Which is it, War Eagle or Tiger?
And its "Arkansans"
We are the Tigers, complete with a national award-winning costumed Tiger mascot.
No one remembers the origin of the War Eagle. The story I've heard the most was that a local Indian used to come to football games around the time that Johnny Heisman was coaching here (yes, that Heisman). Said Indian had a trained eagle he hunted with. When the Indian passed away, the eagle kept coming to the games. The more it flew around the field, the better our team played, so it became an unofficial second mascot.
When I was a student here, the eagle lived in the largest outdoor aviary in the country, smack in the middle of campus. It was a beautiful, large golden eagle named Tiger. She just passed away and was buried on campus right after I moved back in early 2014.
****************** getting back on track ********************
About an untrustworthy person: he's lower than a snake's belly.
(My uncle who never swears once described a man as "he ain't worth frog spit.")
Ask your friends when you're hungry: djeetyet?
Pointing across the room: it's ovair.
When it's down the road a few miles, point and say: it's over yonderways.
Yell at kids/dogs in the yard: G-onout-ahyar! (one long word, nice and loud) to make them leave.
I never knew what to call folks from Arkansas, and will endeavor to remember "Arkansans," even if I can't pronounce it. Can't make it sound like "Arkansaw" at all, more like "Ar-kansas" which folks from both states don't like. "Hogs breath is better than no breath at all" is the only other thing I know about Arkansas, one of three U.S. states I have yet to visit.
