Reddit, generous Hog fan give Marine memorable experience

Cameron Storm, left, Russell Hatridge, center, and Nick Hatridge pose for a picture during Arkansas’ game against Ole Miss.

Cameron Storm took to Reddit earlier this month to see if anyone wanted to watch Arkansas’ game against Ole Miss with him.

Storm had just recently returned to Fayetteville after four years in the United States Marine Corps. All of the friends he made in college had moved away since his last year at Arkansas in 2011, and he didn’t want to cheer on the Razorbacks alone.

“I was just hoping to have a couple of people over to enjoy the Razorbacks,” Storm said. “Reddit is one of the best online communities I’ve ever come across. They do charities and massive fundraisers all over the world.

“There are some crazies on there and some people who are into some weird stuff, but I wasn’t worried inviting someone over. Also, I can’t lie, I am a Marine and I can take care of myself.”

Little did Storm know what his post would accomplish. Instead of watching the game with another Arkansas fan, he would soon be watching the game with about 70,000 of them thanks to the kindness of another Reddit user.

Russell Hatridge was in Fayetteville with his son to meet some friends for the game. Hatridge makes it to about one game each year from his home in Wilton, about 20 miles north of Texarkana.

But his friends opted to not go to the game at the last minute and gave him their tickets. Hatridge was scrolling through Reddit, saw Storm’s post and made an offer.

“I’ll do ya one better: I’ve got a couple of extra tickets to the game (some friends fell through) if you’re interested (PM me if so),” Hatridge wrote. “Think of it as both a ‘Welcome Home’ and ‘Thanks for your service’ bonus.’”

Storm couldn’t believe it. He messaged Hatridge, who told him to meet at Gate 13 about 30 minutes before kickoff.

“My thought was: Here I am, I have these extra tickets and nobody’s using them,” Hatridge said. “He’s doing good things by reaching out to other people, so why not reward him for that? It was a bonus that he was a vet, and I have nothing but the utmost respect for our veterans and those who are serving.

“He thanked me like 20 times for the ticket. He even sent me an email a few days later and thanked me again. But it didn’t cost me anything. I happened to be in a position to do something nice for somebody.”

Storm jumped off his couch, put on his Arkansas football jersey and headed out to his first Razorbacks game in five years.

It wasn’t the first Arkansas game he had attended, but was the first he had attended as a true fan. His first couple of years at the university were spent in the marching band as a baritone player, and in the concert band as a euphonium player.

“It was the first time I ever got to go through a regular gate,” Storm said. “It was the first game I had been to when I didn’t have to march onto the field. It was nice to be a fan without wearing a giant wool uniform.”

He wanted to be a music major and came to the university to work with renowned low brass musician and professor Benjamin Pierce. Circumstances warranted Storm attend Tulsa Community College near his hometown in Oklahoma in 2010, then he came back to Arkansas (and the band) in 2011 before enlisting with the Marines.

He was never deployed. After going through basic training in San Diego, he spent his enlistment working as a broadcast and print journalist for Marine publications in Maryland and Virginia.

Now back in Arkansas, he plans to enroll at the UA for a third time in January and major in communications. Instances like that Saturday let him know he’s on the right track, or at least in the right place.

“I love Fayetteville,” Storm said. “That was something that I would have never imagined would happen. It was fantastic.”