WinChill Factor: Coach Gandhi Believes It Can Be Done

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

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Some of you may have thought that I would write a report on the good things that resulted in the Aw-burn game.  In other words, the dreaded “Moral Victory” column.

It ain’t happening.

It’s not that there weren’t some bright spots in the game; there certainly were several.  There was also no quit during all four quarters, particularly in the running of one Jonathan Williams (you, young man, are a B-E-A-S-T!).   But for all the bright spots, we did not get the win – and the win is what matters.  In the immortal words of Herm Edwards:  You play to win the game!

These so-called moral victories are mere appetizers to the main course.  Quite frankly, your Arkansas Razorbacks have had enough spinach dip to last them awhile.  We are ready to feast on some prime rib and, if included, a side of roasted potatoes with basil.  So what’s our next move?  How should we go about satisfying this gnawing pang of hunger?

Well, we need to put down the rose colored glasses and cue the Gandhi because, right now, we do not have “it” as a team.  We’re still very much in the initial stages of transforming the program.  This is a process that can’t be rushed – no matter how good we may look at times.

We need to remember that this battleship is still slowly turning around in order to get to the point where positive plays are the norm and great plays aren’t so unexpected.  We’re not there yet, but we are in that exact spot as described by Coach Gandhi (I’m pretty sure he coached youth cricket).  We stand at that proverbial fork in the road as this season winds down.  Quit?  Not in the cards.  Belief in the ability to obtain our goal while we work to achieve it?  Absolutely.  If we stay the course and believe in the process and the direction we’re taking, we can one day see the Tigers, War Eagles, Bulldogs and What-Not in our rear view mirror.

As such, from here on out, we are doing the Gandhi Shuffle.  It’s a simple dance and essentially has one basic step.  As soon as the ball is snapped, we completely crush the player in front of us and knock every single Chiclet outta his mouth (this is not a contradiction; don’t think for one second Gandhi didn’t wanna go all WWF on everybody after a 6-game losing streak).  If, however, the applicable player in front of us develops a knee injury 2-3 minutes after a play is over and suddenly drops to the ground for no apparent reason – so be it.

Yes, WinChillers, one day we may look back at the 2013 Aw-burn game as the moment where we could see a bit of swagger return to the program, and certainly a bit of fun.  Perhaps it’ll become that game where we started to see some of the pieces come together to give us a glimpse of the future.  In any event, it looks like the Arkansas/Aw-burn series has all the makings of a new rivalry.  Fuel to that fire will come quickly as the Hogs go to Aw-burn for the very first game of the season next year – August 30, 2014.  Mark your calendars.  We’re going shufflin’ shufflin’.

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This week’s WinChill Factor is confusion – both unplanned and planned.  As to the former, what is up with the bear, Ole Miss?  Look, I know y’all wanna be politically correct and all, but…a bear?  Really??  Gee, how original.  What were the other choices?  Dog?  Cat?  The Fightin’ Haley Barbours?  Talk about a missed opportunity.  I spent a mere five minutes thinking about it and came up with the “Ole Miss Americas” – which would have been epic (I mean, can you imagine the Homecoming Parade?  The hair?? The behind the scenes cat fights???  We’re talking 30 for 30 material here or at least an E! “reality” show).

The other confusion is the planned kind.  As in the type of confusion generated by our offensive schemes this week.  You think we pulled the playbook out against Aw-burn?  Not hardly.  By the time this game is over, the Ole Miss defense will be as confused as Season 3 of Homeland.

Prime rib, anyone?

Until next week, Fear the Sleeves.

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Coach Bielema’s Windbreaker made its physical presence known on August 31, 2013.  It is chock full of Razorback spirit, has an unhealthy hatred of sweater vests and fears nothing (other than a hot iron on the “Cotton/Linen” setting).  As game days approach, the Windbreaker can be found interacting with the Razorback faithful on Twitter (@BielWindbreaker).

At times, the Windbreaker associates with Shayne Smith, a lifelong resident of central Arkansas who has been known to begin sentences with “Notwithstanding the foregoing….”