When my Hog fandom was being forged way back in the Stone Ages (i.e., the early 80s), there was no Internet, sports on cable TV was still way out of the mainstream, and opportunities for the Hogs to get national press coverage were few and far between.
I remember excitedly waiting for the mail to come every Friday so I could see if the newest issue of Sports Illustrated might contain any tidbit of info on the Razorbacks. Being the typical Arkansas fan with a large chip on my shoulder about lack of respect for the state in general, much less the sports teams (in the pre-Nolan days, nonetheless!), I was usually outraged by the absence of coverage.
And now, here we are in the 21st century with Darren McFadden splashed all over the ESPN homepage:
This is probably a feeling something only people from a small, historically maligned state can truly understand, but to this day I get a sense of giddy validation when the Hogs receive major national coverage like this (I should probably clarify that as positive national coverage...the Houston Nutt saga has not been much of a pleasure). In other words, I doubt USC or Notre Dame fans really get as excited when they're the lead story on Sportscenter for the 489th time.
And about the article itself, it's a nice look at D-Mac's background (mainly told from the point of view of his mom)...he ought to run for President, much less the Heisman, with that sort of rags-to-riches story. We'll probably be hearing it to the point of annoyance as his Heisman candidacy intensifies, but it's still fresh now.