FAYETTEVILLE — Here comes suggestions on how the University of Arkansas can improve what transpires next season at Walton Arena with its men’s basketball program.
These suggestions have nothing to do with coaching in general or Coach John Pelphrey in particular.
They suggest to the corporate crew controlling your Razorbacks that the NBA is not the Arkansas way at Walton Arena.
The Arkansas atmosphere at Walton Arena and Barnhill Arena before it - that so many colleges wanted to duplicate - has been largely eclipsed giving way to an imitation NBA.
It’s an atmosphere that seems to find the Razorbacks and their fans struggling to rise above their surroundings rather than be inspired by them.
The Hogwild Band, the spirit groups and above all the roar of the crowd have been muffled by constant commercials and canned noise you would experience at a typical NBA game.
In Arkansas’ epic overtime 77-76victory over Kentucky on Wednesday at Walton Arena, the attending 14,000 plus required herculean efforts to rise above the obstacles the UA’s athletic administration placed in their path.
They often did but sometimes couldn’t.
During a first-half timeout with Kentucky reeling, fans rose as one then sank to their seats as another of those incessant commercial announcements was read.
During a key second-half timeout, fans surged looking ready to call the Hogs only to dissipate with the sickly voiced announcement that “It’s T-shirt time.”
At some other timeouts, theHogwild Band, still great when given the chance, would just hold instruments and ineffectually jump around trying to add something through the canned noise drowning out the crowd.
The distinctive cheers that make each SEC school crowd so unique seldom compute to the national marketing seminars espousing the one-size-fits-all corporate-think of the suits running college athletics now.
Of course they know better than the locals from pregame to finish.
Used to be pregame at Walton Arena buzzed with the electricity of fans buzzing about the game.
No more. The electricity now is all too truly electric - electric noise.
A university that can’t find the pregame time to play its alma mater for its alums finds ample time to assault the ears of early arrivals with nonsensical rap music at devastating decibels.
It wouldn’t matter whether the early pregame assembly was 20 or 20,000. You couldn’t hear them.Nor in conversation can they hear each other.
They deserve better. A pregame headache hardly seems reward for season-ticket holders who “answer the call” paying through the nose to weather mostly hard basketball times since Nolan Richardson’s 2002 forced exit.
Some will say, ‘Well the students like the rap,’ but it seems doubtful for that setting.
During college days in the 1970s I attended my share of rock concerts, some from groups playing so loud that they have hearing problems yet today.
I recall enjoying every minute of that rock music but can’t recall students wanting it to replace the college band and the college crowd at a college game.
Wrong time, wrong place.
These suits come in commanding your Razorbacks likely fancy they have brought a big-time basketball atmosphere to Arkansas.
Those remembering Arkansas basketball epitomizing the college big time know better.
Sports, Pages 16 on 02/28/2011