Razorback fans love to see their mascots run
"Hog Wild" on Arkansas gamedays!
Discover the stories surrounding the Arkansas Razorbacks nickname story along with the school's mascots, colors and many great traditions that take place on gameday and beyond.
University of Arkansas
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Conference: SEC
Colors: Cardinal and White
Fight Song: "The Razorback Fight Song"
UNIVERSITY MASCOTS: TUSK I, THE FIGHTING RAZORBACK, SUE E. & PORK CHOP
While the Razorback nickname became official prior to World War I, the university didn't have a live mascot until the start of the Vietnam War. It was in the mid 1960s that some fans donated a pig which was named Big Red I. That pig and the one that followed him as the mascot, Big Red II, were duroc hogs. Both of the mascots apparently couldn't handle the stress of hoof-biting games, since they both died of heart failure.
Razorback cheerleaders know that no pep rally or gameday
is complete without a series of "Woo, Pig, Sooie" hog calls
Ragnar, a wild hog captured in Southern Arkansas arrived on the scene in time for the 1977 season. With the tenacity exhibited by Ragnar, he would have made a great candidate for middle linebacker. Before his death from unknown causes in February 1978, the hog killed a coyote, a 450-pound domestic duroc and seven rattlesnakes.
Tusk I is the current Arkansas mascot exhaling Hog's breath. Razorback fans get more excited than hogs eating slop when the animal hits the field prior to kickoff.
While Big Red makes an early exit, the Razorbacks are cheered throughout the game by a uniformed mascot named "The Fighting Razorback." The character first developed as "The Dancing Razorback" in the early 1970s when he was named for the dance routines he performed with the Arkansas Marching Band.Sue E. and Pork Chop have filled Arkansas' costumed mascot family ranks. They join the Fighting Razorback on the field for game day activities and perform with the Razorback Marching Band.
ARKANSAS NICKNAME: RAZORBACKS
The first nickname to grace the University's athletic clubs was one that helped reflect the colors that were selected in 1884 by the student body. When they picked the combination of cardinal and white they picked the Cardinal bird as their nickname.
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The fired up coach addressed the crowd that had assembled at the train station and exclaimed the fateful words, "like a wild band of Razorback Hogs," to describe his team's level of play. The students went 'hog wild' over his comments so much that they voted to change the school's nickname to Razorbacks in time for the 1910 season.
ARKANSAS' TOP CHEER: "WOO PIG
SOOIE!"
This famous hog call that also serves as an Arkansas yell speaks volumes about the passion that exists in college football. Think of where you are likely to seen grown men and women proudly screaming Wooo, Pig! Sooie! The list of locations is a short one that might include the sloppiest of hog pens.
Yet, at Arkansas football games the yell is heard more than, "Peanuts. Get your peanuts." The expression that developed in the 1920s is designed to motivate great play from Razorback players. No matter what age, gender or profession, the yell is performed at the highest decibel level possible. There's simply no room for apathy when the Hogs need vocal support.
This famous hog call that also serves as an Arkansas yell speaks volumes about the passion that exists in college football. Think of where you are likely to seen grown men and women proudly screaming Wooo, Pig! Sooie! The list of locations is a short one that might include the sloppiest of hog pens.
Yet, at Arkansas football games the yell is heard more than, "Peanuts. Get your peanuts." The expression that developed in the 1920s is designed to motivate great play from Razorback players. No matter what age, gender or profession, the yell is performed at the highest decibel level possible. There's simply no room for apathy when the Hogs need vocal support.
While the cheer can create an eardrum stressing moment for fans sitting in the stands, imagine the effect on visiting
teams. Former University of Tulsa quarterback Richie Stephenson knows personally the challenge of trying to direct
a football team when Razorback fans are in a frenzy."When you're on the field surrounded by more than 60,000 Arkansas fans and hear a deafening Hog Call, it's awesome," Stephenson said. "They create a true home field advantage because they drown out the visiting team's ability to audible and change their plays. The players can't hear the quarterback."
A botched hog call could easily offend not only a Hog fan, but the actual animal as well. Therefore, Arkansas athletic officials have released guidelines on how to "Woo Pig Sooie" with the best of them. The Hog Call has so many components that figuring it out might make these instructions look like Pig Latin. Wearing the equally world famous Hog hat that's a staple at Arkansas games is optional when doing the Hog Call.
A properly executed Hog Call is composed of three "calls," slowly raising one's arms from the knees to above the head during the "Woo." An eight-second "Woo" is recommended. While emitting a "Woo," the fingers should be wiggled and the "Woo" should build in volume and pitch as the arms rise. With the "Woo" phase now complete, both arms are brought straight down with fists clinched as if executing a chin-up while yelling, "Pig." The heart thumping Hog Call is completed by thrusting the fist clinched right arm into the air, and with great excitement yelling, "Sooie."
A full Arkansas Hog Call consists of this sequence being repeated two more times and then followed immediately by the "Razor-Backs" yell, that's coordinated with the pumping motion of the right arm after the third "Sooie" in time with the break between "Razor" and "Backs."
Therefore, the complete Arkansas Hog Call is:Wooooooooooooo. Pig. Sooie! Wooooooooooooo. Pig. Sooie! Wooooooooooooo. Pig. Sooie! Razorbacks!
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