Roundball Shaman

Paying college athletes - whether you are for or against that - is just another case of things in America being fully monetized. What SHOULD be monetized? Things like a pay check. I trade you my time and effort and knowledge and you give me back something of value. That works all around. Or, you go into a store and buy something you want and you hand them something of value in return that they can use likewise. But of course, things didn’t stop there. Other things got monetized. Here’s just one to think about. Have you ever thought about how much of your time is wasted watching television commercials? During the course of just one TV hour or one football telecast, the amount of time wasted is frightening. Is anyone paying you for your valuable time that you only get so much of in this life? Advertisers pay a network something of value to spread their slanted idea of why you must buy their product. The TV station gets their money. Ad people get their slant out. Ever think about how many types of commercial products you see ads for and what percentage of these result in something you actually buy? Won’t even get to 10 percent of the total ads you see. More of your time wasted. Point is, your time was monetized for everyone else (the ad men/women and the networks) who make their money off it, but you get nuthin’. Nothing but, another boatload of commercials during the next football game. College athletes supposedly got the value of a “good education” in a trade for their time and likeness-usage. That’s partially true. But it was an unfair trade. The networks and advertisers (and others) who make lots of money off of you got way more out of the deal than you did. Paying college athletes is simply a way to try to create a more level field (well, field in more than one way). Paying college athletes is going to have a big impact on the game. Adjustments all around will have to be made. But the overall system will adapt, and after five years nobody will even notice this anymore.

Is the rebuild behind schedule? How far are the Big Red from being “where they should be”. Is Frost getting it done? Is there someone “better” out there? All good questions. Thing is, these are all about “expectations, wants, desires”, mind games that something HAS to be a certain way. But fact is... things do not “have” to be any certain way. With the Big Red, there were a set of many circumstances that made them the great power they used to be in the 1970s and 1990s. Everything had to come together in just the right ways. And we all rode that wave and had a (heck) of time while doing that. But to have a magic time such as that is like “herding cats”, as the saying goes. You get one thing in line and something else goes. Circumstances change. Things you can’t control comes into the picture. Decision-makers change. Young athletes find other programs they think are a better fit to chase their dreams. “Where do things stand now”? Many Huskers fans know the answer. A new-ish regime is trying their best to bring back the good times. Husker fans and media are frustrated with how long things are taking to see better results. But frustration will not be the answer to anything. Sure, at some point the guys on the field have to get things done. And decisions will be made in the big offices. But putting a lot of pressure on the players and staff is not going to help them at all or speed things up. These guys already know what needs to be done.

Whatever conference today that Texas and Oklahoma are in, they are going to be the alpha dogs and everybody else is just considered filler. Any such conference is to be avoided at all costs. But, this is also like it is in the Big-Ten-Fourteen where Ohio State and the Michigan schools are not moving over from the front of the line to make way for anyone else. Divine right of Kings, and all. Nebraska has been caught at an in-between place with these major conferences since the Big 8 melted down/up to 12. Big Red aren’t likely to join a major conference to the West (with the likes of Utah and USC and Oregon). There is no major conference to the North of them. They’ve already tried the major conference to the South of them. So, the Big Red are stuck with looking East and that’s where they are. Or maybe... Southeast? The Big Red in the SEC? Yes! If Missouri can do it, Nebraska can, too. Get away from the cold weather sites and head Southeast like Americans are moving in record numbers now. The New SEC North Conference. Has a good ring to it.

Some more recent headlines: “New York senator proposes bill to pay college athletes... Bill Would Allow College Student-Athletes in Florida To Cash In... University of Texas Takes the Lead in How To Pay College Athletes... Nevada may consider letting college athletes get paid... Colorado lawmakers promise 2020 bill to let college athletes make money” So, the genie is out of the bottle. NCAA won’t stand up to changing state and federal laws sure to come about this issue. Paid (legally) college athletes is going to be the rule and the sports world will have to adapt. This is free-enterprise and personal autonomy taking down a fixed system skewed to favor everyone but the athletes. Also, with wide-spread legal sports gambling in more places, the football field won’t be the only thing soaked in green. Cue Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers... “Got to get, got to get, got, got to get money Got to get, got to get, got, got to get money I'm gonna lay it right on the line A dollar bill is a friend of mine We need money! (We need money!) Talkin' about money, y'all! (Talkin' about money

