(Editor’s Note: This was written by a true fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks immediately after the 7-3 loss on homecoming to Mississippi State on Saturday. The emotions are raw and real, so take all of that into account.)
Dear Coach Pittman,
I do not get it. And I feel comfortable speaking for many of us when I state we as Arkansas Football fans do not get it. No, most of us are not coaches, especially at a D-I SEC school. So, please, explain to us — in plain language, no coach-speak, and with full transparency — what exactly is going on?
We lose at home to a sub-par BYU team. We then travel to LSU and lose by three. We chase that loss with two more against Texas A&M by 12 and Ole Miss by 7.
At this point, we as fans are hanging onto the rope and many of us still have our trust in you.
What happens next? Our state’s flagship program travels to Tuscaloosa and gives Alabama all they can handle. We even had multiple chances to win the game in the fourth quarter. Yet we fall short, again by 3. We as fans can see the panic button, but the faithful majority is refraining from pressing it at this point.
I would like to pause here for a second to remind you, we are a simple but great state, Coach. We do not have much to do in the ways of consistent entertainment within our borders, so Arkansas Football is our passion. Outside of God and Family, for many of us, it is our life. Our pride rises and falls with the wins and losses columns of our beloved RAZORBACKS.
This state, this university, and this team, especially the players and staff, they all mean something to us. I know they do to you as well.
I have ignored the speculations set forth by other fans. I have been one of your greatest supporters and backers since the moment your hire was announced.
You and your staffs have done some great work here in the past few years; however, this season, something is gone. The fire? The light? The drive? What has changed?
I feel like an entitled kid here, Coach, begging like Haley Joel Osment’s character to his mom in the movie “Secondhand Lions”. With his words in our heads, we are in the stands, watching from home, and even listening on the radio, thinking, “Do something that’s best for me.” And by “me”, I mean the ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS fan base.
You and yours have brought us some great memories over the past few years, but something (either singular or plural, but definintely major) has to resolved for the future. Egos (if those are the cause) need to be shut down. Half-truths? Those are no better. A lack of accountability? I like to think you are better than that. Tell us what it is?
Are you the man for the job still? I like to think so, but I will look you square in the eye (if given the opportunity) and say I looked downwards to you at the end of the Mississippi State game and felt a new sensation. A new emotion. Coach, honestly, in that moment, I was embarrassed, ashamed of our program, and not a fan of yours. Granted, I know it is an emotional knee-jerk reaction, but we just lost to a team we should have dominated, in our place, and on homecoming nonetheless.
Add to it, we scored 3 points. Do I need to repeat that? THREE. DAMN. POINTS! And we did not even get a sniff of the endzone after the first quarter interception.
You are worried about your career and your family, I get it. And, it bears no repeating, I know you care about this program, but either step up, or step aside. We are humiliated, but we still love you. Just get this thing figured out, especially before we play Missouri.
You are probably not reading this, nor do I probably want you to, but if you ever do, I hope you read this with your heart and take it with the respect and understanding of a passionate ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS FOOTBALL fan. We hate losing, Coach. We hate it more than anything.
People often use the cliche, “Well, that’s easy for you to say.” No, in this case, it truly is not. As a person, this is painful. As a writer, this is brutal. As a huge supporter of yours, Coach, this is gut-wrenching. And as a HOGS fan, this is heartbreaking.
No, again, the high majority of us are not football coaches, nor will we ever be, but we are fans, we love our RAZORBACKS and this state, and we deserve better. Get it fixed.
God Bless,
Every Razorbacks Fan
