Few things in America are as competitive as collegiate sports.
Cheering on your favorite collegiate team has become so popular in America over the last 50-years that it’s arguably more important than rooting for your favorite professional team.
College sports fans aren’t joking when they say that they “bleed” their favorite school’s team’s colors when you ask them.
And if you happen to live in a state where there are two schools that are rivals, it’s an even more fanatical situation.
Example: In the State of Michigan, you’re either a dedicated Spartan fan and you wear the green and white and cheer for Michigan State University every weekend, or you’re a dedicated Wolverine and you wear the blue and maze and root for the University of Michigan on Saturday afternoon. No-one is a fan of both.
A long-standing rivalry means that you have to pick a side. It’s a century’s old unspoken rule, really.
Saturday is game day. It’s holy. The stadium is like a church, and spending an entire day during the weekend at the stadium has become a way of life for many in America.
It’s all because of the fans.
Collegiate sports draw more people because it gives a fan, who travels far and wide the chance to commune with their favorite school’s current students and visiting alumni. Fans, students, and alumni mingle with one another in the stands and they all show their love and support for a team.
College sports fans love their team so much that no matter how down they might be in the National Ranking, they still show their support and cheer.
And the students at the University of Arkansas know exactly how to do just that.
When a group of the students bought dozens of our best-selling “Left Shark” Halloween costumes, we thought it might be for some sort of fraternity prank.
But, when they told us they were intending to wear them at the upcoming Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kansas Jayhawks basketball game, we had to see it to believe it.
Then this happened:
Ladies and gentleman, I give you Sharkansas. pic.twitter.com/xIbTHENU0H
— Nick Petraccione (@NickPetraccione) February 26, 2022
The Razorback fans in our costume proved to be quite a distraction.
Not only did the costumes end up being a distraction to the Jayhawks players, coaches, and fans but they also turned out to be a really fun way for the school’s students to show their love and support for the Razorbacks basketball team.
The excitement the students-in-costume brought to the game was infectious, and it led to the No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks beating the No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks (75-73).
The students got the credit they deserved for shaking up the proceedings; they got acknowledged for their team support in a big way.
The students who wore the costume were on CBS all throughout the nationally-televised game and Sports Illustrated also covered them.
They truly turned Arkansas into “Sharkansas” for one day.
And we here at Costume Agent are very proud of having had a hand in helping that transformation happen.
Congrats Razorbacks and to the Sharkansas squad!!!
Stripe-out 🔴⚪️🔴 + #Sharkansas 🐗🦈 pic.twitter.com/RSO5AHnun1
— $TRIVE FOR GREATNE$$ (@JGBanks_) February 23, 2022