I became a Husker football fan on Oct. 4, 1969. I was 11. A friend from school told me the Huskers were good. So that Saturday when mom brought lunch to the field in the afternoon, I asked if we could listen to the game on the radio. My dad was skeptical. He said that there’s no way Nebraska could be good. He relented though. So we listened. When we went back to the tractor, Dad tuned the radio to the game. The Huskers took it to the Minnesota Golden Golphers that day, beating them 42-14.
We were hooked. Until I left home as an adult, Dad and I listened to or watched the Huskers together every football Saturday. The bowl games became a family event. On Nov. 25, 1971, my entire family gathered at my brother’s house, gobbled down Thanksgiving dinner and then watched the Huskers win the Game of the Century.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s and 80s, I believed that that particular year would be the year that TO would get his own natty only to be disappointed by Oklahoma repeatedly. The critics were harsh. “Mrs. Osborne,” they said, “has to put Tom’s cereal on a plate because if she put in a bowl, he’d lose it.”
Then came the glorious 90s. Well, they weren’t all so glorious. A couple of the years early in that decade, there was some serious talk about firing Osborne because he couldn’t win the “big one.” National pundits ridiculed the schedule and speculated that TO just didn’t have it in him.
After the 92/93 bowl game, I was crushed. A blown call on a fumble and a questionable penalty were all that stood between us and another natty. Then the long wait for the 1993/94 season. Finally, there was redemption for every Husker fan. Finally, the pundits had to shut up and most of them did.
Sine 2000, I’ve continued to love the Huskers and what the program stands for. But, since HP became chancellor and SP became athletic director, what the Huskers stood for got lost. HP might be a genius lawyer and pretty good at enhancing the reputation of a law school, but he’s an idiot when it comes to football. SP’s ego got in the way. He didn’t buy into the “more than winning” concept Osborne established. The old guard had to go so he could build it his way. SMH
Osborne brought in Pelini because he liked Pelini’s hard nosed approach to football. Pelini produced too. 9-3 might have been good enough for Husker fans to give Pelini more time to get there. But his volatility got in the way. 9-3 would never be acceptable under those terms.
Enter SE and MR - both decent people. Riley’s a good recruiter and actually made some tough decisions to replace assistants. His one failing IMHO was caving into Langsdorf. We’ll never know but I think if HCMR had taken over calling the plays early when the wheels started to fall off, this season might have played out differently. What about Coach Cav you ask? I’m not a fan but it’s becoming clearer and clearer to me that Langs is the one calling the shots in terms of who plays where on the line. And, although Bob Diaco is quirky, ok just plain odd, I don’t think one season is enough to really determine how good his defense could be.
So what will become of my beloved Huskers? HCMR might have saved himself had he taken a firmer stance with his coordinators. Now, it feels like not only he isn’t in charge but that his coordinators aren’t on the same page. So I don’t think anyone believes HCMR stays beyond Friday. So far, it appears HB and RG are actually working to restore the glory. Moos appears to be a great hire. Only time will tell! Whatever happens I hope we start winning again and having a program that can be Respected.
We were hooked. Until I left home as an adult, Dad and I listened to or watched the Huskers together every football Saturday. The bowl games became a family event. On Nov. 25, 1971, my entire family gathered at my brother’s house, gobbled down Thanksgiving dinner and then watched the Huskers win the Game of the Century.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s and 80s, I believed that that particular year would be the year that TO would get his own natty only to be disappointed by Oklahoma repeatedly. The critics were harsh. “Mrs. Osborne,” they said, “has to put Tom’s cereal on a plate because if she put in a bowl, he’d lose it.”
Then came the glorious 90s. Well, they weren’t all so glorious. A couple of the years early in that decade, there was some serious talk about firing Osborne because he couldn’t win the “big one.” National pundits ridiculed the schedule and speculated that TO just didn’t have it in him.
After the 92/93 bowl game, I was crushed. A blown call on a fumble and a questionable penalty were all that stood between us and another natty. Then the long wait for the 1993/94 season. Finally, there was redemption for every Husker fan. Finally, the pundits had to shut up and most of them did.
Sine 2000, I’ve continued to love the Huskers and what the program stands for. But, since HP became chancellor and SP became athletic director, what the Huskers stood for got lost. HP might be a genius lawyer and pretty good at enhancing the reputation of a law school, but he’s an idiot when it comes to football. SP’s ego got in the way. He didn’t buy into the “more than winning” concept Osborne established. The old guard had to go so he could build it his way. SMH
Osborne brought in Pelini because he liked Pelini’s hard nosed approach to football. Pelini produced too. 9-3 might have been good enough for Husker fans to give Pelini more time to get there. But his volatility got in the way. 9-3 would never be acceptable under those terms.
Enter SE and MR - both decent people. Riley’s a good recruiter and actually made some tough decisions to replace assistants. His one failing IMHO was caving into Langsdorf. We’ll never know but I think if HCMR had taken over calling the plays early when the wheels started to fall off, this season might have played out differently. What about Coach Cav you ask? I’m not a fan but it’s becoming clearer and clearer to me that Langs is the one calling the shots in terms of who plays where on the line. And, although Bob Diaco is quirky, ok just plain odd, I don’t think one season is enough to really determine how good his defense could be.
So what will become of my beloved Huskers? HCMR might have saved himself had he taken a firmer stance with his coordinators. Now, it feels like not only he isn’t in charge but that his coordinators aren’t on the same page. So I don’t think anyone believes HCMR stays beyond Friday. So far, it appears HB and RG are actually working to restore the glory. Moos appears to be a great hire. Only time will tell! Whatever happens I hope we start winning again and having a program that can be Respected.
