By: Marlee Cockrum
Razorback fans unite at the palace in inclement weather.
When January arrived, a familiar panic made its way to Fayetteville. Suddenly, grocery store shelves were empty, rumors spread of days and days of canceled classes, and social media feeds were flooded with talk of “the snowstorm you’ll tell your kids about” heading straight towards Fayetteville.
On Thursday, students got calls from family members pleading with them to make arrangements and stay safe, and at 5:07 p.m. The University of Arkansas sent out the much anticipated WxAlert text alert cancelling classes for Friday. Students checked the weather app on Friday night to find that a projected 12-14” of snow would be falling overnight, and woke up Saturday morning to see it was true.
On Saturday Jan. 24, the snow fell hard, the temperature was subzero, and every store and business was shut down as predicted. Roads were coated in a wintry mix of ice, sleet and snow, and you may think that any plans of a basketball game that day were tossed out the window–but you would be wrong.
At 8:00 a.m., before there was even time to shovel snow off the driveway, @Razorbackmbb on X, formerly Twitter, posted that the Razorback game against LSU at the Bud Walton Arena wasis still on, and had been moved from 7:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in an attempt to beat the worst of the conditions;
“Snow day essentials:
– Boots
– Hot chocolate
– Hog basketball”.
When roads are impassable, conditions are lethal, and the governor even declares a state of emergency, the hogs still call.
“Come on out, the crowds will surprise you”, Matt Zimmerman, Razorback Sports Network analyst and former assistant basketball coach said in a pre-game report on Instagram. “There will be a lot of students here”.
That evening, students in everything from a full ski-suit to a mere hoodie and sweatpants made the trek to Bud Walton, tickets in hand.
“My mom was like ‘are you seriously going to a basketball game right now?’” said Hailee, a University of Arkansas freshman. “I was like yeah mom, it’s okay, literally everyone I know is”.
“Generally for an SEC game we’ll get about 4,000 students, but we’ll have more than that”, Zimmerman predicted in his post earlier that day. Sure enough, 4,500 Students rolled their eyes at the weather reports and showed up for their team, and the Arena was at its capacity of 19,200 by the time 4 p.m. rolled around.
The majority of students didn’t think twice about their decision to make the journey to the game. Hailee recalled that the U of A story on Snapchat was everyone joking about sledding to the game or risking frostbite to be there.
“None of my friends even brought up the idea of not going”, She said.
The circumstances brought students together and fostered camaraderie among them. An anonymous student on the U of A Yik Yak page said that they have never felt closer to the student body than during this snowstorm in a post with over 200 upvotes.
There’s something unique in a Razorback fan that sees negative temperatures, countless warnings, and over a foot of snow, sleet, and ice as a challenge instead of a sign to stay in bed. As wild as the hogs can seem to an outsider, those within their circle are not surprised by this.
“Working in the Bud Walton arena, I had no doubt that it was going to be packed”, Avri Kamplain, communications assistant for Razorback woman’s basketball said. “A situation like this brings a different kind of excitement to our community, we all get to come together even if it’s difficult to get there.”
This “different kind of excitement” filled the arena that evening, from a crowd connected by shared experience of the trek and brought together in the warmth of the Palace. With 9:45 left in the game, Arkansas overtook LSU and, accompanied by the rallies of frenzied fans, achieved the victory with 85-81.
The adrenaline of a crowd who had just braved the emergency warnings and thrown caution to the wind to show up inevitably brings a unique energy and atmosphere. When asked if the crowd vibe has influence on the court and outcome of the game, Kamlain says definitely, and added that players feel recognized by their fans when the energy is high.
“I work many press conferences and notice players saying they were confident playing because of how loud the Bud Walton arena got”.
The confidence of the athletic staff in their fans says a lot about the grit of the Razorback and the no-excuses mindset of the students at the U of A. A sold-out arena is more-or-less guaranteed, regardless of the situation. Grit and loyalty is expected from fans, and that’s what sets the fanbase apart from others. When it comes down to choosing comfort or loyalty, the hogs choose loyalty every time.