|
Gifts for all occasions in the Galleria! Subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list. January 18, 2004 What is the Deal with Nebraska? By Jan A. Larson  The University of Nebraska (my alma mater) has received
considerable publicity in recent weeks following the dismissal of head
football coach Frank Solich after a regular season in which the
Cornhuskers posted a record of nine wins versus just three losses.The fans of many college football programs would be quite pleased with a 9-3 record (Nebraska defeated Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl game following Solich's dismissal to finish 10-3) and it is a rare athletic director that would fire a coach that had run a clean program and had posted a career record of 58-19. A pedestrian 7-7 record in 2002, however, raised the ire of the loyal fans and prompted the replacement of several assistant coaches on the Nebraska staff. The new athletic director, Steve Pederson, concluded that despite the 10 wins in 2003, the football program was in danger of falling behind other major programs. You may think that athletic teams, both college and professional, changes coaches/managers all the time and just because a change was made after a winning season, Nebraska's change of leadership is no different. It is different for two reasons. The first is that Nebraska has only had three head football coaches over the past 42 seasons. Stability has been a hallmark of Nebraska football and that stability is undoubtedly one of the reasons that the program has been successful. Second, and more importantly, the success or failure of the Nebraska football team has a deeply profound effect on the psyche of the entire state. The passion for sports runs deep in many areas of the country. College football fans in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Knoxville, Tennessee, Baton Rouge, Louisiana or College Station, Texas, to name a few, are as passionate as any, but there are either professional sports teams or other major college programs in those states. In Texas, for example, loyalties are divided among the Texas A&M Aggies, the Texas Longhorns, Dallas Cowboys, and others. The entire state does not sink their collective emotions into the fortunes of a single team. In Nebraska, there is only one team - the Cornhuskers. Nebraska, a sparsely populated state in the middle of the country is not on the cutting edge of fashion, politics or entertainment. Trends don't start in Nebraska. Some trends never make it to Nebraska. The people of Nebraska are tough, honest, hard working and loyal. Virtually anywhere you go in the world, if you wear a Nebraska cap or sweatshirt, someone will approach and ask about Nebraska football. That is how Nebraskans are identified and how many Nebraskans identify themselves. Many native Nebraskans, myself included, were indoctrinated in Nebraska football starting a tender age. I remember many an autumn afternoon of my youth spent listening to the late Lyell Bremser call a Huskers' game. A win lightened everyone's step, at least for a week, and a loss was like a punch in the gut. Losing a bowl game or worse yet, a bowl game with a championship on the line, left the entire state moribund and despondent. Some would say that Nebraskans are spoiled when it comes to football. Nebraska has won more football games than every school other than Michigan and Notre Dame. Prior to the 2002 season, Nebraska had won nine or more games for 33 consecutive seasons. Memorial Stadium has been sold out for every game since 1962, corresponding to the arrival of legendary coach Bob Devaney, widely credited with elevating the football program to national prominence. Nebraska won two national championships under coach Devaney in the 70's and added three more under Dr. Tom Osborne in the 90's. Former coach Osborne won 83% of his games. He retired from coaching after an undefeated season in 1997 and is the most revered person in Nebraska today, almost a mythic figure. Now a U. S. Congressman, Osborne won election in Nebraska's third congressional district with 81% of the vote in 2000 and reelection with 93% of the vote in 2002. Nebraskans don't believe they are entitled to more wins than the fans of any other school but as far as they are concerned, they have a greater investment in the fortunes of their team. The importance of the football team to some fans is epitomized by a website dedicated to Nebraska football that runs a countdown to the next kickoff accurate to 1/10 of a second. Former Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan was recently hired to carry the torch of Nebraska football. In Oakland, Callahan was expected to win football games to keep his job. In Lincoln, he is expected to win games not only to keep his job, but also to maintain the well being of an entire state. Coach Callahan may not yet realize it, but he was not hired just to coach football, but to become a mythic figure. -- Send feedback to the author. The "What is the Deal?" column will appears weekly on the Pie of Knowledge website. Guest submissions are welcome and encouraged. To submit an article to "What is the Deal?" click here. To subscribe to the "What is the Deal?" mailing list and receive early notification when a new column is available, click here. The Pie of Knowledge will never, ever divulge email addresses to any third party for any reason unless so ordered by a court of law. Contributions to the Pie of Knowledge are greatly appreciated. 
Visitors:
|
|||||||||||||
