Personally, I've visited the Catfish Hole only a handful of times during a weekend visit to The Hill from out of state. I love a great Catfish meal from time to time; it reminds me of growing up in Arkansas and going to celebrations and/or large family gatherings. It truly is a staple of Arkansas tradition. But the idea of taking young adult men, many of which are not from Arkansas, to a small family restaurant where homemade quilts hang and the majority of the crowd is elderly folk 'callin' the Hogs' is a bit old fashioned. Nothing wrong with old fashioned, but at this day in age, I think we can do better.
Are we hurting ourselves by staying with this tradition?
I was born and raised in small town Arkansas. But, as far back as I can remember I dreamt of the day I could get out of Arkansas, and as soon as I could, I joined the Army and started a new life. I love Arkansas, I love the people, and I love visiting.
I remember the first time I traveled back to Arkansas after being away for almost 8 years. It was a trip to NW Arkansas, and after hearing all the hype about the Catfish Hole on this forum, I had to check it out.
I fell in love with the food, and the people I met running the place seemed like fantastic people to my son and I. But, I couldn't help but think to myself, 'Why is the U of A using this establishment as a focus on the recruiting trips?' I just didn't get the appeal most do I suppose, other than the food. I just felt like we could do better than that to try and relate to these young kids coming in for the first time. to be honest, it was actually a bit strange to me and I assume if it felt that way to me, then some of these kids I assume feel similar, or kind of weirded out by the whole experience of it being a recruiting tool.
I just think it's time we look other alternatives to lure some of these kids. Bringing top recruits to a family establishment with a large group of geriatric hog calls probably isn't the greatest approach. Let's end the Catfish Hole Era, try something new, and quit freaking these kids out!
Are we hurting ourselves by staying with this tradition?
I was born and raised in small town Arkansas. But, as far back as I can remember I dreamt of the day I could get out of Arkansas, and as soon as I could, I joined the Army and started a new life. I love Arkansas, I love the people, and I love visiting.
I remember the first time I traveled back to Arkansas after being away for almost 8 years. It was a trip to NW Arkansas, and after hearing all the hype about the Catfish Hole on this forum, I had to check it out.
I fell in love with the food, and the people I met running the place seemed like fantastic people to my son and I. But, I couldn't help but think to myself, 'Why is the U of A using this establishment as a focus on the recruiting trips?' I just didn't get the appeal most do I suppose, other than the food. I just felt like we could do better than that to try and relate to these young kids coming in for the first time. to be honest, it was actually a bit strange to me and I assume if it felt that way to me, then some of these kids I assume feel similar, or kind of weirded out by the whole experience of it being a recruiting tool.
I just think it's time we look other alternatives to lure some of these kids. Bringing top recruits to a family establishment with a large group of geriatric hog calls probably isn't the greatest approach. Let's end the Catfish Hole Era, try something new, and quit freaking these kids out!
