When one thinks of football season, the images that come to mind include sweatshirts with team logos and maybe stocking caps — not shorts and sunblock lotion. But today at 6:30 p.m., the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville — yes, the Golden Lions and the Razorbacks — will tee it up at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock for some intrastate football fun.
These sorts of competitions within the state didn’t happen years ago, with the thinking being that the fan base would be irreparably split and that it wouldn’t be good for either side. One only had to look at the state of Alabama to see how torn apart the fans were — and are — between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers to imagine what a yearly tussle between, say, the Razorbacks and Arkansas State would develop into.
But that thinking has gone by the by, at least to some extent. The pro-game forces suggested that to keep the football money within the state, as opposed to handing it to Tulsa, for instance, was more important than any risk of fans turning their noses up at this or that competing team.
The most recent and most memorable duel between UA and UAPB occurred last year when the women’s team from Pine Bluff traveled up the hill and handed the big sister team a giant L for their record book. Defeating them in their own house was something that goes into the book of sports lore — well, UAPB’s at least.
Do the Golden Lions stand a chance of repeating such a feat? Doubtful, but don’t tell the young men who have conditioned for weeks and months and prepped for this day and this season in the very same way that the players in Fayetteville have. To hear them, they know what they’re up against and they’re ready. Still, the odds are long.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The odds are also long that college sports will be distinguishable from pro teams in the future.
Basically, players are following the money, and who can blame them? They were taken advantage of for generations, given little to nothing as pay for coaches rose into the millions of dollars in many cases. There was some righting of the ship that needed to happen, absolutely, but the merry-go-round of transferring players leaves fans dizzy. It’s happened at UAPB, and it’s happened at UA.
It’s not a stretch to imagine that only the richest schools — where players can make the most money — have a chance of competing at the highest levels. Perhaps college football, with its high-dollar donors, has been at that very place for years already.
Even with the heat and the many unknown players taking the field, this is the start of football season, with cheerleaders and bands and lots of ‘rah rah’-ing. It’s hard not to get excited. As for today’s weather, well, a coach would tell you to stay hydrated!