This is the third in a week-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.
Today's topic is tailgating traditions, but I have to confess that, as someone who didn't actually go to the U of A and has lived outside of the state for most of my adult life, I'm hardly an expert on the subject. So, I'm going to take a few liberties and write about one of my favorite things about being a Razorback fan...something that definitely happens at tailgates, but also takes place inside the games, at airports, at other teams' games, at schools, at offices, at churches, at pretty much any place where at least two Arkansans are gathered.
Yes, I'm going to write about calling the Hogs.
I'll admit some bias here, but I'm convinced that the Hog call is by far the best cheer in all sports. It's loud. It's powerful. It's unique. It's profoundly weird. Think about it: 70,000 people, most of whom are grown adults, all yelling "wooooo pig sooie" in a high voice and waving their arms above their heads. There's no pretension, no too-cool-for-school attitude, no trying to be something we're not.
The Hog call is a celebration of Arkansas, and who we are as Arkansans. It's completely authentic, and so perfectly us. No other team, school or state could pull it off (not that they'd want to try, necessarily).
A well-executed Hog call can be joyous (after, say, a 50-yd Ryan Mallett TD bomb), intimidating (before the opposing team receives the opening kickoff) or in-your-face (like when Razorback fans introduced themselves to the SEC by calling the Hogs during UK's opening game in the 1992 conference bball tournament). It can happen pretty much anywhere, at any time.
Whenever or wherever a Hog call happens, though, there's no mistaking it: it's the sound of Arkansas.
After the jump are some videos of Hog calls from around the world. And in the comments section, tell us your favorite things about the Hog call. Or, even better, what's the best place you've ever called the Hogs?
A basic primer on how to call the Hogs:
Behold the mighty sound of 70,000 Arkansans calling in unison:
They call the Hogs in Ghana, too:
My own video of calling the Hogs in Berkeley (not quite as far removed from Arkansas as Ghana, but almost):