Max Riffner
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College Funk
Every fall I’ve been saying this, but I love college football, and I love watching Nebraska play. Though this year was supposed to be different – it was supposed to be the year of Callahan. He’s got his recruits, he’s got them knowing the West Coast plays. There was tangible excitement in the air.
It’s said that the city of Omaha goes into a deep funk immediately after Nebraska loses a game. They won last week against Ball State by one point, and you can feel the gloom hanging over everyone’s head. Christian and I were in Lincoln last weekend just dumbfounded (and fat – we had a lot to eat, like, every quarter); he’s got a good post about what’s wrong with Nebraska football right now. And it is wrong. Sure it was a win, but how come it feels like the better team lost?
And that is Nebraska fans in a nutshell really – the booing last week was not at Ball State, but at the Blackshirt defense. We were upset at our own team. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a game where the opposing team or their fans were treated bad (except possibly Colorado fans – they’re just mean).
Then we’ve got this whole Rosenblatt thing going on. I got Kevin Costner (aka God of Baseball Films) saying we should keep the College World Series at Rosenblatt, and I remember all the good times I had there growing up and watching games. But then again, 20 more years of guaranteed CWS action for a new stadium?
This has been a tough week for college sports fans in Nebraska…
I’m sure it has been a tougher week for kids who play college sports with spoiled, immature fans who only remember “good, old time� and not the decades were Nebraska couldn’t beat OU, Florida State or Miami.
This line of thinking smacks of the current party line of if you criticize the government, you must be unpatriotic.
However, yes, they are just college kids. Some of the crap the fans around us were yelling was just uncalled for and rude (IMHO, if you are a pro, get used to verbal abuse, and guess what, you’re paid). And by and large, I don’t hear anyone complaining about the athletes. I hear a hell of a lot about Cosgrove though.
Good wrap-up of events this week so far from the Sporting News.
Tim, I agree with Max, why can’t we complain about the state of our favorite team? Especially when this was supposed to be a new era according to Steve Pederson.How are we supposed to feel, then, when it looks like this year’s Callahan and Cosgrove Nebraska team probably couldn’t beat the 2003 team coached by the people they replaced?
Dismissing us as fairweather fans is pretty insulting my friend. We were at the Ball State game, remember? Not only did I jump up and down and hug Max, not once, but twice, when Bo Ruud returned an interception for a touchdown; not only did we stay until Nebraska’s victory was assured with :12 left on the game clock; not only did we mock and glare at the idiots yelling ianane things to the players, but when people actually started booing the Huskers, I would turn around and yell “HEY!” in the direction of the booing.
I’m embarrased by the fans that boo. Husker fans are better than that. Booing does nothing to help the team and probably does little but make the team you’re supposed to be cheering for feel like crap and scare away potential recruits. Like you, I do feel sorry for the kids on the team, and if you read my post, I don’t blame them at all. I simply think Cosgrove sucks, and as a result, so does the Nebraska D.
Yes, it is only week four 5, and maybe Cosgrove can turn things around. McBride did it 1991 after Washington put up 618 yards against his Blackshirts. And even though I just don’t think that Cosgrove can, that doesn’t keep me from hoping that he will.
You’re also right about the idiots who complained about Osborne, but this is different. This isn’t about winning or losing, this about the character and tradition of Cornhusker football. The Blackshirts have lost their character. It’s okay to have a bad day, hell, it’s even okay to lose, but it’s not okay to play like you’re expecting to lose. And right now, that’s how the Blackshirts look.
Something’s broken and all we’re saying is they need to fix it.
I’m a Cornhusker fan for life. I’ll still wear my Husker gear and watch or listen to every game I can, even if they lose each of their remaining games. But that doen’t mean I can’t complain about it. To pararphrase James Arthur Baldwin “I love [the Cornhuskers] more than any other [team] in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize [them] perpetually.” But you’ll never hear me boo them. I save my whining for the bar… or for posting on websites.
timmy of californiaSep 26, 09:49 AM
This line of thinking smacks of the current party line of if you criticize the government, you must be unpatriotic.
Dismissing us as fairweather fans is pretty insulting my friend.
Wow, are you wearing x-ray glasses? Because you read DEEP into my statement.
I can’t even really respond on how far off the base you two are.
Max – It is a college sport. Me supporting Nebraska through 3 poorly played games is slightly different than support the war in Iraq. Where in the hell did that come from? Besides, please point out where I said “I <3 Cogrove.” If it does, could you edit it out?
