When I decided to move to Nebraska to get a doctoral degree just some few short years ago, I got in touch with a former of professor of mine to share the news. She congratulated me, offered some sage thoughts to get me through the tough times ahead and then casually observed that she'd heard you had to be crazy into college football to be at Nebraska.
In that moment, I think I stared at her and said something along the lines of, "Um, what?"
This same sentiment was offered so many times, "Ooooh, Nebraska, well...hope you like football!", "Have fun in the land of corn and football", "football, football, football".
I even remember one interchange not long before I moved where I put it together that the "Cornhuskers" my father watched on New Years Day more than once while I was growing up were indeed the same
Cornhuskers I was about to join.
In that moment, I think I stared ahead and said something along the lines of, "They're those Cornhuskers?!"
I went to my first Nebraska football game on a whim when a friend texted me an hour before the 300th consecutive sellout game and asked if I was interested in going. I happened to be on campus tailgating with a group from church (which, I need a whole different post to discuss the ridiculousness of a bunch of Mormons tailgating before a huge football game) and opted to tag along.
It is not an understatement to say that nothing could have prepared me for the experience of watching a Nebraska football game. Live. With 89,000 of my closest friends.
The energy is palpable. It gets inside of you. You can't help but smile dopily and stand on your seat and cheer wildly and wiggle your spirit fingers everytime the kicker gets ready to punt the ball (you would be hardpressed to convince me that there is no correlation between my spirit fingers and the quality of that kick. Just sayin' is all).
Not only did the spirit of Nebraska football embed its way into my innocent little heart at that game, Shari stood there beside me and answered every question I had about football, the game, the players, the cheers. Did you know that there is actually a rhyme or reason to this game? There is strategy. You can predict what players are going to do. It is not just a tousle of huge guys randomly ramming into each other. There is a point to it all. I literally had no idea.
We are now halfway through my second year of being a card-carrying-member-of-the-season-ticket-holders club. I go to every game. I look up NCAA ratings at the beginning of each week. I read up on our opponents. I read game summaries and game predictions...on a weekly basis.
Good heavens, I don't even know who I am anymore.
Everybody now: GO BIG RED!
2 comments:
Oh man. You make me want to be a fan. Wiggle your fingers double for me at the next game, will you?
89,000 people attendance. Incredible.
Holy cow, you're my favorite! There is so much I love about this post. And yes, wiggle those fingers for me too! :) You need to stop going to school so that you can blog more!!
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