LITTLE ROCK — You probably know one or two of them around these here parts.
They’re Arkansans. And, being Arkansans - and, therefore, sports fans to some degree, right? - they love their Arkansas college teams. And, being Arkansas college-team fans, they root dutifully and prominently for those teams during football, basketball and other sports seasons.
Until, that is, there’s an Arkansas team playing a Louisiana team.
At those times, said Arkansas fans may be seen wearing pained looks on their faces, as though they’re quietly trying to will away a case of Montezuma’s Revenge or sentenced to a gazillon years of spending backyard barbecues with an embarrassing relative.
When the Arkansas team scores - or wins - these fans may start to shout and clap, but then catch themselves. Or they just grin quietly to themselves, perhaps hissing, “Yesss” and pulling off a discreet fist pump. Perhaps you’ve witnessed them getting more animated when A Certain Person has left to go to the bathroom or get refreshments. Or is on a trip to Timbuktu.
That Certain Person would be - you guessed it - the Arkansan’s Louisiana-born/Louisiana school graduated Imported Significant Other. Those who remember the days when the Arkansas Razorbacks played in the old Southwest Conference doubtless remember the similar struggles of Arkansas residents whose spouses had been imported from Texas or its schools.
Nowadays, the rivalry between Arkansas and Louisiana teams gets quite vigorous, as evidenced by the big football rivalry between the ’backs and the Louisiana State University Tigers ... not to mention the depressing results of a certain game earlier this month with the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
And what did I do? I married South of the Border.
Hubby Dre is from the Pelican State. He was a resident of Monroe when we met, but he’s a native of Alexandria and his alma mater is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette - which he’s determined to call by its former name, the University of Southwestern Louisiana, until he meets his Maker. He’s also a supporter of Southern University in Baton Rouge, where his aunt, Lula Thomas, teaches accounting and his late uncle, Johnny Thomas, was longtime track coach. So yes, he’s loyal to all his state colleges, including and especially LSU.
I took the fella out of Louisiana, but not Louisiana out of the fella. (Come to think of it, our wedding colors were purple and gold. Aaaaugh.)
It gets reeeal interesting around those key games, especially the Hogs’ annual Battle for the Golden Boot with LSU. It gets interesting around the time the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans (my alma mater) play basketball with the UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (his). It got interesting during the days the annual Delta Classic 4 Literacy featured the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State University in Grambling, La. Well, the “interesting” usually originates with Dre. I’m usually imagining myself on some island.
Being the, ahem, loving and supporting wife that I am I let him have his moments. Well, most times. I still look back fondly on a Trojans-Cajuns basketball contest we attended a few years ago, making a friendly bet. Luckily, the Trojans pulled it off.
(I won’t divulge what Dre had to do after losing the bet; his loss of dignity was witnessed only by moi. He was also spared the indignity of sitting at the game with me wearing a giant Trojan helmet, which I’d threatened to do.)
But now here we are looking to the Big Game between the Hogs and the LSU Tigers, two months ahead to the day on Nov. 23. Anybody wanna start an Arkansas Spouse of an Imported Louisiana Sports Fan Support Group before then?
Yes, yes, I know that such marriages are tantamount, in some Arkansas sports fan circles, to a Hatfield marrying a McCoy. But dang it, we can’t help whom we fell in love with. Since our spouses moved to Arkansas to be with us instead of spiriting us south to be with them, I suppose this is a small price to pay.
Maybe. I can only imagine how life must be for Arkansans who are married to imported Alabamans.
Woo Pig Sooie! Geaux Tigers! And e-mail me!
Style, Pages 51 on 09/23/2012