Thoughts on the "Red-Out" video fiasco...

[lilred]

I just hate how Texas thinks they are somehow justified for spewing all kinds of anger at us. At least some of them seem to think that we have taken some sort of personal shot at them. I said it in another thread and I'll say it again, of course we want to beat Texas!!!! No secret there!

 

[zoogs]

A lot of misattribution here IMO.

For one thing, it's not the TEAM or COACHES or PLAYERS that made the 'beat Texas' statement. If it had been, I'd be fine with that. No need to retract it.

But it wasn't. It was a stupid marketing gaffe that put it on the team.

Similarly, the backlash is entirely from the media. So why is it Texas that is 'spewing anger'? Mack Brown's comments have been completely even-keeled if I recall. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[knapplc]

Zoogs, have you seen the posts from Gruenehorn, or gone off to Shaggy Bevo (I'll admit I haven't, but I've heard). Texas Fan is spreading plenty of hate over this.

 

[huKSer]

They did this last year, no? I thought I heard that. If so, what was the video/promotion like?

If it was similar to what we have done in the past, the horn aggies need to grow back what was cut off of them (steers, that is)

 

[The Maudfather]

When did Nebraska lose its cojones?

1) There was nothing wrong with the video. It was well done, and looked pretty cool.

2) There was nothing wrong with calling out Texas. You'd have to be a blind mole living under Sasquatch's sofa to have no idea how big that game is going to be. Further, there is NOTHING wrong with saying "Beat Texas." Nothing. What kind of namby-pamby wooses are we that we're afraid of offending someone with the words "Beat Texas?" I'll give you (the media dept folks) a clue - THEY KNOW WE WANT TO BEAT THEM. It's not a secret.

3) The only mistake we made was pulling "Beat Texas" off the video. It looks like we think we did something wrong. We didn't.

Maybe TO wouldn't have put those words on that video if he had known ahead of time. But the Nebraska players I grew up watching in the 70s, 80s and 90s wouldn't have worried about Texas gunning for us because we had the audacity to declare that we want to beat the toughest team on our schedule.

I grew up in a time when half of Nebraska was covered in bumper stickers that said, "Better Dead Than Sooner Red," or "If I owned Hell and Oklahoma, I'd live in Hell and rent out Oklahoma," and "It's Hard to be Humble When You're From Nebraska."

Lord save us from this ridiculous PC movement. It's OK to stand up to the bully in the room. It's OK to say, "Here is where your reign stops. Here is where ours begins."

Great teams make those words ring true. If they don't, they know they have more work to do. And they go out and do that work and make the truth out of those statements. Let's be that team, those fans.

Very well said.

 

[zoogs]

Zoogs, have you seen the posts from Gruenehorn, or gone off to Shaggy Bevo (I'll admit I haven't, but I've heard). Texas Fan is spreading plenty of hate over this.

No, I haven't. I guess I would make that distinction then, between Texas fans and the school and team itself. I mean, on our boards, we've had a fair share of hate directed at Texas, too. So as much as we've ripped on their school during this whole conference shakeup process, I think it hardly makes sense to complain about them ripping on our school.

Just like when a Baylor player goes on record and says something stupid like "If they don't think they're Big 12 material, they can leave", we're all over it. But from a Baylor standpoint, that's not a stupid thing to say either. He's got cojones, for sure, and it's something I'd respect if I were a Baylor fan. As a Husker fan, though, I'd just ridicule him for saying something so outrageous. Not totally matching situations, but just for sake of example.

 

[knapplc]

Zoogs, have you seen the posts from Gruenehorn, or gone off to Shaggy Bevo (I'll admit I haven't, but I've heard). Texas Fan is spreading plenty of hate over this.

No, I haven't. I guess I would make that distinction then, between Texas fans and the school and team itself. I mean, on our boards, we've had a fair share of hate directed at Texas, too. So as much as we've ripped on their school during this whole conference shakeup process, I think it hardly makes sense to complain about them ripping on our school.

Just like when a Baylor player goes on record and says something stupid like "If they don't think they're Big 12 material, they can leave", we're all over it. But from a Baylor standpoint, that's not a stupid thing to say either. He's got cojones, for sure, and it's something I'd respect if I were a Baylor fan. As a Husker fan, though, I'd just ridicule him for saying something so outrageous. Not totally matching situations, but just for sake of example.

