the group that was passed down from the students before them.
But it has lost its way a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I think the student section showing as far as numbers go has been fantastic so far this basketball season. Much better than the common fans. But I can tell no one really knows what to do or how to do it. There’s no sense of leadership and organization. Just kinda “stand there” and do whatever.
I have ALWAYS felt that if the U of A was able to make The Trough an official Registered Student Organization (RSO), it would provide incentive for those to be a part of it and wear it with pride.
Make it be something where leadership is decided by attendance, creativity, effort, and energy. Have officers that are in charge of certain things that get to be on the front row and then the more years go by and the more involvement certain students have, they move up the ranks.
Have meetings where the students put together game plans for the next game. It could be signs, chants, calls, dances, costumes, whatever. Just have them all on the same page, understanding the traditions of what to do, when to do it, and how much fun that can be had WHEN doing it.
The energy level starts there. Trough needs to be treated as a legit group with legit organization & fed into. People love going to events with ENERGY. Regardless if it’s sports or non sports. Energy has to be elevated. I know the team performance dictates that but the student section needs to be the one that leads the sustainability of it.
Hype Videos Are For Hyping The FANS
I LOVE a good hype video right before the game starts.
Whether the Razorbacks are a good team or a bad team, a great hype video will always get the juices going & make you believe that “today is the day” my Hogs win.
But when the hype video is just loud music blaring with a couple random highlights of current players mixed in with some Chuck Barrett calls, it ends up just being…fine.
But let’s ask the question. Who is the hype video for? Not the players. Not the coaches. Not the marketing team. THE FANS.
So what do fans love the most in their hype? The HYPE moments of the program they love. With an emphasis on those moments. US Reid halfcourt shot. Beating Michael Jordan in Pine Bluff. Beating LSU and Shaq in 1992. 1994 National Championship. Michael Qualls put back dunk. Beating #1 Auburn & Devo tea bagging that player on his dunk. Beating Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. Beating Kansas to go to the Sweet 16. Just to name a few.
Include these moments and put an EMPHASIS on them. Throw in some highlights and visualizations of the current team of course. But make the hype come from the most hype moments that fans will relate to, then the rest will fall into place.
Make Going To Games As Convenient For Fans As Possible
The crowd numbers at Bud Walton Arena this season have been dreadful. We all know that. There are so many reasons as to why this is. But one thing that could go a long way for fans showing up to games would be to make it as easy as possible for them to attend.
“WE LIVE IN A MICROWAVE SOCIETY WHERE EVERYONE IS SO LAZY! BACK IN MY DAY I WOULD CRAWL TO BUD WALTON TO WATCH MY HOGS PLAY!” – You yelling right now, probably.
I get it. No one wants it this way. But it’s the way it is. So instead of opposing it, embrace it and find a way to make it work.
Start with parking. Many fans who aren’t season ticket holders don’t have a parking pass. So what do you do when you get tickets to a game? Where do you park? Well, just buy a parking pass right? Sure. But since it’s a physical paper parking pass, you have to hope it gets mailed to you or you pick it up from someone at some location. Right before a game you get last minute tickets, you’re kinda screwed unless you park at Fayetteville High School. But again, people may not know that’s an option because it’s not communicated.
SO SWITCH TO DIGITAL PARKING PASSES. I’m sure it costs money or whatever but I really don’t care. Do it. So if fans get last minute tickets, they can go on whatever website you put them on, and buy a parking pass that goes straight to their phone. Convenient, easy, and makes it easier to go to games that way.
How about making concessions more affordable for midweek non conference basketball games that don’t get huge crowds?
For a family of four, it costs a lot just to get drinks & food. I know that’s how it is everywhere. But having certain “discount” nights on midweek non cons could help.
Families have to eat dinner right? Well, make it make sense to eat their “dinner” at the game where it’s relatively closely priced to what it would cost to eat out before the game. Half price concessions or something. The markup is so stupid you’ll make money still on it. But when families are deciding what to do for dinner, they all have the same conversation:
“Do we just eat at the game? Or go some place before?”
“I’m not paying $100 worth of concession food at a game where we play Maryland Eastern Shore. Let’s just go somewhere before instead.”
Which leads them to being at the game right at tip or late to the game. Given traffic and such, that very well could deter them from going to future games. May sound dumb, but it’s a real thing.
Bacon Bits
Just some random things that don’t need entire paragraphs to explain:
- Bring back the dueling trumpets national anthem before basketball games tipoff. I wish I had video of this, but it was the way it was done for years at BWA. It was awesome, epic, easy, and unique to Arkansas.
- Make wise music choices that adhere to your fans. This takes you actually KNOWING your fans and communicating with them. But if you’re going to play music, choose wisely on the song choice as well as the timing of the song.
There will be many more additions to this story, don’t worry. Throw your ideas into the comment section & share with your friends. It would be a nice gesture.
The Official Razorback Fan Vote On Who You Want As The Next Head Coach