TrumanBD

when the Big12 implodes the Big10 won't have much of a choice. It's not 1950 anymore where a conference is little beyond an affiliation with geographically and/or academically similar institutions. It's a business, and you align yourselves with the most powerful resources. If there are 14 or 16 of them so be it.

I think this gets into a larger discussion of how long this type of explosion in growth in terms of $ is sustainable for college sports and whether all of this reallignment is ultimately good for colllege football. Call me nostalgic, but I part of the reason I like watching college football is because it is differnt than the pros. Also, part of what makes college football for me are the regional rivalries. With talk of paying players and expanding to superconferences, college football will start to look more and more like the NFL. I would have course loved for Mizzou to have moved to the Big 10, but here would have been some bittersweetness to it because of the traditional rivalries that would have been lost. Also, I don't think the atmosphere of a NFL game can match a college campus on gameday. During the superbowl, I heard and interesting discussion about atmosphere on sports radio. The comentator was making the argument that the superbowl has a sterile environment due to corporate seating. He made the point that NFL games in general lack the atmosphere of a great college game. The trend in professional sports has been for smaller stadiums because more people watch the games on tv. With geographically larger conference and more availability on tv, I would hate to see college sports move in this direction as well.

Any thoughts as to why that is? Probably a variety of factors in no particular order:

 

1) Tradition (always helps if you have history)

2) No other major sports in the state to cheer for

3) State pride (is there something that makes Nebraskan's more proud of their state compared to other states?)

4) Football is king. This is probably a chicken or an egg argument. Is football king in Nebraska because of the success of the Huskers, or is are the huskers partially successful because football is king?

 

It's hard to say. The easy answer is that everybody loves a winner, but we weren't winners in 1962 when our sellout streak started. I'm sure the success of Devaney and Osborne over three decades greatly aided the current situation, though.

 

I think football appeals on a broad level to the folks who built this state. When Lewis and Clark came through here they called this area "The Great American Desert." It's a tough place to live – too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, barely any decent spring or fall, the soil is clay and difficult to make produce, there were (at the time) very few trees, and in general life was hard. My grandparents were poor as dirt, and I'm betting most everyone here has similar stories from their grandparents. That toughness is ingrained in the older generations from which us latter-day folks take our cues, and football is a good reflection of that culture. Probably if we were a colder-climate state we'd have embraced hockey more than we do (but hockey is rapidly gaining ground here, too).

 

There's also the lack of population, which means no other competing sports.

 

Contrast Nebraska with Missouri and Missouri has a better climate, more scenery, a much larger population, way more things to do, which probably leads to more distractions and less focus on your flagship school.

I agree with this and probably have a unique perspective. I grew up in Nebraska, but have lived in MO for 12+ years now. I'm not much of a baseball fan, but people around here love their baseball. There definately isn't the widescale level of passion around the flagship school's football team that I saw growing up in Nebraska. I know hunting is popular in Nebraska, but deer hunting is a huge thing here that IMHO also impacts ticket sales in the fall. For a lot of people (myself not included), it trumps going to a game.

We are a national TV brand. We've got a bazillion fans across the country through the diaspora of our people to better climes. Only us fools stay here in the heat and cold all year. Those former Nebraskans and their family tend to stay loyal to the Huskers, and thus you have very large groups across the country – in every state – of "Georgians for Nebraska" or "Arizonans for Nebraska" and the like. Larger states, or states with larger populations, have regional groups like "North Texans for Nebraska" to which my cousin belonged when he lived down in Dallas. We have a history, both long-term and recent, of high TV ratings. That's a huge attraction to the BTN.

 

 

 

I think what sets the Nebraska fanbase apart from many school is that the people of the state cheer for the team more than for many schools. Many schools have fanbases that are mostly made up of alums, with some secondary interest from "fans" in the home state. Nebraska has a bigger and more passionate following from these non alum fans who either live in Nebraska or have a connection to the state.

 

You are absolutely correct. There are tons of Nebraskans who never attended UNL who are die-hard fans.

Any thoughts as to why that is? Probably a variety of factors in no particular order:

1) Tradition (always helps if you have history)

2) No other major sports in the state to cheer for

3) State pride (is there something that makes Nebraskan's more proud of their state compared to other states?)

