re: I've never seen this much love for a 6-5 team

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It really is interesting. Petrino's teams had a lot of success and never seemed to garner much respect from the media. Bielema's have had very little success and the media seems to love 'em.

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I attribute that largely to Petrino's personality - good coach, but a complete arse. ... Bielema is personable & comes across as genuine. His own story as a walk on player who earned success helps a lot too. The perception (and appearance) of him as a big, tough guy who demands hard work & respect, but is also emotional & "real" & cares about his players is a true one - nothing phony or shady about him - which makes him very likable to the football media. ... Toward the end of yesterday's game, Gary was talking about what a "charismatic" coach CBB is & how when he walks into a room, "he owns it." I just think he's the polar opposite of what Petrino was regarding personality & coaching style, which is helping the Hogs a lot in the media.

Eta - Also, the Razorbacks' very swift "fall" after all the bs with what went on with Petrino, his firing, then the shitshow that was Johnelle, and the struggle to climb back with Bielema is what the media loves. They eat it up. Everybody roots for the underdog, but this struggle for the Razorbacks has been particularly hard with all of the national attention & humiliation the players have suffered. People couldn't help but feel bad for them, including the media, so their apparent turnaround is a great story for them - and us.