Why Isn't There More Hype Surrounding Arkansas' Spring Game?

I had been searching and trying to find something interesting to write about for a while. And this time of the year, it can be difficult to come up with anything that'll grab people's attention unless you praise a fan favorite or insult the college town someone lives in or frequents.

But I started thinking about everything that's going on in Fayetteville right now. Immediately, the first topic that came to mind was Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls declaring for the draft and the "rebuilding" process Mike Anderson may go through next season. Next was the baseball team, which is en fuego right now, and the only SEC club to win its last four series. Dave Van Horn's club is back in the polls for the first time in a long time.

After a bumpy start to the season, Arkansas is starting to piece it together behind Andrew Benintendi's hot bat and freshman starter Keaton McKinney providing strong innings on the mound with Trey Killian's inconsistency.

Then, just a day or two ago, I got an e-mail from the UARK parking folks, telling me to make sure my truck is not parked in Lot 44 (The Pit) so it can be vacant for RazorFest this weekend. Oh yeah, that's right, the spring game is coming up. How silly of me to forget. There have been some talks how radio hosts in the area talking about it, but there isn't a whole lot of excitement or hype surrounding it this weekend. Don't agree? Well there's this from Arkansas' AP writer Kurt Voigt on SportsRap:

Voigt: I don’t sense the massive sense of excitement about this spring game. Not really any big story lines or hype going into Saturday

— Sports Rap ESPN 99.5 (@SportsRapESPN) April 22, 2015

Great, so it's not just me imagining this.

The Razorback football Twitter account has been pushing the Red-White game for weeks, but there hasn't been any goal for attendance that's creating hype to draw fans or anything. There's RazorFest – and some other activities I'll get to later – but it just seems like this year's spring game is going to go pretty quietly.

So I've attempted to come up with a few reasons why there isn't much hype and excitement for Saturday's Red-White game (decide for yourself if I'm being facetious or not). Here they are:

Players everyone want to see play are likely going to be limited

Back a month or so ago I wrote a story for the Arkansas News Bureau about how the coaches were planning to give Jonathan Williams the Trey Flowers treatment this spring and sit him out of scrimmages. There goes some of the excitement for fans, especially younger ones who idolize him. I understand why they're holding him out. If he were to get hurt in spring practice, it'd be a travesty.

Alex Collins is probably also not going to get much action if I had to guess. Can't afford to play him too much and risk potential injury. Fans are likely going to have to wait until September to watch that DWTS-level footwork. Plus, the 1s will likely get to play the first half before it gets turned over to guys who may have been pulled off the street for all we know.

Fans are scared Brandon Allen will thrown an interception on his first attempt, leading to an offseason full of pessimism and silly call-ins on sports talk radio shows

I mean, it happened in last year's spring game after the media beat you in the face with how much Allen had improved. It could happen again, and we'd be in for another long summer full of unnecessary quarterback controversies. And really, the worst thing that could possibly happen is Allen throwing a pick right off the bat, then Ty Storey (who is likely heading toward a redshirt season) getting in the game and lighting the world on fire.

Have fun if that happens, talk show hosts.

Fans are too busy preparing for the Baggo Tournament at 3 p.m.

I think anyone who has been to a tailgate in the South or gone to the beach has played Baggo, and can testify that an intense-but-fun game with one of your boys on your team is a lot more fun than any spring game could be.

And why worry about the backup quarterback race now when a spot in the National Baggo Tournament in Little Rock is on the line? You know QB2 and QB3 aren't going to be decided until fall camp anyway, so LET'S BAGGO. Plus, if you do happen to win, that's something you can totally brag about to Bama fans on the beach when you take your annual family vacation to Gulf Shores this summer.

The entry is like $50, but you get to Baggo it up and see DVH and the Boys roll through a bad Clanga team, so it's a pretty good deal. Weigh Baggo/Diamond Hogs vs. the spring game on a Libra scale and it's really no contest imo.

People read my "reasons to hate spring practice" column and really took it to heart

I made my feelings about spring practice very clear about a month ago. I don't like it. I really don't, explained why, and why you should, too. It was so crazy it just might've worked. Glad I could bring you guys see the light.

Did I leave anything out?