4) Football is king. This is probably a chicken or an egg argument. Is football king in Nebraska because of the success of the Huskers, or is are the huskers partially successful because football is king?

We are a national TV brand. We've got a bazillion fans across the country through the diaspora of our people to better climes. Only us fools stay here in the heat and cold all year. Those former Nebraskans and their family tend to stay loyal to the Huskers, and thus you have very large groups across the country – in every state – of "Georgians for Nebraska" or "Arizonans for Nebraska" and the like. Larger states, or states with larger populations, have regional groups like "North Texans for Nebraska" to which my cousin belonged when he lived down in Dallas. We have a history, both long-term and recent, of high TV ratings. That's a huge attraction to the BTN.

 

I think what sets the Nebraska fanbase apart from many school is that the people of the state cheer for the team more than for many schools. Many schools have fanbases that are mostly made up of alums, with some secondary interest from "fans" in the home state. Nebraska has a bigger and more passionate following from these non alum fans who either live in Nebraska or have a connection to the state.

Although I absolutely think Beebe is dirt bag and it's really bad form on his part to come out and backhand Nebraska and especially T.O like this, I have wondered about our stance on revenue sharing since we joined the BIG 10.

 

"What’s interesting though, and maybe even a little bit curious to me is that Texas and Nebraska were aligned almost exactly on every issue, including the revenue distribution piece and putting all the rights into the conference. So it’s kind of interesting when I read about comments about Nebraska now being pleased about being in a conference where they put all their rights in and divide money equally," Beebe said.

 

"That’s the exact opposite position that they took for years in this conference."

 

This really strikes me as odd. We've always favored the unequal revenue sharing and now all of the sudden we like equal revenue sharing. Doesn't make sense to me.

Mizzou fan here. I don't think its odd, its just Nebraska looking out for its best interest, just like any other school does. Being at the top of the food chain in the Big 12, the unequal distribution was in your self interest. Still, going to the Big 10 was a better deal, even with equal distribution, and as in your self interest. Sure, I guess that's inconsistent if you look at it from a principaled standpoint, but the bottom line with any school is to do what is best for them, and Nebraska's decisions were consistent in that regard.

While I agree Beebe is an idiot, with the new TV deals, the Big 12 is on better footing than I think anyone anticipated when realignment went down.

Mizzou fan here. Certainly happy we are getting a better matchup out of this, but totally understand your frustration. We've been on the receiving end of this messed up bowl selection process multiple times recently. Cheapens the bowls IMHO when things other than performance on the field determine where teams go. Not fair to players either. Good luck against Wash. Good luck in the big 10. I've always thought Big 10 football is a bit overrated, so would be good to see you guys go in there and dominate.

Mizzou fan here. Certainly happy we are getting a better matchup our of thus, but totally understand your frustration. We've been on the receiving end of this messed up bowl selection process multiple times recently. Cheapens the bowls IMHO when things other than performance on the field determine where teams go. Not fair to players either. Good luck against Wash. Good luck in the big 10. I've always thought Big 10 football is a bit overrated, so would be good to see you guys go in there and dominate.

Anyone else finding themselves quite sad that this will be the last time for the forseable future we play? I grew up as a Nebraska fan until I went to college in Missouri. I've been cheering for the Tigers for about 10 years now. This game is always a lot of fun because my family is split between NE and MU fans.

Nebraska has had a great tradition, and Mizzou's recent success finally started to make this a true rivalry. It just feels like this matchup is ending at the wrong time. This is perhaps the most evenly matched our teams have been in years. Nebraska dominated for a long time, and a lot of MU's success came against the "bad" Nebraska teams.

I hope the game lives up to the expectations of being epic. At first I was concerned about how MU would match up. Our running game had been struggling, and your secondary is tough, which was concerning if we were relying on the pass. After this weekend, I have more optimism as it seems like we have found our running game and you guys have struggled defensively against the run.

On defense, we obviously have to shut down Martinez, force him to pass and win the one-on-one matchups.

Any thoughts on how you guys see things matching up?

I don't blame you guys for jumping. Anyone in your position would have done it. I think the resentment is coming because Pearlman aired a lot more conference dirty laundry in the press conference than CU did. I don't think any of this is NU's fault, but I think its hard to be the second team to jump chip and then try to blame it on several other people when you do it. It's like when you quit a job. Sometimes you want to say something bad about your old job on the way out, but you are always better off taking the high road.

