Mixed Nutts

Black shirts in the student section. Anti- Nutt banners flying over the stadium in HDN's hometown, no less. Does a totally out-of-touch administration get the message yet? Or does the message have to come in the form of a text from Teresa Prewitt?

One of the things that drove home the point that Broyles and White were completely clueless about life outside the Ivory Tower of PCU, otherwise known as the University of Arkansas, was Broyles' "5 puh-cent" comment last year. Then, John White's endorsement of Nutt after the email fiasco and the "Mala-zahn" situation.

For those who talk about black shirts and banners being an example of "crazy, out of control fans" or Hog fans being a "laughing stock" in the rest of the SEC or nation, I have a simple message. The rest of the SEC is going to make fun of us no matter what we do. Do you think they weren't making fun of us when Nutt was a hero in the eyes of most of the fans? Of course they were!

As for the rest of the nation, they know little of Arkansas and care even less. Bill Clinton is a native of the state and that's about the extent of their knowledge. The older ones know about 1957. Some know of the state only because of the West Memphis 3 or Bangin' In Little Rock. Why do we still care so much what other states think of us?

And how do football fans wanting rid of a coach define a state? Bill Battle of Tennessee had "For Sale" signs put in his yard years ago. He was subjected to much worse treatment than Nutt, with a much better record. We need to decide which is more important, what the rest of the world thinks of us or whether mediocrity is acceptable. Whether the fans deserve honesty in the way the football or other athletic programs operate, or whether to maintain the status quo.

The answer to me is clear.