David McCollum: UCA fans generate both smoke and excitement

Politicians normally generate a lot of wind, but some supporters of legislative candidate Joe White made an appropriate move just as sweat was reaching bigtime levels Thursday afternoon.

They handed out fans and the gesture crossed political lines.

The opening game of the college football season in Arkansas served notice that it's still summer, still August.

It was hot. It was humid. Things were more appropriate for a luau than tailgating.

But by mid-afternoon, University of Central Arkansas fans were heating things up some more, meticulously hooking up propane tanks and firing up charcoal.

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A trick early was dodging smoke from the occasional breeze. It's extra rough when you can't see your sweat.

"Hottest I've ever been on the field," said a Little Rock television reporter about 5:30 p.m. before the 7 p.m. game between UCA and Henderson State.

The damper was that Lu Hardin, UCA's president who has helped supervise and watch the tailgating grow in excitement and crescendo, had announced his resignation hours earlier.

That generated a little conversation around the ice chests, but things methodically went on and grew in life as the sun went down.

As the UCA players followed the band in the march down Bruce Street, they smiled at the cheering crowd, then shielded their eyes. They were marching west.

Thursday night was a brilliant night for an opener. The Bears' game at First Security Field at Estes Stadium was the official kickoff of the season.

Thursday night opening games, particularly prior to Labor Day weekend, work out nicely.

Fans are hungry for football. Students can come out in great numbers and still spend the bulk of the weekend at home. The teams play, get most of the weekend off and have eight days before they play again.

Teams and coaches can relax on couches and watch the opening weekend of football.

By an hour before the game, Bruce Street had a carnival atmosphere with a checkerboard of purple and white tents.

Excitement for the football season in the Conway community is probably the highest in years. There's probably unprecedented excitement among the students.

By gametime, it was a giant mixer on east side of Estes Stadium. One student organization had a huge, bigtime smoker. Many were fed.

Before the first quarter was over, the stands were packed and students were six-deep in standing room in the north end zone with a few hundred outside the stadium. There were three full sections of students on the east side with purple spirit sticks.

"This student body has known nothing but winning," UCA coach Clint Conque said.

The upperclassmen in the student body have known nothing but NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision football. The freshmen and newcomers are eager to jump aboard and had octane.

There's a wider variety of selections along tailgate row.

Henderson State fans even set up about four tents and joined in the pre-game frolic.

"In walking around town the last few days, I don't know how many people bought tailgating spots, but it seemed like everybody had one," Conque said.

Thursday was party time and the first-fruits of football frenzy in Arkansas.

Somebody suggested that with a president resigning, it was a lousy day to play a football game. Someone else suggested it was a great time to play a football game.

UCA fans were also hungry for fun and a unifying force, something to feel good about.

That's why it was cool to be hot.

(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)