 

I get what you're saying, but there has been a concerted effort from Texas media outlets to paint this as "Nebraska's fault" over the last ten days. Throughout that time Nebraska has remained silent, allowing the barbs from Texas and their mouthpieces to be fired over and over.

 

There's a time to remain silent and there's a time to set the record straight. All we did through this whole process was say and do exactly the correct, the proper thing. When the time came to set the record straight, we did. If Kansas Fan wants to take that as Nebraska not being classy, let them. I have zero concern for their opinion if they're going to be so uninformed.

I get what you are saying too, and I agree that this is ultimately the fault of Texas. I think what bothered me the most was Pearlman's comments about MU. I thought it was a little below the belt to a university that is clearly in limbo at this point. There has been a lot of media hype about MU to the Big 10, but short of the governor's statement, which didn't come from MU, there wasn't anything said directly from an MU official to cause all of this like Pearlman implied. Again, I really don't want this to sound like sour grapes because I don't blame you guys for going at all. Anyone with that offer would have done the same.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=172&f=2481

 

Ouch . . .

 

Can't see it, just the main page. What do they have?

 

 

It's a poll on the KU message board about who handled their departure with more class, CU or NU. Not a single person has voted for NU so far.

 

That's BS. Perlman and Osborne were the epitome of class in this whole process. That's simply sour grapes, nothing more.

 

I'll take the slings and arrows from Kansas in exchange for the welcome mat being laid down by the Big 10. The warm welcome by these fans has wildly exceeded my hopes. They've been great, and frankly, I won't lose any sleep over Scout posters loyal to Kansas.

I don't blame you guys for jumping. Anyone in your position would have done it. I think the resentment is coming because Pearlman aired a lot more conference dirty laundry in the press conference than CU did. I don't think any of this is NU's fault, but I think its hard to be the second team to jump chip and then try to blame it on several other people when you do it. It's like when you quit a job. Sometimes you want to say something bad about your old job on the way out, but you are always better off taking the high road.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=172&f=2481

 

Ouch . . .

 

Can't see it, just the main page. What do they have?

It's a poll on the KU message board about who handled their departure with more class, CU or NU. Not a single person has voted for NU so far.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=172&f=2481

Ouch . . .

I understand why Nebraska is doing this. but it sucks.

 

Am I unhappy because we might get screwed? sure. I don't like that, but believe it or not that is NOT my point here.

 

Do I not understnad that in a conference of more power centers, Nebraska will feel less bullied and more respected, yup. Got that. Understand it, too. Even agree.

 

Do I not know that the Big 10 has all AAU schools and some more TV money, yup, check and.... check.

 

So why does it suck? This is all awesome right?

 

Nope. Not awesome. This is a huge step toward the long term destruction, or at least strong devolution, of why I care about college football.

 

This is only about money. Money is what I don't like about pro sports. It is why I am a college sports fan. I lived about the same distance from KU and Arrowhead, and growing up the Chiefs were a lot better than the Jayhawks in their respective levels. When I got old enough to get my own season tickets, I went west. I loved to watch Mizzou and K-State come in and the passion people had for the TEAMs. The fight songs with actual words. The fans who were not mostly drunk and full of cursing venom. So what was there to like when NU came to town? I liked how knowledgeable and poilte the fans are. How they respected the history of the game and effort of the oppostition. Hey Jayhawk, that is all the same, nothing has changed, we will still be all that.... why wouldn't we be? We did what was right for us...

 

Washington vs. Texas as a conference game. Penn State vs. Nebraska in November... Compelling TV, but it is compelling because those powers were dominant in their regions, and when they would meet at year end in a bowl it settled things. Now it is just the NFL light... It won't become that overnight, but make no mistake where it is headed. This is not all NU's fault mind you, but don't pretend you didn't play a major role and history will note it for better or worse.

