HawgBeat - Emotional Petrino talks second chance at Arkansas
Bobby Petrino's return to the Arkansas Razorbacks football program has been an emotional one.
arkansas.rivals.com
Second chances are important in life. For new Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, getting another opportunity to coach the Razorbacks again means absolutely everything.
Formely head coach of the Hogs from 2008-11, Petrino completely changed the way the football program was viewed nationally. It changed him, too, and his return to Fayetteville has been an emotional one.
"No, there never was any anger at all," Petrino said on Thursday. "I was always a Hogs fan, man. People would ask me, ‘Are you going to watch the game? Are you going to watch them play?’ I watched as many games as I could. I cheered for them, I rooted for them. I loved the players. (Chokes up)"
Petrino's return has long been asked for by Arkansas fans. It never seemed realistic — but now that it's finally happened — Petrino couldn't be more pumped for the chance to right his wrongs.
"Well, like I said, I thought about it and dreamed about it," Petrino said. "I didn’t know if it would ever happen. So certainly… I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back here. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I truly do love Arkansas — the university and the state, and the people. I think it’s the most special place I’ve ever been."
He's not the only person excited, either. During the course of Arkansas basketball's 80-75 win over No. 7 Duke on Wednesday, a packed out Bud Walton Arena chanted "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby!" on more than one occassion. Petrino was present for the victory, and enjoyed his experience.
"It was exciting," Petrino said. "Yeah, I felt good about it. Again, I have to say it’s a credit to Sam, to be able to bring me there and allow that to go on. I think it’s just a credit to him. You can see the confidence that he has in himself, as a man, and how much he loves the university and wants to do what he believes is best for us to go forward to win. It’s a real credit to him."
Now that he's back in the Natural State, Petrino has a lot of adjustments to make after being gone for so long. But there's also plenty of things to look forward to as well.
"I’ve got a lot to learn, man," Petrino said. "I can’t even find my way around. It’s changed. It’s really changed. The roads are a little bit different, the way you get places are a little bit different. I drove up in front of this building right here and I’m like, ‘Wow, they re-did that, too.’ The first thing I’ve got to do is figure out where I’m at.
"Definitely like going to the lake. That’s something we’ve always enjoyed as a family and loved to do. It’s on my bucket list to be able to slalom when I’m 70, so I’ve got to keep working on that and make sure I’m in good enough shape. I don’t get up anymore on one, to be honest with you. I get up on two and drop just because it’s so hard to grind to get up on one. Nobody skis anymore.
"My kids have totally went away from me. They don’t ski. They surf and wake board. I don’t even see the fun in that you go so durn slow. I don’t know how it’s fun. I’m still going to water ski. I’ve lost a lot of balls at Blessings, so maybe if I get to play that sometime I’ll find a few of them that I left out there."
