As Arkansas fans, we
know what losing is all about. And not just losing, but terrible, catastrophic,
heartbreaking, soul crushing losing. Bill Simmons wrote a column many years ago detailing the “levels” of
each loss, or a gauge for how much a loss truly hurts. With so many colossal
losses in my lifetime, applying his theory to the Razorbacks was (sadly) all
too easy. The Arkansas levels of losing:
The 13 Levels of
Losing
Arkansas Edition
(1998-Present)
Level XIII: The Princeton Principle
Definition (From Simmons): When a Cinderella team hangs tough
against a heavy favorite, but the favorite somehow prevails in the end (like
Princeton almost toppling Georgetown in the '89 NCAAs) ... this one stings
because you had low expectations, but those gritty underdogs raised your hopes
... also works for boxing, especially in situations like Balboa-Creed I
("He doesn't know it's a damn show! He thinks it's a damn fight!")
... the moment that always sucks you in: in college hoops, when they show shots
of the bench scrubs leaping up and down and hugging each other during the
"These guys won't go away!" portion of the game, before the collapse
at the end.
2005 Arkansas-LSU football
The Hogs were bad
that year. At quarterback it was a revolving door of Robert Johnson and Casey
Dick. But for some reason, this 4-6 team found themselves locked in a battle at
#3 LSU. This was a quintessential “Houston Nutt choke game”. I’ll never forget
Arkansas scoring late in the game and him immediately call a nervous timeout to
figure out what our 2-point play would be. They didn’t make it, and eventually
lost 19-17.
Level XII: The Achilles' Heel
Definition: This defeat transcends the actual game,
because it revealed something larger about your team, a fatal flaw exposed for
everyone to see ... flare guns are fired, red flags are raised, doubt seeps
into your team ... usually the beginning of the end (you don't fully comprehend
this until you're reflecting back on it).
2011 Arkansas-Alabama football
With ridiculously
high expectations, Tyler Wilson and the Hogs went in undefeated into an early
season matchup at top 10 Alabama. They exposed the Razorbacks. As a fan, I
realized that the offensive line couldn’t hold up with the big boys. Receivers
got mauled all day. The running backs couldn’t get anything going. After that game Arkansas won 7 straight, but
no one really believed they could hang with LSU at the end. Arkansas lost that
game big too, and finished 10-2, but it felt like those
two losses counted double. At 10-2, the Hogs were a DISTANT third place to LSU
and Alabama.
Level XI: The Alpha Dog
Definition: It might have been a devastating loss,
but at least you could take solace that a superior player made the difference
in the end ... unfortunately, he wasn't playing for your team ... you feel more
helpless here than anything ... for further reference, see any of MJ's games in
the Finals against Utah ('97 and '98).
2010 Arkansas-Auburn football
Yes Arkansas lost
Ryan Mallett, and yes there were the two bad fumble calls; but Cam Newton
scored over 60 points. I’ll never forget Verne Lundquist’s gushing when he
scrambled for a touchdown run (“Look at THAT!”). Arkansas has always had
trouble with running QB’s over the years (Andre Woodson, Terrelle Pryor), but
Newton torched them, just like he did everyone.
Level X: The Rabbit's Foot
Definition: Now we're starting to get into
"Outright Painful" territory ... this applies to those frustrating
games and/or series where every single break seemingly goes against your team
... unbelievably frustrating ... you know that sinking, "Oh, God, I've
been here before" feeling when something unfortunate happens, when your
guard immediately goes shooting up? ... yeah ... I'm wincing just writing about
it.
2003 Arkansas-Auburn football
Arkansas had not
one, not two, but THREE critical holding penalties that affected the outcome.
It was a low scoring game, and I distinctly remember both Matt Jones and Cedric
Cobbs getting touchdown runs called back. The final score was 10-3, to make
things worse. You know things are going against you when 14 points are taken
off the board.
Level IX: The Sudden Death
Definition: Is there another fan experience quite
like overtime hockey, when every slap shot, breakaway and centering pass might
spell doom, and losing feels 10 times worse than winning feels good (if that
makes sense)? ... there's only one mitigating factor: when OT periods start
piling up and you lose the capacity to care anymore; invariably you start
rooting for the game to just end, just so you don't suffer a heart attack
2002 Arkansas-Tennessee football (6OT)
After an improbable
90+ yard touchdown pass from Matt Jones to Richard Smith, the Razorbacks
somehow found themselves in OT at #10 Tennessee. But several Brendan O’Donnohoe
missed kicks and a dominating performance by Jason Witten doomed them to a loss
in 6OT’s. This was the first example of “over-conservative Houston Nutt
overtime coaching” coming in to play. When the Vols didn’t score with their
opportunity, what would Nutt do? Run it three times up the middle for 1 yard
and miss a 41 yard field goal. I felt like he did this a million times during
his tenure.