 

Well gents, I can honestly and sincerely say I am very sorry to see you go. I understand why you are ending the longest uninterupted streak in all of college football. I liked having you to Lawrence for the last, well, my entire life, my dad's life, my grandpa's life, and even my great grandpa's life (he was not a KU fan, though). I do not harken back to leather helmets, the wedge, or think all change is bad. I think this one sucks. Mizzou looks to be with us still for now. I hate them, and for all the right reasons. I hope they don't go to the Big 10. Not because I wish them ill will, which of course I do, but because them leaving would dramatically reduce all the things I like about college football even more. I LOVE to play them, LOVE to beat them, and if we never lost to them it would be no fun when we win. But now, in the end, this is all about money. If money is all it is, you need to pay the players (why don't they get their cut for being flown all around everywhere, seems like a scholarship isn't such a fair shake now), ditch the tax exempt status (this ain't charity, boys), and just wait til the shine comes off and college football is just the NFL minor leagues. That takes time to manifest itself, a long time even. Great traditions die hard and a lot of change is good (like the Huskerboard, nice tool we have here...) But please know that these changes will continue the evolution of the nature of sport. This one goes into making College Football even more a regular business. Impossible to argue that it doesn't, as no serious commentators try.

 

I wish you all no ill will. I love the Huskers, I will miss them, I understand about the Big 12 not working out and wish you all well. Next time I am in Lawrence and in the Big 6 room at the Eldridge Hotel, I will reflect on the changing face of college sports, about how it is changing for the worse. About how I won't see my friends to the north coming around anymore. The 3 hour drives didn't have enough money in them, now it is 8 hour drives and flights... like in the NFL...

 

Good luck with your new conference. I do hope it works out for Huskers, and more importantly, for college athletics as a whole. I hope for all our sakes the next 100 years will be as rewarding as this last 100...

As an MU fan, I couldn't agree with you more. I don't blame Nebraska for going to the Big 10, and I'm certain MU would have made the leap if we had an invite. That being said, I do agree that we are seeing the death of College Football as we know it, and that makes me sad. I too prefer college sports to professional because of the reasons you mention, and many of those reasons are going away.

Hmmmm

 

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but for the poeple who are thinking that all this conference realignment is to force the BCS into a playoff system...might think differently after this...and it show's how stupid of a commissioner Beebe is..at least I think so after reading this.

Really, you are posting an article from Sunday and leading your post with the "The Plot Thickens"

Mizzou fan here. I am sure there is a lot of talk happening, but NU and MU need to stick together on this. Call the bluff of the Texas. This whole deal has made me hate them more and more. Perhaps the rest of the conference should get some balls and give Texas an ultimate to drop the talk about their own network, that would screw over the rest of the Big 12.

He should have been the first team punter. I have no problem with the Missouri kid being the first team kicker.

Agreed. Although the advantage Henery will have at the next level is that he is a dual purpose guy.

One interesting thing I was thinking about our matchup this year is that we had a certain amount of success on offense for the first part of the game. Really until Gabbert got hurt. Certainly not saying that was the reason for our loss. However, I think it is clear that the Nebraska defense improved as the season went on. Would you guys agree? What do you attribute that improvement to? Would have been interesting to play again at the end of the season with your improved defense, us having a healthy and more experienced Gabbert for the whole game, and no monsoon. Homefield advantage will be a factor next year. If we can have a receiver step up, our offense should be just as good if not better. Many of said your D will be just as good if not better next year. Question marks may be how much and how quickly into the season your offense improves and whether MU can correct some of its defensive struggles.

Impressive win last night. You guys will surely be favored to win the north next year. Wish we had you guys at home again, but looking forward to coming to Lincoln for our matchup next year .

As much as i dislike Missouri, that whole deal is bullsh#t, complete bullsh#t. It should work just like the video games, This bowl brings in the #3 team in that conference, Team A is 3rd place in the conference, so theyre goin to This Bowl. DUN

 

 

Don't think it can't happen to Nebraska either. I always thought you guys had a good reputation for travel, but I have a friend on the Fiesta Bowl Committee who told me getting "stuck" with Nebraska was their worst case scenario if you won the Big 12. They didn't think Nebraska would bring many fans, which tells me that the bowl committee doesn't actually base their decisions on facts.

 

Please! The Fiesta Bowl would have been so lucky to have Nebraska as a team. Do you know how many Husker fans are down here? I would bet we come pretty close to outnumbering ASU fans. There are like 4 bars in the Phoenix area that are almost completely Husker fans on game days. And they think the TCU and Boise State fans are going to pack the stadium as quickly?! Please!