I'm not following you. It's OK to ridicule the Baylor guy, but not the Texas guy? Aren't we just talking shades of gray now? Certainly Nebraska has a strong case of grievance against Texas over the realignment/payout fiasco. Texas' grievance against Nebraska is a far weaker case, yet the bulk of the ridicule is flowing south to north.

They're even going so far as to blow a gasket because we had the temerity to say "Beat Texas." If there has ever been a more vanilla rallying cry in the history of college football I've yet to see it, but the way it's being portrayed you'd think we had published a hit list of every Texas fan's first born son.

 

[cuinknk]

So, the past is the past and video is made and its out there for the world to see. So be it. Then comes the most bewildering move of all. At the request of Tom Osborne, the words "Beat Texas" dissapear from the end of the video. Are you kidding me? Thats like challenging the bully to a fight after school and then not showing up. While I certainly didnt agree with releasing the video in the first place...editing it after the fact makes us look worse in the media and to the opposing school's fans. It appears as though we can't back up our talk. There is absolutely no reason to remove that line. If it wasnt classy in the first place, its certainly less classy to not stick to your guns.

I don't think it was a mistake to put "Beat Texas" in the video, but I do agree with your assessment that it was a mistake to remove it.

 

[HuskerNLimbo]

This turned into a no win situation. If you leave it up there, it seems like all you care about is revenging the loss in the CCG. However, now that TO/BP ordered it to be taken down, there are posts and articles saying what we have no backbone. I dont think you can say that it was wrong to put the "Beat Texas" on the website because, lets face it, that game is all we have been thinking about this season (See Countdown to Texas thread). If we left it up we would be still getting written about in a negative slant. Once the national media found out about this website, it turned into a no win for us.

 

[garn]

When I first heard that UNL was behind the video, I was little uneasy about it as fans and the media will have this game in super duper hype mode that Nebraska officals really didn't need to add fuel to the fire, but I had a change of heart after reading this. It's too bad that national media types picked up on the video and got their panties in a wad over it and removing the Texas reference was playing the PC card.

http://www.huskers.c...TCLID=204968869

"The goal of Red Out Around the World is to connect, celebrate and salute Husker fans across the globe for their unparalleled support," Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne said. "We want to showcase the depth and breadth of support from Nebraska fans and give them a way to connect with each other and the Athletic Department."
The original logo and marketing message were created and approved in February. The message - Wear Red, Be Loud, Beat Texas - was chosen to succinctly communicate the goals of the day.

"We want our fans to wear red, no gray, white or black shirts that day, and we want them to be loud but respectful, whether they're at the stadium, a watch party or at home with their families and friends," Michael Stephens said, adding that he thought "Beat Texas" was a natural ending "since winning is a goal every time we take the field."

Last fall, Stephens, Nebraska's assistant athletic director for Marketing and Licensing, did a great job orchestrating Nebraska's 300th Consecutive Sellout Celebration. But he never felt comfortable saluting just the fans who kept clicking the turnstiles. As unwavering as those fans have been in filling every seat for every game for 48 consecutive years, he knows the Nebraska phenomenon digs much deeper than 20 million fans who kept the NCAA record sellout streak alive.

After seeing more than 30,000 Husker fans show up in San Diego for Nebraska's 33-0 Holiday Bowl win over Arizona, Stephens couldn't believe how far so many had traveled to get there. They came not only from across the country, but around the world, and several told him they had never sat inside Memorial Stadium to see The Tunnel Walk, feel the spirit or hear the band serenade with Hail Varsity and There Is No Place Like Nebraska, at least not live or in Lincoln..

Stephens flew back from San Diego on the team plane, knowing what he would like to suggest - select a day when every Husker football fan in the world could rally around their favorite team. It didn't matter if they were part of another sellout, at home with friends or family or at an alumni watch party in Alliance or Asia, Eustis or Europe, Columbus or Canada.

Planning for this special Red Out Around the World began last January. By February, the marketing team, thinking it had clearly defined the event's goals, received approval on messaging and began executing major logistics before Nebraska had even played its Spring Game.