Fans influence

Recruiting Insider Board
#1

First off, this is a personal rant. I know the excitement of our fans can really impress recruits at basketball games. However, my son had an opposite experience at the Kentucky game. I know it’s been a while but I have contemplated whether or not to post this because my son ask me not to. I’m the dad though so I do what I want. A friend ask my son to go to the game with his grandmother, mother and he. His friend is a Kentucky BB fan so he wore a Ky t-shirt and my son had on his usual Hog gear.

 Everything was fine until the game turned ugly in the second half. Some dude, as my son called him, come and set behind them and proceeded to heckle them. My son said "Dad he was old like you".  They asked him to please stop cursing repeatedly, but that only made it worse. He called the Grandmother an A-hole and challenged two 15 year old boys to go outside. It got to the point where surrounding fans were also asking him to calm down. The mother told security but was told this guy is a regular.  A regular jackass? What the heck?  They finally just left the game. My son who is a very calm tough kid was very rattled by this.  The mother of his friend cried when they reached the car. He told me he would never go back to Bud Walton. 

  These kids are 15 years old. My son is a 6' 200lb MLB, his friend is a 6'2 180lb WR. Will they be Hog recruits? They both think they will and they should think that at 15 years old. They know players who are already Hog recruits and other players all over the state. They become friends at camps, combinesand 7on7's.  The way they follow each other on HUDL, Snap, Tweet and so forth these things have a way of getting around quickly. It has left me really pissed off and embarrassed as a Hog fan. If this guy is on this board you should be thankful these are good kids. If they would have meet you outside you would have been arrested and most likely had a ER visit. Sorry for the rant, I feel a little better now.
#2

The mother should have went and got an usher. I know if I would have been in that section I would have talked to him personally and if he wanted to continue to be a horse’s rear - I then would have got an usher.

Sorry your son had to hear that. I’ve experienced none of that at any of the games I went to this year (which was all of them).

#3

Truly sad. I’m sorry your son and the others had such an experience. Fans are great until they cross the line like that. A few years ago, I had to sit in front of a bunch of drunk Missouri fans at a football game. It was unbearable having to hear them yell at us. Fortunately, the football team took care of business at that I-Bowl, and they wound up shutting up. But there’s no excuse for such behavior.

#4

I couldn’t believe it when I heard that story from my sister - especially considering y’alls son was wearing a Razorback shirt at the game. So this excuse for a human being decides to pick on the whole group because one of them was wearing Kentucky blue. You’re right that the guy better be thankful the teenagers were the mature ones in the situation, I’ve seen what your son can do on the football field and have a feeling he could have easily done the same to this butt stain of a person.

I know every fan base has people like that, but I always like to think Arkansas fans are better than that. Obviously not all of them are, and I think the worst part about it is that security shook it off like no big deal, he’s just that way. Ban him from the Bud!!

#5

Our fan base has the same jerks that all of them do. We aren’t immune from it, and it’s going to be there, just a fact. I have a hard time believing that security would say what he supposedly said, but if so, you ask for their superior. I know, you shouldn’t have to, but sometimes that’s what it takes.

#6

Nobody would ever pick LSU if you just judged off of how rude some of the fans can be at the home games. I’ve heard more horror stories about Baton Rouge than I can remember

#7

Dude this happens everywhere, not just in Arkansas. Come on man.

#8

These kind of A- Holes are in every fan base. It’s unfortunate but true. Security should have been more concerned though.

I live in FL and my 8 year old is a big Gator fan (my failure in life I guess :slight_smile: ), we went to the game at Bud where FL was visiting during the Bell bowl and My son insisted on wearing all FL gear. All of the fans there that night were really great to him, nothing more then gentle ribbing (mostly to me, nothing that even bothered my son). The same is true of FL fans in Gainesville, I always go whole-hog when going to games there and have never had a problem. Some people are just terrible human beings.

#9

[quote=“HOWBOUTHEMHOGS”]

Dude this happens everywhere, not just in Arkansas. Come on man.