For those who like the Big Ten, it’s great that you have that feeling. No one should be trying to step on that. But others have a different perspective about it. That fact that this issue keeps coming up proves that. Most Husker fans understand and respect the decision to leave the Big Texas Conference. They honestly left Nebraska little other choice if the Big Red were to keep their pride and self-respect. But given that, this doesn’t automatically mean that Nebraska is a good fit in the Big Fourteen. Some are speaking up. Others are afraid to say... those who long for the “good old days” of the Big 8 (not Big 12) really are saying they miss feeling at home in a conference that they fit into. Nebraska does not fit with those Rust Belt schools and the East Coast emphasis of bringing in those addition Eastern big city-oriented schools. This is not a “get off my lawn” fondness for the past. This is simply recognizing a fit that is less than ideal. Nebraska has little choice but to stay where they are right now. But sooner or later, there will be more realignment in major college ball. When that happens, Nebraska needs to get away from a conference that will never accept them as an equal (does that sound familiar?) and get back to the feeling of those great Big 8 matches that are remembered so fondly. Leave Ohio and Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and New Jersey and Maryland to themselves. If the money is right, we’d see how fast somebody might jump to a new conference home. Until then, get to love Interstate 80.

Headline: “Illinois legislator introduces bill to let college athletes be paid, saying he wants to stay competitive with California” It’s on! The new Gold Rush! Everybody racing out to the gold strike fields of green (or synthetic turf). Everybody gets rich this time. Players make some bucks, major college football gets bigger, networks keep bidding contracts higher, more television timeouts and advertising. Only the fans will lose out... again.

While Husker Nation struggles to understand what is going on with the Big Red right now, there is a bigger issue today... what is Husker football going to look like in the coming years in a new world? A California bill now allows college athletes to make money... let’s say “officially” now. Yes, it doesn’t apply anywhere else... yet. But we already see the top of the elite college programs as quasi-NFL franchises. They have been for years. Now, we see official payments to college players beginning a real thing. That’s the definition of a professional. So, major college football is officially going to be recognized as more Professional Football. What is this leading to? We’ll have professional football teams representing major colleges. So much for the innocent age of “student... athletes”. Imagine your Huskers maybe becoming a “pro” team? Players effectively severed from the rest of university life and becoming “free agents” or “independent contractors”. Will you root for the Huskers as much in the future if the walk-on kid from the plains of Nebraska culture is permanently replaced by Pro Huskers out to become their own “brands”? And if we don’t want the Huskers to be a pro team, can Nebraska fans live with the program being locked into a level below the new pro bluebloods?

Sign #21: “Columbus Didn’t Discover Nebraska” Sign #22: “You Have To Be Nuts To Be A Buckeye” Sign #23: “Ever Wonder How Woody Hayes Got That Name?” Sign #24: “ESPN - Just Another Disney Channel” Sign #25: “Ohio - Birthplace Of Aviation... “THE Ohio State - Birthplace Of Three Yards And A Cloud Of Dust” Sign #26: “Ohio - Home Of THE Rust Bowl” Sign #27: “Nebraskans Are Nice To Everybody - But We Have Limits” Sign #28: “Good Luck Buckeyes With BCS - Bowl Cleaning Servicing” Sign #29: “Lincoln Saved America - Columbus Served Globalism” Sign #30: “NU - Girls Are The Fairest Boys Are The Squarest Fans Are The Rarest”

Sign #11: “Hey ESPN - Get Off My Lawn” Sign #12: “ESPN - How Many Subscribers You Lose Today?” Sign #13: “Why Do You Get To Sit & We Have to Stand?” Sign #14: “Hey Buckeyes - Good Squirrels Always Bury Their Nuts” Sign #15: “I May Be Corny But At Least I’m Not Nuts” Sign #16: “Cornhusker Sounds Better Than Nuthusker” Sign #17: “I Was Nuts About Ohio ‘Til I Found Out What That Meant” Sign #18: “What’s An Oxymoron? Beautiful Ohio” Sign #19: “Sorry Buckeyes. The Red N Doesn’t Mean Barbeque Chicken” Sign #20: “All You ESPN Guys Put Together Don’t Equal One Lyell Bremser”