Level VIII: Dead Man Walking
Definition: Applies to any playoff series when your
team remains "alive," but they just suffered a loss so
catastrophic and so harrowing that there's no possible way they can
bounce back ... especially disheartening because you wave the white flag mentally,
but there's a tiny part of you still holding out hope for a miraculous momentum
change ... so you've given up, but you're still getting hurt, if that makes
sense.
2012 Arkansas-South Carolina baseball, College World
Series semi-final game 1
I didn’t get to
actually watch this game, but once the Hogs lost this one, it felt like they had
no chance to win the second one. The strength of the team was pitching, and the
bats literally did nothing in these two games. When the other team has to beat
you twice and they are probably the better team, losing the first game is a
death blow.
2008 Arkansas-Missouri Cotton bowl
This one is not so
much about a game that did it, but after Houston Nutt’s departure, this team
had NOTHING to play for. DMAC and Felix were basically in the NFL, crazy man
Reggie Herring was the coach, and Missouri put a whipping on the Hogs.
Superstar Tony Temple (?) rushed for over 300 yards. That team lost before they
arrived in Dallas.
Level VII: The Monkey Wrench
Definition: Any situation where either A) the
manager/coach of your team made an idiotic game decision, or B) a
referee/umpire robbed your team of impending victory ... the Monkey Wrench game
gains steam as the days and months roll along
2009 Arkansas-Florida football
We all remember how
much this one hurt. Tim Tebow on CBS meant that Florida was going to get all
the calls. Let’s get the two less egregious ones out of the way. During
Florida’s comeback, there were two HORRIBLE pass interference calls; a
defensive one on Arkansas, and a no-call offensive pass interference in the end
zone on Florida. But the worst was the Malcolm Sheppard personal foul call on
the game winning drive that is probably the worst flag I’ve ever seen thrown in
an Arkansas game. That crew got suspended because of it, and Florida won the
game almost single-handedly because of that call.
Level VI: The Full-Fledged Butt-Kicking
Definition: Sometimes you can tell right away when it
isn't your team's day ... and that's the worst part, not just the epiphany but
everything that follows -- every botched play, every turnover, every instance
where someone on your team quits, every "deer in the headlights"
look, every time an announcer says, "They can't get anything going,"
every shot of the opponents celebrating, every time you look at the score and
think to yourself, "Well, if we score here and force a turnover, maybe
we'll get some momentum," but you know it's not going to happen,
because you're already 30 points down ... you just want it to end, and it won't
end ... but you can't look away ... it's the sports fan's equivalent to a
three-hour torture session.
2005 Arkansas-USC football
Leinart, Bush,
White, and Smith absolutely drubbed the Hogs in the most lopsided Arkansas loss
I can ever remember. 70-17. USC scored 70 points!! I’ll never forget watching
the team run into the Coliseum and thinking to myself “these guys are terrified
to be here.”
2008 Arkansas-North Carolina basketball
As a 9-seed, the
Hogs handled Eric Gordon and 8th seeded Indiana in the first round.
Next up was mammoth North Carolina, starring Tyler Hansbrough. As I remember
it, North Carolina shot 100% in the first half, and could have beaten the Hogs
by 200 points. Any time Arkansas would make two shots in a row, UNC would make
12. A total butt kicking from start to finish.
Level V: The "This Can't Be Happening" Game
The sibling of the Full-Fledged Butt-Kicking ... you're
supposed to win, you expect to win, the game is a mere formality ... suddenly
your team falls behind, your opponents are fired up, the clock is ticking and
it dawns on you for the first time, "Oh my God, this can't be
happening."
2012 Arkansas- Louisiana Monroe
I don’t think many
rational fans really believed that Arkansas was a top 10 team after the
departure of Bobby Petrino, but Arkansas found themselves there in week 2. A
simple tune-up game with Sun Belt foe Louisiana-Monroe was all that stood
between the Hogs and a matchup with number 2 Alabama, and a likely College
Gameday visit. Tyler Wilson went down late in the first half, and after a
Brandon Allen-led touchdown drive, the Hogs didn’t score again. I remember
thinking early in the 4th quarter for the first time ,”wait, this
game is actually close!” Monroe’s QB looked like a superstar, and they won in
OT. After that? The season went into full-on John L. Smith-style meltdown mode.
SMILE!
2014 Arkansas-Alabama basketball
Level IV: The Broken Axle
Definition: When the wheels come flying off in a big
game, leading to a complete collapse down the stretch ... you know when it's
happening because A) the home crowd pushes their team to another level, and B)
the team that's collapsing becomes afflicted with Deer-In-The-Headlitis ...
it's always fascinating to see how teams bounce back from the Broken Axle Game
... by the way, nobody has been involved in more Broken Axle games than Rick
Adelman.
