View From the Hill: New site gives Hogs fans another place to meet

DUDLEY DAWSON
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

What if you are a Razorbacks fan and there's no Razorback Club to go to in your hometown, or even in a neighboring community?
    What if you don't have the money to be a Broyles-Matthews booster or a Tush Hog, but still want to be a bigwig?
    What if you want to hook up with some of your internet buddies on game day at the game site?
    Haven't filled out a NCAA Tournament bracket and want to try and get one in before 11 a.m. this morning with a chance of winning a year's worth of Hawgs Illustrated?
    Arguing with your buddy over whether Arkansas will beat Georgetown tonight at 6:40 p.m. in Boise, Idaho?
    Well, one Rick Bawiec, otherwise known as Rick B. on the internet message boards, believes he has got you covered on all these things.
    Bawiec is one of the movers and shakers behind Webhogs (www.webhogsclub.com), which is best described as a Razorback Club-type gathering on the internet.
    It was born out of the popularity of the Pigpen and Hawgs Illustrated message boards and the internet in general.
    "I had thought about it a couple of years ago when we were doing the tailgate parties for the Pigpen," Bawiec said. "I was thinking that it would be cool to have a club."
    He put a bug in the Razorback Foundation's ear, but nothing really ever came of it.
    But then Rick B. and MrBsWax, otherwise known as Steve Bardwell, got together one day in HI publisher Clay Henry's office and the three starting brainstorming.
    "It has just snowballed since then," Bawiec said. "The main thing that we were thinking about is Razorback fans that are in California or Virginia and don't have a Razorback Club can basically hang out with their Razorback buddies and chat."
    The Webhogs had their first club meeting last Thursday, a day before the Razorbacks started play in the SEC Tournament, and are taking on more members everyday.
    Bawiec certainly has an interesting feature for those who find out about it before the first NCAA game today. Or should I say the first 1,000 fans, which is how many the site is set up to take at the moment.
    He has loaded up an NCAA Tournament bracket featuring all four regionals, using a drop-down box for those you think will survive and advance.
    Get one right, win a point. The guy -- or gal -- with the most points at the end of the tournament is going to get the free year of Hawgs Illustrated.
    Now since I am a contributor to Hawgs Illustrated, I am probably not eligible to win a free subscription.
    But just for the heck I filled one out with Arizona, Michigan State, Duke and Stanford landing in the Final Four, which is not really a reach seeing as how two of them are No. 1 seeds and the other two are No. 2 seeds.
    I do like Georgia State as my big upset team of the tournament.
    It's the most wonderful time of the year. Let us commence the dancing.
   
EDITOR'S NOTE: Dudley E. Dawson works for the Northwest Arkansas Times, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is carrying his column on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in the Northwest Arkansas edition as a service to our readers.
   

This article was published on Thursday, March 15, 2001 in the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette.



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