Sign #1: “College Gameday In Lincoln? You Guys Lose Your Way On I-80?” Sign #2: “Who Are You Guys Again?” Sign #3: “E-S-P-N. Extra Special Place - Nebraska” Sign #4: “Save Money. Cut Your Cable Now” Sign #5: “Sorry, ESPN. The Yankees Don’t Play Here” Sign #6: “No, ESPN. Big Red Doesn’t We Read a Lot of Books” Sign #7: “Yes, There Is Life West Of Newark” Sign #8: “Ohio State Nicknamed For a Small Nut. And You Laugh At Cornhusker?” Sign #9: Trademark “THE?!” What’s Next? “AN? OF? IT? TO? OR? YOU? ME?... Sign #10: “Is This Place Heaven? No, It’s BETTER Than Iowa”

“Frost did well under pressure” Frost is a guy who’s “been there”. He was there during the last incarnation of Husker greatness. He already has on his resume the building up of a great new young powerhouse in Florida. He has played as a pro in New York City and Green Bay - two places not without pressure and big expectations. He’s had great teachers and mentors in his journey. And, he also knows the lingering fallout from certain past Husker leaders who... let’s say had a different personality and approach when things didn’t go too well. Among knowledgeable football insiders and fans alike, Nebraska has always stood for... being classy. Win or lose, standing above the game results and projecting an image of respect. Frost can get mad. He can get discouraged. He can get frustrated. Of course, he’s a human being. But most of all, Frost is steeped in Big Red tradition. He’s going to handle pressure. He took on a tough assignment without fear and he’s working without fail to bring about the kind of results that Husker fans are longing for.

“Duh-Ohio-State” has won all four games this season... 45 to 21...42 to 0... 51 to 10... 76 to 5. Combined score 214 to 36. What are they trying to prove? That they belong in the NFL? That they can swallow up weak opponents? Why not just schedule Cleveland Vocational Night School and beat them 140 to nothing by halftime? That ought to make them strut some more. Schools of privilege - like they are - always get the top young talent every year. They have a built-in (unfair) advantage over other programs. Then they schedule cupcakes and pad their record to ease their way into the Big Money Games at the end of the season. We’ve seen it all before. Just another tired rerun of an old sitcom that runs every season. The Huskers - nor anyone else - have anything to be ashamed of when they play the Beast of Ohio. They are playing poker with a stacked deck and some at the table with extra cards up their sleeves. Just sitting at the table with them is an act of defiance. Every year, teams like the State University of Ohio at Columbus Who Try To Copyright Common Words are dealt several extra aces before the poker game even begins. Great for them, not so good for anyone else who plays them. And also, the "When the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor" exchange is a misread of history. Everyone knows who did it... Saddam Hussein.

“Cannot overlook Illinois” Looking FORWARD to the day when the Big Red can overlook Illinois... and Michigan... and Duh Ohio State... and Pennsylvania State... And Clemson... and Alabama... and the Patriots...

“Gameday Weather vs. Illini” There will be a Sea of Red in the stands leaving some to believe that a red dye factory in Champaign was hit with a deluge of rain and the resulting water flow poured all over Central Illinois. Illini fans will mostly be down and depressed at the game, reflecting the current state of the football program. This down feeling will create a weather trough of low atmospheric pressure. This will attract any low pressure systems in the Midwest and they will be drawn into Central Illinois and further deepen the chances for inclement weather. Lightning is also expected as the dynamic Husker offense is expected to catch fire on the field and electrify the surrounding area. The dark evening skies will then brighten like daylight and it may not be necessary to use conventional street lighting in the streets of Champaign. On Sunday, weather will be bright and sunny in Nebraska and cloudy and dark in Illinois.

