Thursday, August 13, 2009
at
12:40 AM
|
I think sometimes i'm guilty of fluffing words that i say. That i'm not as passionate about something as i make it sound. (maybe that's my speech major ability shining through there) Where it's more about impacting my audience then being sucked into my own words. Well...these words were not meant for you. I promise. They impact me to my very core..
I remember October 11, 2003 like it was yesterday. This was the date of my first ever game in person. The Razorbacks were undefeated. We were ranked number 7 in the AP poll and just came from taking the number 11th ranked Texas Longhorns to the woodshed.
The feeling of driving over the hill that overlooked Fayetteville and walking into the stadium that seated 72,000 fans is almost equal to none. I’m obviously wearing my favorite Razorback shirt. A chill starts to run down my spine as the announcer says “Get on your feet Razorback fans; It’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!” This is my favorite time of the year. Opening day is my favorite “holiday.” When the cold air starts to replace the hot humid air and my soul can once again breathe freely. It doesn’t get any better than the smell of autumn in the air, the William Tell Overture, and the sight of the Cardinal and White running through the “A”. This is my heaven on Earth.
The passion goes back further than that however. It goes back to the days when I couldn’t sleep the night after J.J Meadors caught the two point conversion to beat Alabama in 1995. Or maybe both of the nail biting 7 overtime victories that had me pacing back in forth for and eternity. (One against Ole Miss in 2001 and another against Kentucky in 2003.) It goes back to when me and my friends from high school vowed to jump into the pool with our clothes on if we somehow came back to beat Alabama one cold day in September. I’ve never been so happy to be so cold and wet in my entire life.
If you know me, you know that I am a devoted follower. I could tell you about all 85 players on scholarship and where they’re from. I’ve memorized the entire roster. If someone in my family doesn’t know what to get me for Christmas, I can bank on them getting something razorback related. (Unfortunately I will have to return it because it’s two sizes to big)
My Saturdays in the fall revolve around Arkansas Football. I love Arkansas and would not want to live anywhere else in the country. Whether it’s the countless Razorback signs people hang in their yards, local business named after my beloved team, or giant painted murals on the side of a cliff in Atkins Arkansas the entire state from corner to corner loves the Razorbacks.
Those Autumn Saturdays mean the world to me. They cater to a special part of my soul. I await kickoff like I once awaited Christmas as a child. Game days are magical. The grooms table at my wedding will be loaded with Razorback gear.
My mom used to have this bumper sticker that read, “And on the 8th day God created the Razorbacks.” I really believed it and you know what, I think I still do.
Go Hogs Go.
I remember October 11, 2003 like it was yesterday. This was the date of my first ever game in person. The Razorbacks were undefeated. We were ranked number 7 in the AP poll and just came from taking the number 11th ranked Texas Longhorns to the woodshed.
The feeling of driving over the hill that overlooked Fayetteville and walking into the stadium that seated 72,000 fans is almost equal to none. I’m obviously wearing my favorite Razorback shirt. A chill starts to run down my spine as the announcer says “Get on your feet Razorback fans; It’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!” This is my favorite time of the year. Opening day is my favorite “holiday.” When the cold air starts to replace the hot humid air and my soul can once again breathe freely. It doesn’t get any better than the smell of autumn in the air, the William Tell Overture, and the sight of the Cardinal and White running through the “A”. This is my heaven on Earth.
The passion goes back further than that however. It goes back to the days when I couldn’t sleep the night after J.J Meadors caught the two point conversion to beat Alabama in 1995. Or maybe both of the nail biting 7 overtime victories that had me pacing back in forth for and eternity. (One against Ole Miss in 2001 and another against Kentucky in 2003.) It goes back to when me and my friends from high school vowed to jump into the pool with our clothes on if we somehow came back to beat Alabama one cold day in September. I’ve never been so happy to be so cold and wet in my entire life.
If you know me, you know that I am a devoted follower. I could tell you about all 85 players on scholarship and where they’re from. I’ve memorized the entire roster. If someone in my family doesn’t know what to get me for Christmas, I can bank on them getting something razorback related. (Unfortunately I will have to return it because it’s two sizes to big)
My Saturdays in the fall revolve around Arkansas Football. I love Arkansas and would not want to live anywhere else in the country. Whether it’s the countless Razorback signs people hang in their yards, local business named after my beloved team, or giant painted murals on the side of a cliff in Atkins Arkansas the entire state from corner to corner loves the Razorbacks.
Those Autumn Saturdays mean the world to me. They cater to a special part of my soul. I await kickoff like I once awaited Christmas as a child. Game days are magical. The grooms table at my wedding will be loaded with Razorback gear.
My mom used to have this bumper sticker that read, “And on the 8th day God created the Razorbacks.” I really believed it and you know what, I think I still do.
Go Hogs Go.
Posted by
Kyle
0 comments:
Post a Comment