Some interesting reviews of Lincoln and UNL in the link below, mostly positive:
http://buckyville.yuku.com/topic/56677/Lincoln-NE#.UGk4bfk4XyA
http://buckyville.yuku.com/topic/56677/Lincoln-NE#.UGk4bfk4XyA
Thoughts:
1, On the game, I will only say what I repeated to anybody who asked on Saturday night. This was a gift offered by Nebraska, and Wisconsin declined to accept it. We can complain about calls (refs and UW coaches) all we want, but we had a 17 point lead in the second half. We were badly outplayed from that point on. Badly outplayed.
2. Liked Lincoln. Town slightly larger than Madison, and a lot of funky bars on O Street. Visited the market in the Haymarket District on the Saturday before the game. Nice spot that.
3. It is almost exactly 8 hours from Madison to Lincoln, including two stops.
4. Serious problem with ingress and egress from the part of the stadium we were in. When somebody told us we should get there an hour before the game, they weren't kidding. I missed the kick-off. Most everybody else made it but barely. Other than getting into and out of the seats, the stadium is impressive: large and loud, a real B1G stadium.
5. Really friendly fans. Probably the friendliest in the B1G. We basically invited ourselves to a couple of tailgates and were welcomed with open arms. I don't know how many times we were asked, "How are you being treated?" Some folks made specific reference to the terrible treatment they got here last year, and I think were making a huge attempt to be nice.
6. All that being said, there was something ... I'm not sure ... antiseptic (?) ... about the entire experience. I went out to a couple of places after the game, wearing my kilt and beret, and nobody said anything except "Good game." Lincoln is a very clean city. There is no metro area, so you've got a city of 250,000 but nothing like a Fitchburg, Verona, Monona or Sun Prairie nearby. It is a nice city, but nothing close to Madison, Iowa City or even MSU in terms of some natural beauty. I sort of felt like the only real passion I saw was actually in the stadium -- and even that wasn't all that passionate.
7. This trip now completes (again) my visitations to all B1G locales.
8. They are building a big new arena for Nebraska basketball, near the Haymarket area and to be called the Haymarket Arena. I think I was told it is jointly owned by the University and the City, so also will be used for lots of other events, like concerts.
9. I haven't decided for sure where Lincoln ranks in B1G football road trips, but it did not dislodge Clummis and Happy Valley from the top, and likely did not dislodge my #3, Minneapolis. Where it ranks in that next group of the middle roadies (Iowa, Purdue, MSU), I'm not quite sure yet, but as a general matter, I would put it somewhere in that cadre. If there had been a little more fire in the Huskers, I might put them at the top of that list, but the "Nebraska Nice" pushes it down IMO. I kind of missed some out-of-control Hawkeye or Husker yelling at me. But Lincoln is definitely much better than what I consider the dregs of B1G football roadies (Michigan, Indiana, Champagna, Northwestern).
10. Loved the Cornhusker Inn.
11. A road trip I'd make again.
12. Should have won the game. A gift declined.