Really missing Frank

Often you don’t miss a person until they are gone. In the case of Frank Broyles, we have been missing his love of people, passion for football, and vision that brought us together for the pride of all Arkansans for some years now. Frank got his way with having a single-mascot team for Arkansas that didn’t compete in-state because he promised and delivered a competitive brand of football that made us all proud to be Razorbacks.

We can’t ask another human being to be Frank, but we do expect someone to love Arkansas, its people and deliver four quarters of exciting, competitive and scrappy football. That is who we are, or were. Bean-counter athletic directors, whose highest calling is maximizing revenue with high ticket prices, building expensive boxes, procuring inexperienced vendors, fiddling with jersey colors and extending a multimillion-dollar contract of a non-winning coach, miss the mark.

Arkansas football starts with a vision that includes pride in being part of the Razorback tradition. It includes W’s and L’s but far more than that. It’s being part of something bigger than ourselves that represents our state nationally. If Jeff Long can’t get us on track, we need a new A.D. Bret, you’re not delivering.

As Frank would say: “Bret, we still love you, but will miss you.” Jeff, sorry, but the way things are currently going, we may not miss you too much.

BOB HAYDEN

Little Rock