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Great article on Husker watch sites/parties


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Far-Flung Fans Gather to Support Huskers

 

By Josh Swartzlander

 

(AXcess News) Washington - Hundreds of red-clad Husker fans crammed the dining room, pool room and patio Saturday, eyes fixed on suspended LCD-screen TVs, all tuned to the Nebraska-Texas showdown.

 

They swilled Miller Light and Elk Creek, gobbled hot dogs and fries, whooped when Zac Taylor connected on a touchdown strike and - occasionally - burst into "Dear Old Nebraska U."

 

They got some strange looks from passersby, however, because these fans didn't gather in downtown Lincoln.

 

Rather, they came to the Union Pub three blocks from the U.S. Capitol, the official Cornhusker football watch site for the Nebraska Alumni Association's chapter here.

 

"Nebraskans who visit D.C. - they know where to come," said Monty Seidler, president of the National Capital Cornhuskers. "It's gotten more popular every year."

 

The D.C. chapter is one of the more active in the nation, said Chris Andersen, director of chapter relations for the alumni association. However, game-day watch parties create "Little Lincolns" on fall Saturdays across the country.

 

Duck into Sluggo's Sports Grill in Mesa, Ariz., the Chicken Coop in Des Moines, Iowa, Bleachers Sports Bar in Portland, Maine, or the Big Inning Sports Pub in Las Vegas - they'll always have the Nebraska game on.

 

So will Tailgators Sports Cafe in Fargo, N.D., Fatso's Sports Garden in San Antonio, Neon Johnny's in Indianapolis and The Irish Rogue in New York.

 

All told, Huskers gather at nearly 100 football watch sites in 36 states, according to the alumni association.

 

Some gather outside the U.S. - such as Jodi Bartek, NU's alumni contact in England.

 

"The sea of red, the excitement, Memorial Stadium referred to as the third-biggest city in Nebraska on game days - I think most people just grow up with Husker Fever," she said.

 

Eight days ago, about 60 Nebraska fans and alumni showed up at the Peanut Farm, a bar and restaurant in Anchorage, Alaska, to watch the pay-per-view Nebraska-Kansas State game. Alaskans for Nebraska, an alumni chapter, has been around since the 1960s, said chapter contact Mick Brogan.

 

"We had about five Kansas State folks. They called to see if they could come watch the game with us," Brogan said. He and his Husker cohorts showed up at the Peanut Farm at 7 a.m. Saturday for the Texas game.

 

Don Nelson, president and founder of the Oklahoma Cornhusker Club, recalled game-day gatherings of about 10 Nebraska fans in Tulsa years ago. "We started listening to radio broadcasts via telephone via Omaha," he said. "My parents would turn on the radio, and put the phone next to the radio."

 

Now, the alumni chapter has three official game-watch sites and 200 family memberships - even in enemy Sooner territory, he said.

 

"Once you've got Husker blood running through your veins, it doesn't make much difference where you live," Nelson said. "Husker mania is alive and well here."

 

Nelson flies the Cornhusker flag at his home. When Nebraska loses, it flies at half staff until the team wins again.

 

The Nebraska Alumni Association stresses that its chapters are not all about football. They participate in academic, social and service-related programs, Andersen said.

 

Northern Californians for Nebraska holds dinners, raises money for scholarships and prints a newsletter, said chapter leader Dick Cory. Tampa Bay Nebraskans in Florida holds a get-together for the Husker softball team and other family-oriented events, said chapter leader Steven Meitzen. Both chapters also hold game-watch parties.

 

Alumni officials agreed that strong loyalty to the Nebraska football team provides a rallying point for many chapters.

 

Tatsuo Ando, Nebraska's alumni contact in Japan, occasionally gets a phone call or e-mail from Nebraska alumni traveling on business. "Most people simply ask me if I know of any occasion of the University of Nebraska football game shown in Tokyo," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't. I myself would like to see them play realtime on TV."

 

At the Union Pub in Washington, the alumni chapter holds a raffle - top prize is a Husker Barbie - during Cornhusker football games, raising hundreds of dollars for the Capital Cornhuskers' scholarship fund, said Seidler, who comes to the watch parties wearing a Husker jersey with his name printed on the back.

 

On game days, the bar offers $15 pitchers of Elk Creek, an alcoholic mix that includes orange juice, recipe courtesy of Sandy's bar in downtown Lincoln.

 

These fans are just as serious about Nebraska football as those in the Husker state.

 

They showed up at 11 a.m., more than an hour before the Texas game began, some starting with coffee, others with beer.

 

Two Saturdays ago, a fire alarm sounded during the second quarter of the Nebraska-Kansas State game. A Union Pub patron silenced the bell by stuffing napkins into it, and everyone went on watching the game.

 

Visit the Nebraska Alumni Association's Web site to find information about Husker game-watch locations across the country.

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