Husker fans for many generations know about the love the State has for the Husker footballers. It’s been a long-standing tradition for young Nebraska kids to dream to play for the Huskers as soon as they can hold on to a football. Many of them have gone on to become Huskers and fulfill their dream. In states like Illinois and others that don’t have a sustained great football program, that feeling is missing. Few if any kids in Illinois “dream” of playing for the Illini football team. While the state continues to produce great individual talent, they go off to other, more successful programs to pursue their dream. Husker fans are dealing with lingering frustration and longing for getting back to the elite Top Ten level again. That desire is in the DNA of the Cornhusker State. But with games against teams like Illinois, they serve as a reminder to all of how fortunate and lucky Nebraskans are to have a great winning legacy and passionate fans who really care about the team. So many schools - many of them major names - don’t have that and miss out on all that fun and tradition. Generations lost. It’s tough to build a winning tradition. It’s even tougher to stay up at that level. You can count on one hand the college programs that have been able to do that and keep up that high level for many decades. Sometimes, it’s just good to step back and say... thank (the great Power of your choice) for Nebraskans and Huskers’ football.

Think Husker fans are frustrated these days? Think about the poor old Fighting Illini. For most teams, a ten win season is considered pretty good. How about if you have ten conference wins... in the last full SEVEN SEASONS like Illinois? In two of those seasons, the Illini did not win a single conference game. One year, they won one game. In the past seven seasons, the Illini are 10 wins and 49 loses for a stunning conference winning percentage of 17 percent. No, the not-so-fighting-Illini should not expect mercy from the Huskers. Games are won and lost on the field. But you know who should get some mercy? Any remaining fans of the Illinois football team... showing loyalty in the face of utter hopelessness. The Huskers still lack real good conference rivalry games since joining the Big 14. “Iowa” is no Oklahoma. Ohio State and Michigan as big opponents just haven’t clicked yet. Teams like Illinois need to get better so the Huskers can develop some great old Big 8-style rivals like they had in the glory days.

September 8, RS: “They feel the off-season hype. They feel the pressure of a (former) Top 25 ranking. They feel the expectations of some picking them to win the West... Tune out the hype and expectations... HAVE FUN out there... Tune out the expectations. Play better. Be yourselves. Find your own rhythm. Enjoy the game again... September 14, Coach Frost: "We preach to the guys -- and maybe I needed to get the lesson from outside and from my assistant coaches last week --we preach a desire to excel and no fear of failure all the time, and if we want the players to be that way, we need to be that way as coaches... What we need to call, rolling the dice, letting them play, being aggressive, that's the way I want our team to think." Coach, not just doing vs. NIU, but every game. Even the pressure ones. Stay in the mojo and build on it.

Year after year, decade after decade... Alabama and the SEC...Michigan...Ohio State...Notre Dame...Oklahoma...and the rest of the college football version of the One Percenters. Sure, some party crashers dare to enter the realm of the CFB Royals for a time, but usually don’t stay there very long. This is great for fans of Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and the rest of the college football version of the One Percenters. But for the rest of America, it’s like watching a tired rerun of an old TV show that you’ve already seen a thousand times and it all begins to look the same after a while. Leaving the Revenue-Generating-Sports aspect on the side for a moment, CFB is supposed to be about entertainment. There is nothing entertaining about seeing the same names year after year sitting at the Big Table and everyone else has to sit at the side table again. Sure, give them credit for holding serve and staying up there for so long. But let’s face it. They have had outside help along the way to be able to remain there. And they also benefit from long-term embedded brand name recognition and virtually unlimited football budgets. And people who will look away when real trouble does show up in their programs. The Huskers need to rise up the charts for their own reasons. But they also need to get back to the top to give these CFB Royals some discomfort that someone else now dares to once again sit at the Big Table with them.

