I can defiantly say Nebraska is losing its' fan base...and I am not saying that as a Cyclone or Big 12 homer but as a guy who grew up a fan of Husker football and who was once laughed at by Turner Gill for my tackling prowess on special teams during one of the annual Husker-Cyclone beat downs of the early 80s. Nebraska, like it or not, was always perceived by the people I knew as a true blue collar team...tough, all business and no nonsense. They generally had the respect in not admiration of the rest of the conference. They played the best grind it out, in your face midwest football. Those pussies at Ohio State or USC or wherever could play their weenie brand of football but everyone in the Midwest knew that Nebraska would chew that sissy bunch of crap up and spit it out. The Huskers were the heroes of the Heartland...home of REAL football. Then...Nebraska decided maybe the money and prestige of the Big 10 should trump tradition and rivalry. Maybe instead of trying to handle the Evil Empire of Oklahoma in another chapter of one of the greatest rivalries know to football, it would be a better option to play the tradition rich Iowa Hawkeyes. That decision lost Nebraska a lot of its' casual fan base and...I'm willing to bet...also lost a good percentage of loyal fans who decided a heated game against Indiana didn't quite stack up against a traditional showdown with K-State. So...having given up the unofficial mantle of The Forces Of Good in the Big 12, what else could you do to alienate some more fans? Well...Nebraska did a real good job of hanging a couple of fellow conference members out to dry when they jumped...waving goodbye and telling them the WAC would be glad to have them. I know many people who were solid Husker fans in Iowa and in Kansas who pretty much don't care whether you play or not anymore. Seems kind of unfortunate in hindsight that the Big 12 is going strong without you (even though I do wonder sometimes if the WAC would be a good fit...but then a stomping of Texas brings me back to my senses).
Seriously...you've lost the respect of your old conference fans, a lot of your most loyal fans are getting up in years, newer fans have no idea about Nebraska tradition...and you play a boring brand of football that everyone else does but not as well...