So while we disagree with the Razorbacks about Houston Nutt, obviously, we can understand their angst. They're relatively new in the conference, and nobody really cares about playing against them. True, they have that trophy game with LSU, but that game is only a rivalry by default. Auburn had Bama. State had Ole Miss. And LSU and Arkansas looked around and realized there was nobody left but eachother, so they might as well make the best of it. Sorta like the two nerdy kids during a slow song at the Jr. High dance. What's worse is that LSU probably considers four other games as bigger rivalries than the Hogs' biggest.
The Battle for the "Golden Boot" or whatever
They've been desperate for a genuine rivalry, so when Razorback fans go on ad nauseam about Houston Nutt's shortcomings, the only courteous thing to do is quietly ignore them, and extricate yourself from the situation. Similar to what old Houston himself did in the first place.
The walk-on alums don't really recognize that you are trying to politely back away from the confrontation, though. Thus they're still trolling message boards, still calling into the radio shows, still bitter in every way imaginable. Even the brighter ones want to wax poetic about a man who rid himself of their lives over a year ago. They'll go highbrow on you. Get all literary.
The same fanbase that produces knuckleheads who degrade our coach's family, also sends us some bookish dude to let us know that in some fictional alternate universe, Houston Nutt runs with the Snopes clan in the wrong part of Yoknapatawpha County.
Well excuse us, but we fail to see just what in the motherfuck these people are talking about. Being from Oxford and all, we'd like to take the opportunity to ask these clowns what they think Gavin Stevens would do if 50,000 overzealous, ill-tempered crazies made it clear that they hated him and wanted him to leave. We'd like to think that Faulkner's hero, the traditional Southern Marcus Aurelius disciple that he is, would leave and vow revenge. Consequently, we'd like to congratulate the literary Hogs on getting one thing right: The past isn't dead. It isn't even past.
For us, National Signing Day was the official end of the "courteous" period with our neighbors to the Northwest. It's pretty much been a full football year with Houston. The honeymoon has had every opportunity to be over. We're still pretty keen on the guy.
They told us, first, that in general the guy couldn't coach. Once soundly disproven, the argument was then whittled away and whittled away until, finally, the last leg the lunatic fringe had to stand on was Houston's recruiting. "Once Orgeron's talent leaves, you'll see!" they said.
Well today we watched as the University recieved 38 Letters of Intent from kids who held offers from damn near every team in the nation. Georgia and Florida want the blue-chip offensive lineman? He chooses Ole Miss. Bama after the can't miss wide receiver? Sorry, he's in too. Auburn offers a slew of our defensive commits? Staying solid. The mighty Petrino gets after those Florida DEs and LBs? Sorry Bob. Welcome to the SEC.
What we wound up with at the end of today was something that has a very legitimate chance of becoming the very best signing class in the post-Vaught era. It is large. It addresses needs. It is short on grade risks and long on talent.
The point of all of this is that we don't have to be polite with the Hog fans anymore. If they are too stupid to realize that they have consistently been made to look like fools, then so be it. They have every right to continue to call us rivals, as long as they understand that for 51 weeks out of the year we'd rather not be bothered with defending our coach. We got nine wins, an excited fanbase and, as of today, one bad ass signing class. One of these days their burning hatred will flicker then dim then burn itself out, and perhaps the smarter ones will realize: those are really the only things that matter.