[/quote]Yes - it does go on everywhere. Sad, but true. But, you act as if that makes it valid in this case - and it does not.

Saying “everybody does it” is NOT an acceptable response. If it were YOUR son (or daughter, or wife), you’d be singing a different tune.

I’m not sure who I’m more PO’d about reading this - the idiot fan or the security guard who did NOTHING. If they could be identified, I’d pull the tickets of the one jackass, and fire the other. Supporting your team passionately is one thing. But there’s no excuse for this kind of idiotic behavior. NONE.

#10

If I had gone to an usher and gotten no help quieting the fan, I would have gone to the Campus and/or Sheriff’s security personnel (they are armed and could have taken appropriate action) to ask for his removal. There is no excuse for ANY fan being that obnoxious.

#11

Without question, you go get an usher every time. And, if that doesn’t work, there is armed security in every aisle. They are looking for stuff like this and will help. I’ve seen them do it. In many questions, the offensive fan has had some extra juice, so to speak, another reason not to confront them. It’s sad, but it is out there.

#12

My grandfather bought his first “season tickets” before they called them that, back in the 1940s. When the Foundation was created he “answered the call” that first year and every other year until his passing turned the account over to my mom (and someday to me). Our seats are the we used when I was in HS. I graduated from UA in 87 and 89, so do the math :slight_smile:

Guy behind us moved into his seats a decade ago. He is loud. He doesn’t know the game of football as well as my seventh grade son. He uses abusive and foul language, not to mention struggles with subject-verb agreement (that has been a fun point to make out loud when trying to get him to shut up). He is always drunk. He can’t sing, but tries. He talks through the alma mater. He tries to whistle along with the fight song but it sounds like he is a sparrow having a seizure.

For 5-6 years he was pointed out to ushers for his behavior (the drunkenness and profanity; there is nothing an usher can do about him being a miserable human being). Nothing happened.

I finally turned around and motioned his wife over. This was about four years ago. I asked her if they had good health insurance and whether she carried documents with her to games. She said “of course I do.”

I told her the next time her husband (more polite for the folks I care about here than I was to the woman) gets out of line I am going to drag his ass to the parking lot and leave him in a pile of blood and bones for her to retrieve after the game. A ripple of applause broke out around us. He tried to play innocent but it diffused for a couple of years. His crew would sit him as far from me as possible and “shush” him if he got too far out of hand.

It kicked in again last year with him using profanity towards the coaches and former athletic director. I walked to the usher and put my hand on his shoulder, calmly telling him he was going to watch a grown man get his ass kicked if the usher didn’t move this guy for the rest of the game. I didn’t wait for an answer, tapping the drunk guy on the shoulder and telling him that he better hope the usher had followed me because I was getting ready to do some dental work on his face. The usher stepped in and pulled the guy under the stadium. His party followed shortly and they weren’t back for the rest of the game.

I asked a sheriff’s officer (not sure exactly but had that type of badge) why he tolerated an unruly, profane drunk at RRS. The officer said, “you have to let people have their fun.”

No, not when it interferes with a dozen people sitting around them.

Fast-forward to the Missouri game and my brother-in-law is with me. He is an OU grad and had never been to a UA game. Part way through the first quarter he turned to the drunk guy and offered, and I quote, “to help you jump off the side of the stadium.” The guy had the courage to ask the usher to intercede. The usher told the guy to move to some better seats the next section over.

I have written the Foundation with no luck (why should I be the one to move seats?) Ushers, at best, delay the inevitable - a confrontation. I am a really nice guy (this post might not indicate that, of course) and want everyone to enjoy the game. I wish the greatest crime was talking through the alma mater. The ushers are real good at checking to see if the elderly have the correct tickets but not checking for young people moving around the stadium to make a seat where one does not exist (the strap-on padded seats help with that). They do a fine job of saying “hello” and helping out someone who is sick or hurt. They are worthless when it comes to security. God forbid a real emergency breaks out.

