My Sunday Feeling

Suffice it to say that all is not well in the Razorback Nation.  The Hogs are winless in LR for the first time in memory.  Granted, they only grace Central Arkansas with their presence twice a year now. 

But zip is zip. And one of their losses was to noted power University of Louisiana-Monroe. 

My friend Richard places the blame squarely on me since the common denominator, in his opinion, is my presence at both games.  This is despite the fact that Richard Pence and I have been attending games together for 20 years or so with a high degree of success.  That and the fact that he was there as well for both losses.  So maybe its him.

But the fact of the matter is that the 2012 edition of the Arkansas Razorbacks is, to understate the case, just not very good.  Indeed, I cannot recall any other team winding up being this bad after a ranking in the Top Ten.  Maybe there was one.  But I don't recall it.  And I have a pretty good memory for such extraneous matters. 

As for me, the blame for this disaster is obvious and it ain't on John L. Smith hapless though he may be.  The fact of the matter is that, although it should seem obvious that these guys were seriously overrated, the reason this season is shaping up to be a historic cluster lies solely at the feet of Bobby Petrino.  How can a team function under an "interim" coach?  And an interim coach with massive debt problems at that?  What a disaster on any level you care to consider.

Still, although I have no particular use for Ole Miss and was sorry to see them pull out a last second victory as the clock wore down, I have to admit that they were the better team.  The Razorbacks were disorganized on offense, one of the alleged strengths of the team.  Tyler Wilson should have been intercepted at least 4 times.  He got flagged for intentional grounding twice.  And the defense, though improved, gave up chunks of yardage at completely inopportune moments.  That they managed to damn near pull off a victory despite shooting themselves in the foot on a systematic and continuous basis all day might be cause for some solace in the heart and minds of the Razorback faithful.  But probably not much.

Me?  I don't much care.  I enjoy going "out with the crowd" to mix my sporting metaphors.  It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood and there was nothing that appealed to me more than walking down Van Buren to the old stadium.  It has been a really hectic week.  2 days in Thibodaux, 1 day flying back, catching up at work, birthday stuff and shooting pictures Thursday night made for a crazy week.  Going down to watch the Hogs play felt "normal" to me. 

I needed some normal.  And it is on the way.  Got some writing and music reviews coming up.  The Econ teacher at St. Mary's wants me to come back to talk to the classes.  Life is good.  Just need to chill a bit.  Still got a lot of stuff in my head about last week I need to process.  But process it I will do.  And hopefully next Sunday's entry will be infinitely more interesting than today's is.

Anyway, I don't see the Hogs winning another game this season although it would be just like LSU to gag it away when they meet up in Fayetteville the day after Thanksgiving.  The Tigers are capable of that kind of bad ju-ju. 

A man can hope can't he?