Razorbacks on Basketball's Comeback Trail

Thursday, March 21, 2013

In the scheme of life, there are a lot of things more important than Razorback basketball. Since many of us have spent so much time talking about it lately, I figured it would be OK to write a few words about it today.

Don’t expect me to tell you why our team can’t win games away from Fayetteville because I don’t know the answer.

I think most of us would agree, if we could bottle up the energy, adrenaline and atmosphere of Bud Walton Arena and let the players and coaches take it on the road with them, we would win our fair share outside the friendly confines of Walton Arena.

That’s a testament to the fans who come to the games in Fayetteville. Plain and simple, they are the best, but those people are not on the airplane or bus when the team leaves town.

With the start of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, March Madness is here. It has become a part of the American fabric.

In the next three weeks, the tournament will offer some of the most dramatic and captivating moments collegiate sports has to offer. If you are a college basketball fan, it doesn’t get any better than this. In the past few days, we filled out our tournament brackets, but it’s just not as much fun without the Razorbacks in it.

There was a time years ago when we took it for granted we would be in the tournament, and we were. For those who are younger and for those who were not living here during the coaching eras of Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson, you have a lot to look forward to when Mike Anderson gets Arkansas back in the hunt for championships.

When Frank Broyles hired Eddie Sutton in 1974, the Arkansas basketball program was given life. Suddenly, sports fans in Arkansas had something to look forward to after the football season ended. We had something to enjoy during those cold winter months.

We fell in love with Razorback basketball.

In four years, Coach Sutton had us in the Final Four. Back then, we played our home games in Barnhill Arena, which after a renovation had a seating capacity of 9,500. Despite its size, the decibel level at every game was ear-splitting, one of the loudest venues in America. The atmosphere at games was compelling and it gave the Razorbacks a huge home court advantage. Sutton and his teams had a great run and so did Barnhill.

Nolan Richardson was hired by Broyles in 1985 and he took our program to even greater heights. In five years, Coach Richardson had us in the Final Four, and in the 1990s, Arkansas was often at or near the top of college basketball.

Because of Richardson’s enormous success, Broyles — with the generous help of Bud Walton and the contributions of thousands of Razorback supporters — saw to it a new arena was built and opened in 1993. It was instantly recognized as one of the best in the country. It more than doubled the seating capacity of Barnhill.

Even though the Razorbacks fell short of making it to the Big Dance this season, something positive did happen, which brought back fond memories and bodes well for the future. The magic was back in Bud Walton Arena, or at least most of it was.

For more than a decade, we haven’t been very good or relevant, but this year the Hogs went 17-1 in Walton Arena. It was more fun than it has been in years, and the crowds are coming back.

If you were there for the Florida, Kentucky, Missouri and Syracuse games, you got a good feel for what it was like when the Razorbacks played in Fayetteville during the 1990s when just about every game was a “happening.”

At times this year, the intensity, excitement and emotion in the building were palpable, and for the most part, it truly felt like “The Basketball Palace of Mid-America.”

In the month of March, we used to say goodbye to winter and usher in spring as we enjoyed and celebrated another successful Arkansas basketball team, but folks have grown tired of talking and hearing about the past and how good we used to be in basketball.

Instead of being mad in March, we all just want to be a part of March Madness again. People are ready for the Razorbacks to rekindle our tradition, make some fresh history and create some new memories.

Let’s keep the faith and keep believing the good times will roll again in basketball seasons to come. It seems to me there are sound reasons to be hopeful and optimistic.

Woody Bassett is a Fayetteville attorney.