If a question is asked “Are you in trouble?”, then yes, you are already in trouble. There must be enough apparent evidence for someone to justify an honest asking of that question in the first place. The question is, how bad of trouble? Minor or deep? Are you in trouble? If the answer is yes, then questions arise as to what the problems are and what is their source and what to do about them. That creates another layer of trouble trying to find agreement and common ground on a useful response and plan of action. Husker Fans have over 20 years of built up frustration. That is big trouble. Husker fans were so happy when Scott Frost came home. Many hoped for an instant return to Husker greatness. That wasn’t going to happen. This isn’t the same Nebraska when he was here before and college football is not the same as when the Huskers were winning national titles. And players are different now, much different from the generations of the 1970s and 1990s of Husker great times. This could be seen as “trouble” as deflated expectations do not add to the positive vibe around the program or put a bounce in anyone’s step. Are the Huskers in trouble? Getting past the click-bait aspect and over-panic that some might indulge in, it’s a fair question when it’s obvious that something is lacking. A win or two will serve to pacify some of the negativity. But the next blow-out loss to a good opponent or more close wins or losses to non-Blue Bloods will just quickly bring right back all the questions. OK, so there’s trouble. The response right now? Stay the course. Be patient. See what happens. Fans kick back and chill and refrain from over-reacting. Things will get more clear in the next few weeks for these young men and the program in general. Few in Husker Nation would have chosen someone other than Scott Frost to come to Lincoln. It must not have been easy for him to leave a good situation in Florida and come back into a hurricane on the Plains. But he did it. This is not easy on him or his family which, for a football coach, is always married to the team as well. He deserves a full and unencumbered opportunity to succeed or fail here on his own terms. As do the players as well. We don’t go looking for trouble. Trouble just finds us. And trouble does not ever provide us the answers of how to get out of them. We feel our way out of the cave at our own pace and no sooner.

The good news is... Everybody knows that college and college sports exist only for educating young people to prepare them for good future jobs out in the exciting real world of tomorrow. It’s certainly NOT about making money for the universities, the coaches, the television networks, sports websites, the sponsors and endorsers, the office pools, the casinos, the gambling houses, or anybody else along the way. “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Teach a man to fish, and nobody makes any money. Teach a man to play with a football, and see what happens.

“... feel we've seen a distinct degradation in mental preparedness by this team that continues to this day--lack of focus (resulting in bad broken plays or penalties), stupid penalties due to getting worked up/not controlling themselves, letting down during plays/series--all things that point to the mental aspect of this team not being where it could or should be... how mentally soft this team has become...” Solid winning teams never have a problem with melting down or being a bit soft mentally. They are good, but more importantly, they KNOW they are good. Why do some teams often blow leads at end of games and others routinely pull out games as wins at the end? See above. The current Huskers haven’t proved to THEMSELVES that they are good. And they don’t show any evidence that they feel or know that they are “good”. The head coach sets the overall tone for the program. But he is not always a great conveyor of tending to the mindset of his players. Someone else needs to be in charge of that. And just because you may have been a good-to-great player yourself, that often does not translate into being a good leader of men. Arguably, the greatest hockey player of all time is Wayne Gretzky. But as a head coach, he was awful. Each sport has more than one example of this. Often, the very best head coaches were role-or-marginal as active players. It’s already clear that something is missing from the current Husker regime. It’s been a smallish but enough of sample size. Something is lacking. The Huskers were/are famous for The Weight Room. It is time to put the same heavy emphasis on the mental and belief system aspect of the game and players. Let the high dollar guys figure out what that should be. They’ve got The Weights and the X-and-O guys already. Time for some Spiritual Healing.

“Black Friday" (as envisioned if Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were Husker fans) When Black Friday comes Gonna stare up at the score And cheer the Big Red when they Show the Hawkeyes the door When Black Friday comes Gonna get just what we’re owed And before Fox Sports finds out We’ll be on the road When Black Friday falls you know it's got to be Don't let it fall on me Gonna do just what I please Gonna wear no socks and shoes With nothing to do but feed Huskerboard the news When Black Friday comes Gonna pray we get a Bowl Gotta stay down in it 'til I satisfy my soul Gonna let the world pass by me The Pollsters gotta sanctify me And if they don't come across Just gonna let it roll When Black Friday comes I'm gonna stake my claim Nebraska is my name

