Flave Carpenter
Little Rock Office
Being an Arkansas Razorback Super Fan means that I have been to the tops of the mountain, but I sure have seen the lowest of lows. As Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you’re going to get”. I live by these words each year hoping that this is the year. I crave excellence from our teams in all sports, but sometimes having to take a step back and realize we aren’t that team is quite saddening. But let me tell you this, I will never give up and I will always support the Hogs! I am blessed with the opportunity to be able to go up and see my team each year and can’t wait for this football season to kick off.
I attended the UofA and always make sure to travel up whenever possible to catch a football, basketball, and baseball game each season. When you get a chance, do yourself a favor and go watch a basketball game at Bud Walton Arena or enjoy the Hog Pen at Baum Walker Stadium catching home runs. Hearing the roaring fans call those Hogs will fire anyone up! Thinking back to being a kid at Donald W. Reynolds Stadium and getting the privilege to witness Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis run through defenses still gives me chills to this day. In my mind I know we can get back to being a top dog not in just one sport, but all of them, It is possible and It will happen. Don’t ask me when it will happen, but let me tell you… This could be our year! WOO PIG SOOIE!
Kellie Ashlock
Jonesboro Office
I grew up as a Razorbacks fan. My nephew was on on the Lacrosse team. My niece graduated from there. My son is headed to the Hill next year. There is not much out there that's more fun that being in Fayetteville on game day, tailgating, it's electric honestly.
Dixon street after the game is always a good time. Really, just the way Northwest Arkansas embraces the university and the Razorbacks, it's always been a big part of my family and my life.
It'll be exciting this season because Arkansas State will play Arkansas in Little Rock for the first time. That will be exciting, and I plan to be there for sure, wearing my Razorback Red.
Andrew Watson
Little Rock Office
As you've probably heard for a long time, and will hear echoed likely amongst other hog fans state-wide if asked. We have never been a big enough market for any professional sports team to call this state home. LR is still just a little small, and a little behind the times. NWA is getting close. The Razorbacks were the first, and largely only college program in the state to make some nose nationally amongst the big boys for a long, long time.
Then the mid 90's happened, and the Hogs not only made a splash nationally, but the mens basketball team made a name for themselves, set a new standard for the program, and cashed in on the already exploding fan base as the Hogs marched to a national title.
So naturally, growing up as a youngster, I was fully baptized into Hog mania in the early 90's. I fell in love early and often. Going to Fayetteville for a game, getting to see it in person (basketball, football, baseball), following the huge crowds and lines of people to get in the door - it was a rite of passage for any Hog fan. I can still remember the chills I got the first time I saw a game in Barnhill and Bud Walton. Getting to call the hogs the in a packed gym still brings a smile to my face. And to this day, the only place in the state where you can experience a sold-out show in a stadium with 80K capacity. And believe me brother, you find yourself with an opportunity to see the Hogs on an up-year, with a quality home opponent with a season still to play for - you don't pass it up. It's otherworldly. When you grow up with that sort of experience, you find yourself thinking - who needs a pro team?The memories and good times, experiences I've had to go along with being a Hog fan are the most important - from grade-school until now. I've cherished a lot of great memories with family members over the years. Made a lot of friends who I've only bonded closer with due to our shared dedication to the beloved Razorbacks. But it comes with a price. All hog fans will tell you - we are a cursed bunch. We are like the Michael Scott meme - the one where he reluctantly looks at the camera in a time of renewal, and new beginnings and says "No question about it, I'm ready to get hurt again". So we show up every year, most of us for all 3 big sports, and continue to take the abuse that invevitably becomes the tit-tat for being a sports fan, if you don't root for Bama.
Cody Simon
Little Rock Office
I went to school there and met my wife there, and most of my lifelong friends there.
Without having any professional sports teams in Arkansas, everyone turns to the Razorbacks. Whether you have grown up in Arkansas your entire life or moved here from out of state, eventually you end up following the hogs or like my 4 year-old son calls them the Woopigsooies!
