Cotton Bowl Adventures

Alexa Albrecht
Alpha Omicron Pi

On Jan. 6, the Arkansas Razorback football team ventured to Arlington, TX for the 2012 Cotton Bowl at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Thousands of Razorbacks formed a sea of red and hog spirit as they attended the bowl game and witnessed a victory with a final score of 29-16.

Hunter Jarvis, Razorback wide receiver, said that the week before the game was very busy.  

 "To prepare for the Cotton Bowl we had full pad tackle practices to make up for the long gap between games to keep our bodies used to contact," Jarvis said.  "Then once we arrived in Dallas we went to the Cowboys stadium where we spent the week preparing for Kansas State."  

With this method of preparation, Jarvis said that they tried to make it as close to a normal game preparation week as possible.

"Aside from practicing, we had plenty of opportunity to have a fun experience," Jarvis said. "We got to go to a Dallas Stars hockey game and a Dallas Mavericks basketball game. We also went to the 'beef bowl' at Lowry's where we ate more than 400 lbs of prime rib."

Jarvis said that the team also went to the Main Event where they bowled, played arcade games and battled it out in laser tag.

"The day before the game we had a luncheon with Kansas State at our hotel," Jarvis said. "We watched  our highlight tapes and listened to speeches by  Daryl Johnson, Marcus Allen, Bobby Petrino, Bill Snyder and Brad Sham." 

Bobby Petrino Jr., the Razorback's head coach's son, was able to experience some of the highlights of the exciting week.  

Petrino said that his favorite event prior to the game was a private concert with The Band Perry. 

"It felt like the concert was just for us because of the smaller crowd and the more personal experience with the band," Petrino said. "Their music was really good and I had fun with the people I was with."

Petrino said that he spent the rest of the week doing the events that the team attended.

"My favorite activity with the team is going to the practices and watching them prepare for the games each week," Petrino said. "Out of all of the bowl games I have attended, last year's Sugar Bowl was my favorite because of the New Orleans atmosphere and Bourbon Street, but I still enjoyed this year's Cotton Bowl."

Alexa is a sophomore studying public relations and advertising. You may contact her at aalbrech@uark.edu.