The Husker Legacy and Having Faith. Having faith is a given for any sports fan. No one would follow a team if their expectation was that they would be losers. The question is, have faith in... WHAT? In winning the next game? In having a “good” season, whatever that means? That the “rebuild” will work? And what constitutes whether or not it’s working? A division title? A good bowl game? Final Four? Everyone has faith and everyone has faith in their own version of it. The Husker football team can be good again. Real good. But, for those who have actual memories of the great Husker teams of the 1970s and 1990s, the reality is that THOSE Huskers - meaning, of that kind of national dominance - will not be happening. The Huskers benefitted from being at the right place (dominate Blue Blood program) at the right time (era) to occupy such dominance. Things have changed forever since then. Conferences and programs caught up. The Southeast Conference became the real Blue Bloods of our age. Traditional powers like Ohio State and Oklahoma have been able to hold on to their lofty places. Programs like Michigan and Notre Dame and Penn State slipped but are close to getting back to what they once were. Proud legacy programs like Nebraska and Tennessee and Texas and Southern California slipped and are having a harder time climbing back up the mountain. New powers like Clemson and Central Florida (and Baylor before their troubles got them) came along and capturer the attention of young top talent. It’s a much different world now for the Huskers. This doesn’t mean that they can’t ever win another National title. They could. But now it’s much harder than the hard road it used to be before. Yes, have faith. But put your faith in enjoying the Huskers for what they are today at whatever place they find themselves in. It’s still the Big Red. It’s still Nebraska. It’s still a Saturday and the Sea of Red. It’s still the greatest college football fans in the universe. They can win the next game... and the next... Have faith in that.

Among the various problems the Huskers currently have that are being well documented in this forum, there is the... elephant in the room, one too. What we have now seen for two weeks is that this Husker group is playing soft and scared and disoriented. This is peculiar given the pedigree of who the coach is. They are playing tight. And not tight in the good way but the opposite as in not free and easy and tough. They feel the pressure from Husker fans and the Nebraska and national media observers... many of whom desperately wanting these guys to soon resemble the great Big Red teams from a generation ago. Yes, talent is an issue. But that’s not the entire answer. You can be talent short and still play with passion and wild (controlled) abandon. And even look like you’re having fun. Are any of these guys having fun? What is scaring them? Sure, like any team they don’t want to lose a game. But they feel the off-season hype. They feel the pressure of a (former) Top 25 ranking. They feel the expectations of some picking them to win the West. And get into a good bowl. They are not handling this pressure well. What is the answer? Quit fighting ghosts. Forget the past. Tune out the hype and expectations. Start fresh, find pride and passion within yourselves. Get better. And HAVE FUN out there. This is still a game, guys. Yes, it’s big business and all that but it’s still a funny-shaped ball and a bunch of big guys piling on top of each other every few seconds with lots of hand-slapping. Not exactly serious Quantum Mechanics research or something like that. Forget the hype. Tune out the expectations. Play better. Be yourselves. Find your own rhythm. Enjoy the game again. The wins will come if you do these things. Last year, your season was derailed by lightning. This time around, you’ve stepped right into a new storm. Don’t let this turn into a hurricane. Make your own legacy and find the sunlight.

The Springtime season is a period of hope, new beginnings, and renewal. It’s a time when the darkness and long cold season finally gives way to a fresh start and a sense of joyful anticipation. Most people think the Spring season comes around March or April. But not in Nebraska. The real Spring season in Nebraska begins in August and September when the pride of The Cornhusker State starts to appear in groups of players at green fields on hot days. The real Spring season of hope and new beginnings is the start of another Big Red football campaign. August and September is the real Spring in Nebraska. Young Husker fans will experience the joys of Big Red football with fresh eyes and see things for their first times. Older fans reconnect with precious memories and times held in their personal Mind Bank of hours and days spent with treasured family and friends creating life-long riches of Husker experiences. Everyone gets back in touch with reasons and feelings of why they became fans of a college football program that makes a small upper Midwest state so famous to the world. Nebraska is mostly known to the world for sustenance-providing corn and high caliber football, and not necessarily in that order. Husker fans have been disoriented for a generation. The Cornhusker footballers have been mostly absent from their usual place among the elite of college football. It’s been hard on the fans, the team, the university, and Nebraska’s sense of identity. But there’s something stirring out in the High Plains. It is the belief that the Cornhuskers are renewing themselves to reclaim their proper role as a college football Blue Blood. And so, Spring blooms in August in Nebraska. The leaves may begin to dry and fall. The sun may start to fade instead of rising in the sky. The heat of the day will turn to cool and then cold. Birds will be flying off to warmer perches as weeks go by. But Spring is now rising in Huskerland. You know you feel it. Hope is in the air. The years of wandering in the desert are over. The Oasis is just ahead. It’s not a mirage this time. It’s the real thing. Good luck, Nebraska Cornhuskers. And Vaya Con Dios to all in Husker Nation as we begin to reenter the land of promise.