Home Alone
A Preview of the Arkansas Razorbacks Bowl Game v ... ha
Ok. Look.
I have to admit that I started writing this article a month ago. It was going to be a great Christmas-piece, but then I had a board meeting in Georgia, got some sort of virus that has continued to pass around the house like the jelly of the month club, had family Christmas in Sheridan, Russellville, and Cabot, had New Year’s Eve and got to celebrate my 15th wedding anniversary…
Needless to say, I’ve been a bit busy. But I did take the time to revise and update this article with current events and it should still have a nice holiday message and offer us some hope heading further into 2026, the year of the Fire Horse.
There are a few movies my family rewatch every year around the holidays: Elf, Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Home Alone.
I’m sure many of you saw the viral story this year that kind of changes your perspective on Home Alone. In fact, it was such a persuasive theory that many churches showed the movie to their congregations this year. The idea is that Old Man Marley symbolizes Jesus Christ, acting as a misunderstood, outcast figure who provides salvation and spiritual redemption for Kevin, mirroring Christian themes of love, mercy, and sacrifice. Key parallels include Marley's initial fear and isolation (like Christ being rejected), serving the community (salting sidewalks), a hand injury potentially resembling crucifixion wounds visible on both sides of his hand (though bandaged later), and his timely rescue of Kevin when Kevin couldn't save himself, representing divine intervention. The theory suggests the film offers a deeper gospel message through Marley's actions, culminating in reconciliation with his estranged son, symbolizing restored relationships.
Pretty cool, huh? But is it true? We don’t know. Director Christopher Columbus is a Christian and has said in interviews that he wanted the movie to have Christmas-staying power, but he’s never directly admitted that Old Man Marley played a Christ-like figure in his movie.
Things should be true or false. Right or wrong. And yet we live in a society that promotes personal truths.
But being that it’s Christmas, I think it’s a perfect time to focus on the most important truth.
John 18:37-38
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.
Let’s help answer Pilate’s question.
The word truth comes from the same root word that gives us trust and tree. It means firm, solid, steadfast and offers a senses of dependability and reliability. Scripture gives us a few specific examples of what truth is.
Jesus is Truth - "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6)
The Bible is Truth - "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17)
The Holy Spirit is a gift to help us with Truth - “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)
Truth is Freedom - 31 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching,you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Truth continues to protect us - The Bible contrasts God’s truth with the deception of the “father of lies,” the devil (John 8:44). To stand against this deception, the “Belt of Truth” is listed as the first piece of the Spiritual Armor in Ephesians 6:14, suggesting that truth is what holds everything else together.
So as you’re bombarded with AI generated content or asked at the water cooler at work “Did you hear what Trump said?”, I encourage you to turn to Jesus and the Word of God instead of simply responding the way our current culture would tell you to respond, like this line from the new Wicked: For Good movie “The Truth is not a thing of fact or reason. The Truth is just what everyone agrees on.”
Speaking of the Truth, Truth has to be my favorite sports nicknames of all time. Paul Pierce of Kansas Jayhawk and Boston Celtic fame earned the nickname in March 2001, after Pierce scored 42 points against Shaquille O'Neal's Los Angeles Lakers, with Shaq telling a reporter, "Paul Pierce is the motherf***ing Truth," a quote that was then published and stuck.
And based on how Freshman point guard Darius Acuff, Jr is playing so far this season, I think The Truth would be a fitting nickname for him. I was actually surprised that a player of his caliber doesn’t already have a nickname. In fact, the only thing he’s ever gone by besides the name bestowed upon him by his mama is Mr. PSL.
While every state gives out an annual Mr. Basketball award to a high school player, one of the more coveted awards comes from Detroit’s Public School League. Past winners include Spencer Haywood, Derrick Coleman, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, and Steve Smith. The winner had always been a senior until 2023 when Sophomore Darius Acuff, Jr. won the award.
Not only is he a Detroit legend, he’s the best basketball player to ever wear a Razorbacks jersey. And just like the Declaration of Independence, I’ll go ahead and say I hold that truth to be self-evident.
Not only is Acuff #4 in scoring in the SEC at 19.9 points per game and #2 in assists at 6.2 assists per game, if you look at some of his advanced metrics you really start to see that he’s the connector that makes the whole team play better when he’s on the court.
Acuff is so good at uniting the Hogs, we might should nickname him Bluetooth. Y’all know how much I like sharing little nuggets of knowledge from history so here’s a quick aside on how we got the name bluetooth that we use to connect all of our devices:
Around 960 AD, a Viking King named Harald Gormsson was ruler over Denmark and Norway and actually united all of the waring tribes in the area and converted them to Christianity. He was famous for having a dead front tooth that looked blueish-grey. His nickname was Bluetooth.
Fast-forward to 1996, three tech giants—Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia—met to standardize a short-range radio link that would allow different devices (like PCs and cellular phones) to talk to each other. Marketing teams had already started working on ways to explain the new PAN (Personal Area Networking) system to the public. But Sven Mattisson (Ericsson) had recently read The Long Ships, a novel about Vikings and King Harald “Bluetooth”. The companies all agreed it was the perfect term to describe the connector/uniter.
The companies even used the symbol for their new technology to give a nod to their inspiration.The Bluetooth logo isn’t just a stylish “B.” It is a bindrune—a combination of two Scandinavian runes from the “Younger Futhark” alphabet representing Harald Bluetooth’s initials (H.B.):
Hagall (ᚼ): Represents the letter ‘H’.
Bjarkan (ᛒ): Represents the letter ‘B’.
2025 truly was a banner year for Razorback athletics. The basketball team made a Sweet 16 run. The baseball team made it to Omaha. And four of our student athletes won national player of the year (Heisman equivalent for their respective sports).
And 2026 is shaping up to run-it-back with similar success. Basketball is ranked #15 in the country. Gymnastics is ranked #10. And Baseball is ranked #4.
The glaring omission, that’s as big of an elephant in the room as the unclaimed $1.8B Power Ball ticket that was sold in Cabot, Arkansas before Christmas, is football.
I’ll do another piece on football after the Transfer Portal closes next Friday, but I’m told coach Ryan Silverfield truly believes that the top 10 class he has signed, his returning players, and the new focus on spending on football staff, players, and travel will allow him to have a Cignetti-like first year. He thinks we are a 9-3 team with a shot at the playoff next year.
But the truth is, that’s all coach speak. And just like one of the older guys at our tailgate always reminds me, “I don’t care about outcome. I just like the camaraderie.”
Hogs fans may be more united for our pain than our joy, but I still wouldn’t rather support any other team or state. Here’s to a truly wonderful 2026!
-WPS