Hi, we're Bill and Barbara from Philadelphia. Although we left that wonderful place called NEBRASKA in 1972 (yes, right after the 1970 and 1971 , we've NEVER lost that Nebraska Spirit.....and it's that spirit that has prompted us to do this page.....
You see, the Big Red Spirit is more than a football game, more than the thousands of fans that flock to Lincoln on a crisp Autumn afternoon to watch our beloved Huskers win (or lose). The Big Red Spirit is the reason these things happen......
But just what is the BIG RED Spirit that drives people from Scottsbluff to Omaha, from Elgin to Grand Island or McCool Junction to Petersburg to set aside their chores, shopping, family outings and personal plans on those Fall Saturday afternoons to gather as one in the Spirit that envelopes the State...... Why do HuskerFans gather in homes, bars, clubs from California to Pennsylvania, from Texas to New York...just to share in that Spirit.
....................
I've been a fan of the Huskers since about 1956 (long before it was fashionable to do so).
I can vividly remember the statement of a former coach of that era who stated publicly that "Nebraska would NEVER be a football power because the State just wouldn't support Husker football....". Obviously, he is long gone now.
There was a running joke at that time that said. if you ever got a speeding ticket in Nebraska, you would have a choice of 1. paying the fine, or 2. attending a Nebraska football game....most paid the fine.
Yes, those were the dog days of Husker football....but in order to feel the total elation we all felt in 1994, 1995 and again in 1997, it was important for me to feel those pains and frustrations of those early years. It made MY own personal pride and celebration just that much more enjoyable.
I grew up in that great state,went to school there, met and married my wonderful wife Barbara there( by the way, she's from Elgin) and started a family there (son, Michael and daughter Darci were born in Omaha)....Unfortunately, our son Anthony, aka Nick missed the Nebraska days and was born in Chicago (Chicagoans for Nebraska?)
One of my old memories was in the late 50's at the SKYVIEW Drive-in with the "former love of my life", my High School Love, Donna (didn't we ALL have a high school sweetheart named Donna??), trying to "watch" the movie while at the same time attempting to listen to the Nebraska-Texas game on the radio(remember AM radio????)....I'm not sure if we had won ANY games that year,and it looked like just another loss ( Texas was ranked #2 in the country). One of the great Fisher boys was at quarterback for NU...it was 7-0, Texas, late in the 4th quarter when Lyle Bremser and I were totally shocked to see Nebraska score on an unbelievable long run to tie the mighty Texas.....my date was NOT amused.
Could that have been the beginning of the Big Red Spirit in me? Or was it when a friend of mine, Carl Meyers, who was playing quarterback for a relatively unknown coach at the University of Wyoming( by the name of Bob Devaney), called me at Regis College to tell me that Nebraska was about to get the "Best coach in the country"....or was it in 1970 against LSU in the Orange Bowl when we SOMEHOW ended up as the #1 team in the country for the first time ever (there were no celebrations up and down Dodge St. then....mostly Shock) !
So just when did this Spirit take hold of an entire State?
I guess it was Always there, waiting for us to understand it....feel it....revel in it......To make us all feel proud to be a part of it.
You see, what those 18 and 19 year old athletes, who actually play the games for US on Saturdays, need to understand is that they are playing more than a game, Much more than 60 minutes of Collegiate football. They are Us...farmers, businessmen,teachers,parents, grandparents... All of us who labor and toil during that long week that precedes a Saturday... It is US who are that BIG RED SPIRIT... we built that spirit with the help of Devaney and Osborne and Berringer and all those others who played way back in those Dog Days of Nebraska Football...
THEY ARE US.....and WE ARE THEM in Spirit.......
Please drop us a line at ...huskerfans@hotmail.com We'd love to hear from you !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS PAGE IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED TO MY PARENTS 
, Tony and Dorothy for whom those wonderful Saturdays meant so much in their later years...
CLICK here....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLICK HERE for Barbara's PAGE...
OR....just CLICK here to get a different view of the world.....
CLICK for the 1999 SCHEDULE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoBigRedGoBigRedGoBigRedGoBigRedGoBigRedGoBigRedGoBigRedGoBigRedGoBigRed
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1970 1971 1994 1995 1997 1970 1971 1994 1995 1997 1970 1971 1994 1995 1997 1970
Get your own Free Home Page
