A Day in the Life

November 23-29, 2015

The band always has too much fun

By Becca Bona

Sports are a big deal, I’m told.

Meaning, people pick a team, identify with that team, and then proceed to support the team by buying their garb and going to games.

I like sports, in theory, but I haven’t really been much of a fan of any one team in particular unless someone else introduces me to them. As geography dictates, I live in the South, where the SEC reigns and football is everything with a capital ‘F.’

As far back as I can remember, I’ve been going to Fayetteville and tailgating in the parking lot with my family. BB, MB, JB, and I would spend hours crafting the perfect parking lot menu – cookies, finger sandwiches, dips – you name it, we had it. We’d bring Frisbees, stadium blankets sporting red-plaid and, of course, Razorback shirts. We went full-out.

BB went to school at the University of Arkansas, and is filled with funny stories about living as a bachelor and studying all hours of the night. When I was 12 he took me on a guided tour of the campus, that until then, was just a maze of large, similar-looking buildings.

On this particular trip MB woke us at the crack of dawn and we raced up I-40 to catch the early game. I remember BB commenting about the seemingly calm traffic, an irregularity for Saturday games as the Little Rock crowd tries to arrive in Fayetteville all at the same time.

As our car finally topped the hill on Razorback Road we beheld what appeared to be … an empty parking lot and an even emptier stadium. Come to find out, the game was at 6 p.m., not noon.

It probably goes without saying, but we still won’t let MB live that one down.

We parked our car, anyhow, the only one in the huge lot, and BB took me on a walk around the campus. It was early October, and although it was a bit chilly, the trees were on fire. There is nothing like the University of Arkansas’ campus when the trees start to change. We walked by Old Main and a myriad of science buildings of which BB pointed out to me, mentioning this professor or that lab he had to endure, anecdotes plucked right out of his memory.

We finally found his name along the senior walk, after two hours of searching. In fact, I can still find it, if need be.

For that game, BB and I went in to the stadium to find our seats, while JB and MB sat out in the parking lot, continuing the tailgate with ample provisions. From our vantage point above the 50 yard line, I learned the technical aspects of football, BB patiently explaining what a ‘hold’ is.

My head wasn’t necessarily into the parameters of the game so much as taking in the stands around me. In particular, the band was extremely loud as we weren’t too far away from the section of student musicians, who were waggling brass and strings every chance they got.

BB and I decided at that point, the band always has too much fun.

And why shouldn’t they? Music blasting to a sold-out stadium of 72,000 in Fayetteville, there’s nothing quite like it.

Even now, as my family and I prepare to make the trek to the mountains this weekend, I’m only a true Razorback fan when the band starts playing the fight song.

Come on, hoggies, let’s show ‘em what we got.

Becca Bona is the managing editor of the Daily Record and an award winning columnist and photographer. Contact her at Becca@dailydata.com.