Why do Arkansas Razorbacks baseball fans wear beer mug hats? The bases are loaded

Erik Hall, Fort Smith Times Record
·2 min read

Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2021. 

Sometimes when a person has had too much beer to drink, that person is described as being loaded.

At Arkansas Razorbacks baseball games when the bases are loaded, the people pull out beer mug hats.

Arkansas baseball's Baum-Walker Stadium is normally inundated with fans dressed in cardinal red and white, so these yellow- or golden-colored beer mug hats stand out.

Anytime the Arkansas baseball team gets players on first base, second base and third base, the beer mug hats come out from under fans' seats — or wherever they store them the rest of the game.

According to Whole Hog Sports, the tradition started in 2008 with a group of three friends — Jim Tran, Heath Schluterman and Kyle Thompson.  At that time, the Arkansas scoreboard played animation when the bases were loaded of the three bases coming together and toasting beer. Schluterman found some $1 beer mug hats, bought a bunch of them, and distributed them to fans at the games to wear when the bases were loaded.

The tradition continued during the 2021 NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Super Regional. When Cullen Smith came to the bases loaded and beer mug hats adorning many fans' heads, he hit a grand slam.

Here's more Arkansas baseball news:

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, center, celebrates with the team after defeating Tennessee in an NCAA college baseball championship game during the Southeastern Conference tournament Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Hoover, Ala.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, center, celebrates with the team after defeating Tennessee in an NCAA college baseball championship game during the Southeastern Conference tournament Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Hoover, Ala.

Dave Van Horn is the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball head coach.

Erik Hall is the lead digital producer for sports with the USA Today Network. You can find him on Twitter @HallErik. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Why do Arkansas Razorbacks baseball fans wear beer mug hats?