2006 Arkansas-LSU
This was a close,
heart breaking loss in Little Rock after the team had reeled off 10 straight
victories and was headed to the SEC championship game. A Trindon Holliday kick
return for a touchdown sealed the deal for LSU. Arkansas had the ball down 1
score with two minutes left, but their pass offense was so punchless there was
no chance. After this, the Hogs lost to Florida (Reggie Fish play) and
Wisconsin (most boring game ever) and ended the season with three straight
losses. What really hurts is that in hindsight, wins over LSU and Florida would
have put them in the National Championship game. D’oh.
Level III: The Guillotine
Definition: This one combines the devastation of the
Broken Axle game with sweeping bitterness and hostility ... your team's hanging
tough (hell, they might even be winning), but you can feel the inevitable
breakdown coming, and you keep waiting for the guillotine to drop, and you just
know it's coming -- you know it -- and when it finally comes, you're
angry that it happened and you're angry at yourself for contributing to
the debilitating karma ... these are the games when people end up whipping
their remote controls against a wall or breaking their hands while pounding a
coffee table ... too many of these and you'll end up in prison.
2013 Arkansas-LSU football
Sitting at 3-8 and a
shocking 0-7 in conference there was no way the Hogs were going to win this one
right? RIGHT?! Right. After entering the fourth quarter with a 27-21 lead and a
surprisingly efficient game from Brandon Allen, LSU cut the game to 24-27, then
got the ball down 3 with just a few minutes left. On their own 1 yard line.
WITH THEIR BACKUP QUARTERBACK TAKING HIS FIRST SNAPS OF THE GAME. At this point
I could just envision it happening, the eventual touchdown in some improbable
way that would lead to a loss. Blown coverage, 49 yard touchdown pass, game
over, spirit defeated.
Level II: The Stomach Punch
Definition: Now we've
moved into rarefied territory, any roller-coaster game that ends with A) an
opponent making a pivotal (sometimes improbable) play, or B) one of your guys
failing in the clutch ... usually ends with fans filing out after the game in
stunned disbelief, if they can even move at all ... always haunting, sometimes
scarring ... there are degrees to the Stomach Punch Game, depending on the
situation .
2011 Arkansas-Ohio State
football
Three words: scoop and score. Don’t really have to say anything else.
2010 Arkansas-Alabama football
I have never been more excited for a game, and then so devastated. The
craziest Arkansas crowd ever couldn’t overcome the Nick Saban mojo. The Hogs
led most of the game, starting with a heart attack inducing Ronnie Wingo
touchdown catch on the first drive, but couldn’t hang on. Two crucial Ryan
Mallett picks in the fourth were instrumental in the loss. After this one, I
went home and had several Mike’s Hard Lemonades. Yeah, it was that bad.
2006 Arkansas-Florida football
“The Reggie Fish Play”. Is there any Arkansas fan that doesn’t wince when
they hear this guy’s name? With the Hogs up 21-17, they had forced
Florida to punt, and ALL the momentum was on their side. I was there in the
Georgia dome, and the crowd was probably 70-30 in favor of Florida, but you
wouldn’t have known it then. The Arkansas fans were going crazy, and the team
was poised to take over. But then: The Reggie Fish Play. For some insane
reason, Fish felt like he needed to try and field the punt over his shoulder on
his own goal line. He obviously fumbled, and Florida recovered for a touchdown.
The game was only 24-21 at that point, but it was over. The Hogs had the life
sucked out of them and lost 38-28.
Level I: That Game
Definition: Game 6 of the 1986 World Series ... one
of a kind ... given the circumstances and the history involved here, maybe the
most catastrophic sports loss of our lifetime.
1998 Tennessee-Arkansas football
My most vivid
Arkansas sports memory, and also the worst. Top 10 ranked, 8-0 Arkansas was
playing at #1, 8-0 Tennessee. With less than two minutes to go, the Hogs had
the ball at midfield and were up 24-22, essentially trying to run the clock
out. Clint Stoerner, who had been great all year, tripped over All-American
Brandon Burlsworth’s leg and tried to prop himself up with the football, and
instead fumbled. Tennessee recovered, stormed down the field, and won the game.
The loss was devastating. Arkansas kicker Todd Latourette went out and got a
DWI, submarining the team’s chances at Mississippi State the next week. At 9
years old, I will never forget going back to my parent’s room and balling my
eyes out. I just went back and watched the clip on YouTube, and had PTSD style
flashbacks. For any Arkansas fan, I don’t recommend watching it.
