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Shatel: Revenge isn't worth tarnishing reputation


Nexus

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For some time now, Nebraska fans have sent me their dream ending to this season. The composite goes something like this:

 

The Huskers play Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship at Cowboys Stadium. Nebraska gets up early and then runs it up. With one second left, coach Bo Pelini calls time out. It’s 56-10 or 77-0 or 84-3. In some people’s dreams, the scoreboard reads Nebraska 100, Big 12 0.

 

As the awards stage goes up, some 40,000 Husker fans are chanting “Go Big Red! Go Big Red! Go Big Red!" Commissioner Dan Beebe looks like he swallowed a prune as he hands the Big 12 championship trophy to Tom Osborne, who then hands it to Bo Pelini.

 

Pelini holds the trophy aloft for the players and fans to see. And then he spikes it into the turf.

 

Some fans added that Pelini should give the Big 12 some sort of R-rated salute, but, well, you get the picture.

 

There’s your fantasy, Nebraska. Now, let’s talk about reality.

 

It’s time to let go.

 

Right. Bad timing. This is the week you’ve been waiting for all year. You don’t need suggestions to take a chill pill or suddenly forgive and forget. Not when the Big 12 has seemingly done everything in its power — from suspending Eric Martin to 16 penalties at Texas A&M — to make sure Nebraska didn’t get to Arlington, Texas, next week.

 

And then the league has the audacity to not show up and deliver a trophy? And Beebe offers a revelation about death threats that he assumes were from Husker fans but can’t prove?

 

The volume is getting louder by the day from Husker Nation. People are still grousing about the 16 penalties. The non-fumble by Blaine Gabbert back on Oct. 30. They’re nitpicking officiating crews. They want Bo to raise a finger and slam a trophy.

 

Mostly, they want revenge against the Big 12.

 

Revenge? For what? Partial qualifiers? Texas’ spell over Big Red? The last second in last year’s Big 12 title game? None of those things change with a victory next week. Texas will still be going to the bank.

 

By the way, Nebraska already has its last word. It’s called the Big Ten.

 

It’s not worth it. The Big 12 isn’t going to answer your questions and you wouldn’t be satisfied with the answer if they did. The Big 12 is not worth the angst or an ulcer.

 

Look, I’m guilty here, too. I’ve stoked the flames of this drama because I love a good story and this is a classic. But it’s getting ugly out there. I hate to see Nebraska get ugly. That’s not the Nebraska that I, or anyone else, knows or wants to know.

 

So, Husker fans, if you despise the Big 12 so much, why do you want the Big 12’s trophy? So you can mock it? Will it be like a pelt mounted on the wall? A stuffed Longhorn head for the den?

 

Here’s the honest truth: A year from now, two years from now, three, whatever, Nebraska fans aren’t going to remember if they won the Big 12 and they aren’t going to care. Nebraskans will be caught up in Big Ten tradition. Chances are there will be scant memories of this experience visible in the keepsake displays at the Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex.

 

But you’ll remember if you made a fool of yourself. Leaving with class and integrity is a lot more important than carting off a trophy, especially one that will end up as a doorstop in Osborne’s office.

 

Nebraska’s image means too much. Decades have gone into molding and shaping it. Don’t lose the one thing that Huskers everywhere cherish the most: their reputation.

 

Besides, its says here that Nebraska has already won.

 

The Huskers have had a great season. Win or lose next week, it’s been a hell of a ride. Yes, Nebraska standards say greatness comes in championships and BCS bowls. But greatness can come in effort, too. It’s revealed by pressure.

 

Nebraska won the Big 12 North, and for folks who remember, it was like winning the Big Eight one last time. In the last meetings against old rivals, NU beat every former Big Eight school (but didn’t play Oklahoma). There’s a ton of satisfaction in that.

 

The Huskers also won 10 games and did so under the most severe conditions — most of it self-induced.

 

Ever since the day Harvey Perlman and Osborne told the Big 12 what it could do with its ultimatum, there has been pressure on Pelini and his staff and team to deliver. Nebraska had to go out on top or else. Think of the embarrassment.

 

These players took everyone’s best shot. Kansas State on Thursday night was Madri Gras. Jack Trice Field was never louder. Even the crowd in Stillwater, Okla., was juiced for Big Red. Biggest crowd ever at Texas A&M? For Nebraska? Of course.

 

This has been no joy ride. It’s been a grind. You can see it in the players. This team is beat up physically and mentally. Pelini, too, looks worn out. And maybe it was some of that pressure bursting out on a hot night in College Station.

 

They didn’t beat Texas, the one everyone wanted, and that will have to go as an unsolved mystery. But it’s a small disappointment compared to the larger picture. The coaches and players did themselves proud.

 

Meanwhile, some of us — this knucklehead included — have been too worried about officiating crews and Beebe’s e-mail address to pay homage to one of the toughest, most underrated efforts in Nebraska history.

 

It’s not over, of course. There’s still that ending. But let the goal be important because championships, any championship, matter at Nebraska.

 

Here’s my perfect ending: Win or lose next Saturday night, Osborne and Pelini go up and shake hands with Beebe, tip their hats, and then get out of Dodge. Fast.

 

LINK

 

 

 

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Nah. I definitely want to see Beebe have to hand the trophy to Osborne and Pelini, but that's all.

 

and if we play Oklahoma, I want it to be an epic battle that will belong with the classics of the past. Not a blowout, for either side. Heck, if we play Oklahoma, I wouldn't even mind losing that much. We've had a lot of great battles, and one of us will have to lose the final one. If that's us, no big deal.

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He really doesn't think people will remember who won the last Big 12 championship game? How long has Shatel been around? We remember everything. And he thinks we shouldn't want the championship if we despise the Big 12? There's no logic there. I thought it was a pretty weak article. Of course we'd like to see 100-0, but 3-0 is fine with me, and most people are just having fun talking about how to shove the trophy in Beebe's face.

  • Fire 1
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Here’s the honest truth: A year from now, two years from now, three, whatever, Nebraska fans aren’t going to remember if they won the Big 12 and they aren’t going to care. Nebraskans will be caught up in Big Ten tradition. Chances are there will be scant memories of this experience visible in the keepsake displays at the Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex.

 

But you’ll remember if you made a fool of yourself. Leaving with class and integrity is a lot more important than carting off a trophy, especially one that will end up as a doorstop in Osborne’s office.

 

Not true. Maybe some will not remember, but I will. I will always remember the extra second from last year, and if we win this one I will remember getting redemption.

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He really doesn't think people will remember who won the last Big 12 championship game? How long has Shatel been around? We remember everything. And he thinks we shouldn't want the championship if we despise the Big 12? There's no logic there. I thought it was a pretty weak article. Of course we'd like to see 100-0, but 3-0 is fine with me, and most people are just having fun talking about how to shove the trophy in Beebe's face.

How many here still remember '82 Penn State? We never forget.

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