I agree with you completely. I was shocked when he said that to me. I even mentioned how many Nebraska fans live in Phoenix. I travel to Phoenix a lot and am quite familiar with the area. He said the Fiesta Bowl Committee would actually count that against Nebraska, because they want to choose teams that will bring people from out of town and spend multiple nights in a hotel. To me the whole exchange proved how arbitrary the bowl committees are. It is clear that Nebraska is one of the better teams at traveling, yet they didn't want you guys in their bowl because they have the wrong perception based who knows what.

As much as i dislike Missouri, that whole deal is bullsh#t, complete bullsh#t. It should work just like the video games, This bowl brings in the #3 team in that conference, Team A is 3rd place in the conference, so theyre goin to This Bowl. DUN

Don't think it can't happen to Nebraska either. I always thought you guys had a good reputation for travel, but I have a friend on the Fiesta Bowl Committee who told me getting "stuck" with Nebraska was their worst case scenario if you won the Big 12. They didn't think Nebraska would bring many fans, which tells me that the bowl committee doesn't actually base their decisions on facts.

Double Post

Well they schedule that way because they're in a bad conference and nobody wants to play them due to there being little reward and only consequence(Oregon).

 

 

Am I the only one who chuckles when I see an add for the rose bowl and they still call it the granddaddy of them all. It's really pathetic how they pretend BCS bowls are still relevant. they only get high ratings because they're the only game on tv at the time.

It even goes beyond the BCS. Look what has happened to Mizzou this year. They are the 4th place Big XII team and have ended up in teh 8th place bowl because both the Insight and Independence Bowl choose 6-6 teams over an 8-4 team (and in Iowa State's case, a team Mizzou beat head-to-head). Same thing is happening in the ACC because of the Gator Bowl wanting to honor Bowden. How unfair to these athletes that their performance on the field appears to mean little in the bowl selection process. Really, what other sport dictates their post season based more on factors other than play on the field/court?

As if all of that wasn't bad enough, the bowl committees can't even be consistent and have not problem being hypocritical. Look at this gem from the Orange Bowl this year: “You have a great respect for both programs, they had tremendous years,” Poms said. “But in the end, the head-to-head victory Iowa had in State College was impressionable. In the end, they were three spots ahead in the BCS poll.

“We just felt in the end, Iowa really deserved it. They won it on the field and they won it in every comparative that led to the BCS rankings. So we were unanimous in our position that Iowa was the best choice.”

2007 Final BCS Poll and Head-to Head:

Team

1. Ohio State

2. LSU

3. Virginia Tech

4. Oklahoma

5. Georgia

6. Missouri

7. USC

8. Kansas

Mizzou 36 - Kansas 28

Poms quote in 2007: "A two-loss team compared to a one-loss team was probably the most pressing thing that we looked at," Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said.

Posted by: Brian Christopherson on December 7, 2009 at 12:37PM CST

 

The Heisman finalists are expected to be announced during the 5 p.m. SportsCenter broadcast today.

I know Suh has at least two first-place votes.

 

Sipple's ballot is below. I went with: 1) Suh 2) Ingram 3) Gerhart.

 

 

http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extr...amed_today.html

Suh deserves to be a finalist. Actually had an argument about this with a buddy this morning who said, "why would they pick someone from a 9-3 team?" I hope he goes to NY.

Wait, aren't you a Texas fan?

1) Because I generally hate the Big 12 South

2) Because I am a Mizzou fan

3) Because I was born and raised in Nebraska

I tend to believe that there was one second left on the clock, but where I think you guys got robbed is apparently that should not be a reviewable play. Although, I'm not sure anyone knows what the real call on the field was. Seems like the officials really mismanaged that at the end, I you can sure bet that the BCS and money involved at some influence on their actions. Welcome to getting f__cked by the Big 12. We are used to, i.e. bowl selection process.

All of that aside, I do admire the Pelini's passion, and I think Bo wanting to talk to Beebe is fine. Beebe is an idiot that needs to go. However, I think the screaming at Texas fans and screaming cheaters during the trophy presentation is unacceptable by a coach. Pelini's passion is great, he just needs to learn to channel it better and follow Osborne's lead on keeping your cool at times. Too many more incidents like that will damage the Husker's reputation as a classy team.