One subject - the search for a football coach - has dominated public discussions in this state for months.
More than the recent elections, more than any world crisis or the nation’s daunting “fi scal clift ,” more than the challenges facing the state Legislature or any other matter of public concern, the subject most cussed and discussed by more Arkansans has arguably been this search for a football coach.
The coaching conversation happened in morning coft ee klatches in small towns and large ones, at the dinner table, in social media, at church and work and pretty much anywhere fans encountered one another.
It consumed sports radio and news reports, even becoming the leading story in some broadcasts and newspapers. That’s how strong the public interest has been.
Finally, the search is over. University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeft Long surprised virtually everyone with the announcement last week that Bret Bielema is the new head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Talk of the coaching search hit a fever pitch in the last couple of weeks as the respective seasons of potential coaches ended elsewhere. Among themwas Bielema, who comes to Arkansas fresh from a seven-year stint as head coach at the University of Wisconsin and with a winning resume.
After the initial shock, the choice seems to have satisfied most of the Razorback fandom - at least for now.
The conversation has changed, shifting from frustration over a 4-8 season and anxiety over not knowing who the next coach would be to a more “normal” state.
The talk now is of high expectations from a coach newly entrusted to lead this college football team to unparalleled success, including an elusive Southeastern Conference title and national championship.
Seriously, that’s the expectation.
It is also a reminder of a caution that needs to be sounded to Bielema.
The fans’ “passion,” which he says drew him to this job, can get out of hand.
Fans can be downright unreasonable, expecting too much too soon.
A lot of things factorinto the fans’ passion, not the least of which is the fact that Arkansas is a small state that has been singularly devoted to the University of Arkansas Razorbacks for longer than any living fan can recall.
Generations of Arkansas families have been Razorback fans, some who attended or graduated from the university and others who just claimed the UA teams as their own.
Once largely limited to football, the passion has spread in more recent times to other sports - basketball, baseball, track and field, even golf. Fans find heroes and heroines in all those sports. Still, nothing quite equals the football fan base, which has been particularly roiled in this overly dramatic year.
It began, of course, when the former head football coach, Bobby Petrino, was dismissed.
A motorcycle wreck resulted in the disclosure of an extramarital aft air he had with a young woman he hired to work in his department.
Jeft Long appropriately fi red Petrino, ending the coach’s multimilliondollar contract and setting in motion the search for his replacement.
Petrino’s dismissal came as the Razorbacks were preparing for what was expected to be a spectacular season, full ofpossibilities. Instead, under an interim coach, John L.
Smith, the team failed even to come close to the early expectations.
The result was a 4-8 season, no bowl game and a fan base that got even more amped up over the search for the next coach.
Memorably, a T-shirt emerged in the interim, declaring “Dammit Bobby.” It was a refl ection of disappointment with Petrino’s actions and evidence of the familiarity that fans had with the whole situation.
Long really had no other choice but to dismiss Petrino, once the facts were known.
Although some wanted Petrino to stay, most fans appreciated the way Long handled the situation. Winning was not the only thing that mattered.
For those who might have missed Bielema’s introductory press conference, while this coach clearly understands the need to win, that is not all that matters to him. He said he’ll recruit “uncommon men here that are held to higher standards.”
The program can now move on, following this new head Hog in the right direction.
BRENDA BLAGG IS A FREELANCE COLUMNIST AND LONGTIME JOURNALIST IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
Opinion, Pages 10 on 12/09/2012