Is the Blackshirt Tradition Dead?

[MichiganDad3]

Here is an article discussing returning to the blackshirt tradition.

 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/restoring-the-blackshirts/article_7e086cee-c0fe-11e4-83f7-e31930994901.html

 

But I wonder if it is possible to restore the tradition. After all, it has over 10 years since the blackshirts have been handed out properly, and with the exception of two years, the past 11 years have been far, far removed from good defense. I don't think returning to traditional way of awarding blackshirts will return the tradition. IMO, the defense has to become dominant again to restore the tradition. Who cares if a defense has a catchy name if they are sorry.

 

What do you think? Will the tradition be restored this year?

[knapplc]

Depends on what we mean "dead" or "restored." If we mean returned to doing things the way they used to be done, that's a pretty quick fix. Just hand them out to the starters before game one and that's it - poof!

 

 

If we mean returning to some expected level of play, that begs the question, what level - as in, what era? Because the Blackshirts were legendary in the late 70s already after guys like Rich Glover played, but there were many years in the 80s that the defense wasn't dominant by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I've always thought that being a Blackshirt meant you were playing balls-out every play, running around with your hair on fire wreaking havoc. Sometimes that translated into terrifying, dominant defenses. Sometimes (the late 80s/early 90s for example) not so much.

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

I would say unless we are a consistent top 25 defense, then yes in a way it is dead, because at that point(and the last 5 years), it becomes gimmicky.

[MichiganDad3]

I want the blackshirt tradition to mean something. I want kids to see the huskers play on television and dream of being a blackshirt someday. I want opposing QBs and receivers and running backs to fear the blackshirts.

[suh_fan93]

I've always thought that being a Blackshirt meant you were playing balls-out every play, running around with your hair on fire wreaking havoc. Sometimes that translated into terrifying, dominant defenses. Sometimes (the late 80s/early 90s for example) not so much.

 

This. For me the true meaning of the 'blackshirts' is definitely dead and gone. If I were the defensive coordinator it would be the first thing I held up to show the players.

[knapplc]

People tend to remember the Grant Wistrom defenses or the Suh defenses and think "that's what it means to be a Blackshirt." And those years were great, and we'd all like that to be how our defense plays every year.

 

But those years were the outliers during the Blackshirt Era. For the vast majority of the last 50 years our defense has been no greater than any other traditional top 25 team. Saying the tradition is "dead" if we're not meeting some arbitrary standard for the next X years is pretty meaningless. We've never been that good for very long. For the most part, we've been average.

 

 

It isn't like a tradition is meaningless unless it's demonstrably the best. The 1997 National Championship trophy isn't as shiny as the 1995 trophy because the 1997 Huskers weren't as good as the 1995 Huskers.

[zoogs]

Quality is cyclical. The tradition isn't. I'm sure nobody will run it quite like Osborne did, but it doesn't mean the tradition has died.

 

I'm not huge about traditions, but this one is so rich and has so much history. I hope all future coaches just stick with the classic instead of changing it like Bo did. That was odd, like many things from that era.

[commando]

All the Blackshirts were when they started was black practice jerseys that the starters would wear in practice. It grew from there to mean a bit more but all they ever really were was the reward for being named the starters on defense. the Blackshirt tradition is the standard of excellence that the players try to live up to. Wether they are dominant or less then hoped for, the starters were always the blackshirts

[suh_fan93]

[wildman]

i'm only 34 and I don't remember football before 92. So when I hear blackshirts dominating I instantly think of the teams in the 90's. But I do agree with Knapplc a true black shirt defense are guys running around full speed, balls to the wall making plays. I'd love to see the attitude and swagger guys like Peter Brothers had.

 

Now as of restoring the blackshirts sounds to be promising. Per 93.7 the ticket Mike Riley and his coaching staff have been talking with former coaches such as Tom Osborne and Charlie McBride whom they mentioned. Asking about how they ran the defense and learning about the blackshirt tradition. Plus the defense they are bringing in is suppose to be a very similar to the style of defense Charlie ran during the domination era in the 90's. I believe we have the talent to do it, I just hope it is shown on the field.

[TITANIC VS LUSITANIA]

Its deAd IMO

[huskerenner]

Luckily,the day Coach Corgan was sent to pick-up some practice jerseys Lawlor's sporting goods had black shirts they were having trouble moving.Could have been pink.

[STL Husker]

I don't understand what's dead about it. It's something only Nebraska does and it will be done the same way it has been done except for the 6 years Pelini was here. And as much as Pelini downplayed it, I think the tradition did mean something to him. It may have been misguided and misconceived, but he thought he was enhancing the tradition by making players "earn it". If you are going to say that the tradition is dead because our defense isn't great, then you have the wrong idea of what the Blackshirts are in the first place.

[Redux]

I think the term "Dead" is extreme. Dead means it's never coming back.

 

I would say it is currently lost because it could be found again.

[hskrpwr13]

Blackshirts is a gimmick, but a quality one. Oregon's got their jerseys. Boise's got their blue turf. This gimmick is ours and helps sell the program.

 

Wearing a black jersey meant you earned a starting role, and those that didn't have them knew they weren't yet performing well enough to don one. I believe this attitude and status can and will return under Riley.