During this season’s college football national championship which matched Texas against Southern California, I proudly walked across the hall of the frat house that I live in and sat down with a bunch of my fraternity brothers. These guys aren't just your regular sports fans, they happen to be native Texans and hardcore Longhorn fans who were decked out in burnt orange. But I’m not the kind of guy to blend in with the crowd. My shirt displayed a longhorn in the front, but not in the way my buddies are used to seeing it. The maroon shirt featured an up-side-down longhorn with x’s replacing its eyes and displayed the label "HORNHATER" in big, bold letters. Needless to say, this “dead cow” shirt didn’t go over too well with all of my UT-loving friends.

I didn’t wear the shirt because I am a USC fan, because I’m nothing of the sort. I didn’t wear it because I’m an Oklahoma fan, because I don’t fit under that label either. And, contrary to what all of my friends thought, I didn’t wear the shirt because I’m an Arkansas fan.

“I always pull for Arkansas as long as they’re not playing Texas,” one of my friends said, ignorant of my true feelings.

“I don’t see why you hate Texas so much,” another said. “They don’t even play Arkansas anymore.”

The main reason I bought the shirt was just to get under the skin of my house mates. Although, I did have a little underlying hate for UT from my days (although very numbered) as a Hog fan. But my hate for Texas never bloomed until I was subjected to the constant bickering of the Texas faithful.

If you’ve ever been near any hardcore Lonestar State fan, you know what I mean. I got to the point where if I ever had to hear how great anything originating in George Bush’s homeland was, I was willing to steal an idea from the Germans and begin construction on the Texarkana Wall. Or maybe instead of a wall, I could just run an electric fence along the boundary to keep all of the longhorns (and steers) out of our state. I’ve just got to remember to pee in the porta-potty instead of on the fence during construction. (I’m not really a commie, but man, those Texans are just a little too prideful.)

A couple of months ago, there was an editorial in The Echo that didn’t even mention Texas, but it did declare it fine for UCA students and Bear fans to support the Arkansas Razorbacks. At that time, I agreed with the editorial and would have even labeled myself as a casual fan of the piggies. And although you won’t find me rooting against the Hogs on a typical day, my views of which collegiate sports teams UCA students should support have changed, and my personal allegiances have been better defined.

Unlike UA, UCA doesn’t get many students who choose to attend the university due to the fact the prospective students are big fans of the school’s athletic teams. Most little kids around the state don’t grow up exclaiming “Do it like a big bear, grrrr!” But UCA has become the second-largest institution of higher education in the state, right behind that school in Fayetteville, and Bear athletics are on the rise.

Next year, there will be a new kid on the block around these parts. Central Arkansas will be the state’s newest participant in Division I athletics, making the transition to D I-AA. UCA will gain more coverage in the media than any of the Gulf South Conference schools in the state which the UCA was previously an equal of. And along with becoming a regular on ESPN’s bottom line, UCA sports will pretty much become a lot bigger deal to anyone who might care.

As UCA sports might not be near as big of a deal to the state in general as the latest venereal disease picked up by a star Razorback player, UCA has reached the point where athletics have become a big enough deal for the student body to faithfully follow ‘dem Bears. And I think the city of Conway should do the same.

In my senior year of high school, I made a decision. I made a decision to attend the University of Central Arkansas, and I haven’t regretted that choice. And I think, as students, we need to realize what UCA has done for us and where our allegiances should lie. Do you want to support the guy that sat by you in history class, or a guy you’ve never met before and probably never will? Do you want to support the person who lives down the hall, or the man who thought he was too good to even consider living in the same dorm?

What I’m trying to say is these people — the starting quarterback of the football team to a freshman on the women’s tennis team — they are among us and they represent us in everything they do. We should take pride in their accomplishments and get even more excited about their feats than what happens in the northwest corner of the state.

It might take every UCA student getting out and not just watching one game, but actually following the school’s teams. Getting to know who is playing for the Bears and becoming knowledgable about the players, coaches and team in general might be what it takes to become a true fan of the school's teams. Hopefully, the number of students and others who put UCA at No. 1 in their hearts will be on the increase in the near future.

UCA has already done a couple of great things to spark the interest of the student body in UCA football. Alcohol was allowed for the first time at the tailgates on the practice field, and the pre-game parties drew many students who attended the games after a bit of grilling and drinking. And UCA’s football team, in their last season in Division II, made a run in the national playoffs and was a serious national championship contender. The university and football team did a pretty good job at raising awareness before the move is made to Division I.

A couple weeks ago, I saw a good sign of UCA becoming a noticeable figure in the state of Arkansas’ eyes. I went to a piano bar in Little Rock, and during the night, the performers broke out the fight song competition to earn a little extra cash. The piano player started out playing and singing “Rocky Top,” the University of Tennessee’s fight song, but then let the crowd know he’d play whichever fight song had the most monetary support.

To my delight, the Texas fight song didn’t net a dollar, but the UCA fight song fared much better. Going into what the piano player labeled the “fourth quarter,” The U of A was leading UCA by a count of $18 to $16. My table, which wholly consisted of UCA students, had already given up all the loose dollar bills we could find to demolish the Razorback faithful. It looked like they were about to win. But thankfully, one of my fraternity brothers placed a $20 bill on the piano followed by another $10 passed to the front by a random UCA supporter. The Bears had gained an insurmountable lead and we all stood up, held our drinks high in the air and, with much pride, helped the piano player sing our fight song.

The Bears might not be No. 1 on "Drive Time Sports," but to myself and hopefully the majority of our student population, we take pride in cheering the purple and gray team.