Mr. Thom – I wassn’t calling you “spoiled, immature fan.” You are a super-fan. With a jetpack and a secret lair. No where did I say anything to the opposite. Criticize/Analyze all you want. My point is only two thing:
College athletes make mistakes.
4 games don’t make a season.
That is all I’m saying. I have a bit more hope than I do frustration at this point. I just empathize with the defensive players.
PS I’m off to blindly support something. Seriously, though.
I think we’re all three of us reading way too deep into the comments we’re leaving here :)
Tim, I wanted to point out that people have a right to criticize is all. I regret saying that now in that context because it does taint your original comment as coming off as being “blindly supportive.” So… sorry. Not my intent. But, I don’t think Iraq or being a Cosgrove lover came up until you mentioned it :) I just said that people are complaining about Cosgrove is all.
And I agree, most of the fans of Nebraska football are immature and ignorant (picture an old lady yelling “You suck, Keller!” at the top of her lungs – this actually happened). But they still have a right to be critical.
I have a bit more hope than I do frustration at this point. I just empathize with the defensive players.
I’m have more frustration right now after watching that game. That’s why I linked to that Sporting News article – it has a good wrap-up of the last 4 days. The players are blaming themselves and are feeling the frustration too. My frustration with any football game ends pretty much an hour or two after the game’s finale; I got my own life with its own real frustrations that I have to worry about. But those players have got to live with their own knowledge of their faults from the game, and the entire state of Nebraska pointing it out all week. So that sucks for them, and that is a hell of a lot to put on an 18 – 24 year old kid who just wants to have fun.
Look, the original point of this post was to point out how palpatable the excitement was around here coming into this season, and how it has deflated so quickly. That’s all. It may get inflated again here shortly, because there are a lot of games left (like you said), but I don’t think I’ve ever seen that sort of excitment rise and fall so fast…
Could be worse – could be a Michigan fan.
I’ll wait and see how the season pans out. I seem to remember a certain lucky catch (ok, illegal kick and catch) a year that Nebraska won a championship.
There’s a hangover from the USC game as well – not uncommon for a team to slump the week after a huge game, win or lose.
As far as Callahan – the offense looked great last week.. There’s no way you should ever have to worry if you put up 42. The defense just can’t tackle (maybe they should practice it).
The next two games will be very telling, IMO – especially the Missouri game.
Tim- sorry for reading too much into your statements. I thought that you were grouping Max and I in with the “spoiled, immature fans.” My bad.
And you’re right about four games not making a season, to boot. Which is exactly what I would say to Daniel about his Wolverines.
Daniel- keep your head up. After losing to Appalachian State and Oregon, they shut out Notre Dame and beat #10 Penn State. If they manage to win out in the Big Ten, which is definitely possible, they’ll go to a BCS Bowl.
By the way, are Michigan fans still sore about 1997? Come on! You should know that staying undefeated for an entire season requires some degree of luck, no matter how good your team is. Besides, Nebraska didn’t need luck when they pounded Peyton Frikkin’ Manning’s Tennesse squad 42-17 in the Orange Bowl.
You should be happy that the Wolverines got a share of the National Title that year. As a Husker fan, splitting a title doesn’t make it any less sweet. If NU had played Michigan, only one of the teams could have called themselves National Champs instead of both.
Of course, I’m pretty sure that if they had played, the team taking home the trophy would have been Nebraska…
:)
Oh no I’m not a Michigan fan.. I was just sayin, we’re worried about a bad win – so it could be worse.
The problem with the likes of the fan Max just mentioned is the strange phenomenon here where people aren’t football fans, they’re just Nebraska fans. People who didn’t watch or care about the Vince Young Texas championship game.
They only watch Nebraska football, and somehow think they have insight on these things when they couldn’t tell you who the second option on a given pass play is (the first one is the guy Keller’s staring at as soon as the ball is snapped :)
I’m the opposite problem, I’m up too late on a Thursday watching Akron and Indiana State on ESPN 37!
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Sep 26, 05:04 AM
I’m sure it has been a tougher week for kids who play college sports with spoiled, immature fans who only remember “good, old time” and not the decades were Nebraska couldn’t beat OU, Florida State or Miami.
Don’t you remember the old jokes?
Where do you hide Tom Osborne’s keys so he’ll never find them?
In the Endzone?
It’s game 4 this weekend, sportsfans.
4.