A few years back, in the middle of the lull in problems, he was so drunk he fell down two rows - people stopped his fall or he would have been hurt badly. Nothing was done then either. Maybe I should have pushed the issue then. Heck, I helped him up and even went to the restroom for wet paper towels to help with a cut on his hand. So much for being nice.

===

Rant over!

I am inclined to think that serving alcohol will actually help. Once it is legal to consume in RRS the effort to patrol public drunkenness will have to step up. I can’t wait - I want this guy to be able to enjoy the games with his family, just shut up and cheer. And, be somewhat sober.

#13

You have a lot of patience. I hate that the events you
relate indicate that this man has very serious problems.

#14

I would agree about Gainesville. Went on a trip during football season one time, not to Gainesville, but as we were driving back we stopped in Gainesville and there was a little sports bar called the Swamp. AR was playing on the TV, and a few patrons noticed me watching. Small heckling, but overall just good natured ribbing. Unfortunately, I have to take a trip twice a month now to Columbia, MO. Bunch of a$$clowns in that area, whether they’re at the game or not.

#15

Oklahawg,

I tend to agree with you about ushers and security. During Bret’s first year I had tickets to both the Hogs and Chiefs. I didn’t have a great experience at AR, but the Chiefs games were ridiculous. Saw four different fights break out, security let it go until other fans started interjecting with punches. Leaving the stadium during the Broncos game, saw several Broncos fans and Chiefs fans about to fight. Security was heading away from the area. A Broncos fan offered to go outside of the stadium with the Chief fan. Both groups left the stadium behind me and my son, and the second they were in the parking lot, they were brawling towards their vehicle. I steered my son around the area. As we were getting close to my vehicle we heard a loud pop (sounded like a starters pistol). By the time we drove to the exit of the parking lot, blue lights were everywhere. They just motioned for us to leave. About 30 minutes later, we got a frantic call from my wife asking if we were ok. I asked why? Apparently one of the Broncos fans had been shot (my son is a huge Manning fan, he was still playing at that time). The truck he was left in, and the gear he was wearing, made me nervous because it matched the fight we saw. Then when they showed the pics, he was indeed one of the guys that left the stadium behind us. That’s just plain ridiculous.

#16

Baked, that is something.

Fans can get out of hand. Parents at youth sports are another group of irrational folks to deal with (that is for another thread, I suppose).

I felt bad after I wrote that - it is easily solved but you have to have the voice of authority (not referring to mine, the voice of security and/or RF folks) step in and do something.

#17

We live in a world with major voids. People live and die by what their favorite team does. Love passion, but when the passion turns to rage that’s a major problem.

#18

100% agree with you

#19

Of course you do Baked because you’re one smart guy. lol

#20

I love sports. Was a sportswriter for many years, but it’s events like this and the one I’m about to describe (plus the high ticket prices I can’t afford) that keep me away from games. I attended Arkansas’ Independence Bowl several years ago. A friend of mine who has cerebral palsy was going and got handicapped tickets (in the Missouri section) and several of us went with her. For some strange reason, late in the game (it had been decided by then) I simply stood up and heard two pops in my knee. I’d had knee surgery the year before and had heard those pops, so I knew ligaments were involved and that I wasn’t walking out of that stadium. Eventually, security came, got me in a cart and took me to the car. No problem. But on the way out, two obnoxious and obviously drunken LSU fans (they were wearing LSU gear to an Arkansas-Missouri game) yelled at me, “Well, at least we walk out of the games.” How pathetic! You’re yelling at an injured man. Where in the world is the sympathy.

Now, compared to OklaHawg’s problem, this was nothing, but we’d already had to sit through the ridicule of drunken Missouri fans behind us. None of us wanted to leave the game early (in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter), but the injury forced us to leave. To be honest, most of the Missouri fans were good to us with a little heckling that goes with wearing Hog gear in their section. I know a lot of people in Louisiana who are as good as gold, but I became a fan of two teams that night: Arkansas and anybody who plays against LSU.