Some Razorback Fans Need A Dose Of Perspective

The Arkansas Razorbacks lost a roller-coaster game in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi.

By the end of the contest, I was sitting on the floor. It’s become a bit of a routine six games into the season.

I start on the couch but wind up criss-cross applesauce right in front of my TV at some point in the third quarter.

I can’t quite explain why I do it other than it’s better than standing given the size of my TV and the height of my entertainment center. Plus, pacing in my New York City apartment only makes me more nervous.

So the floor it is.

After KJ Jefferson’s pass attempt on the two-point conversion sailed over everyone’s head and landed incomplete, I just kind of stayed there.

My doom scroll through Razorbacks Twitter validated what I was feeling

Ole Miss should have been called for holding like…17 more times!

Love going for two there, but that play call wasn’t great!

There needs to be a penalty for faking injuries!

Then I saw several tweets that made me pause. The sentiment about the Razorbacks could be summed up as follows:

The season has spun wildly out of control. Next week is critical.

With that, I set my phone down. What happened next was something less than meditation but definitely more than just a mindful moment.

I took some deep breaths, and I reflected on the state of the Arkansas Razorbacks football program.

And then I did something I definitely did not expect to do less than ten minutes after a tough loss.

I laughed.

I laughed hard.

The belief that this season has somehow gotten away from Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks is a prisoner of the moment reaction.

The contention that next week against Auburn is some sort of critical, watershed point is utterly ridiculous.

The Razorbacks could very well lose to Auburn and still have a realistic path to an 8-4 finish.

To put an 8-4 finish into perspective, Kindergartners in Arkansas haven’t had an eight-win season in their lifetime.

If you had come to me before the season started and said that this football team would go 8-4 (4-4) while demolishing Texas at home, ending the losing streak against Texas A&M, and avenging last year’s tough loss to Missouri, I would have told you Sam Pittman should be SEC Coach of the Year.

Before the season, I truthfully would have been ecstatic if a crystal ball told me the Razorbacks would go 6-6. People are forgetting how bad things were very, very recently.

That doesn’t change because the Razorbacks have had some success early.

The sky is not falling on your head, Chicken Little.

Some Hog fans need to try sitting on the floor, taking a few deep breaths, and tapping into a bit of perspective.