Fair.. but scathing

[robsker]

The below is a copy of an article from Oklahoma... sure... it from Oklahoma... but it is very accurate and unfortunately very true. Hopefully it will be temporary.

 

********************************

The starting quarterback got benched during the big game, then stood sullenly alone on the sidelines. Several weeks later, he went to the locker room for treatment during a game but apparently phoned home instead.

 

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Taylor Martinez (3) leaves the field after being injured during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

 

 

The head coach had a near meltdown, unleashing his fury on the referees and his quarterback, then chasing after one of the officials before going to the middle of the field for the postgame handshake.

 

The big boss called out the coach in the media before having a do-better talk with him.

 

Sounds like the Oakland Raiders.

 

It's actually the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

 

A program long known for its solid reputation and its winning ways has lost its luster. Oh, the Cornhuskers are winning again, returning to the Big 12 championship game, preparing to face Oklahoma on Saturday night and aiming for their first conference title this decade, but the shine is off Nebraska.

 

Truth be told, this was a team that seemed to be in total disarray the second half of the season.

 

It started with the Texas game in mid-October. Taylor Martinez came into the game as a potential Heisman Trophy contender, but the quarterback was pulled in the third quarter for ineffectiveness.

 

He was off. He was abysmal. And that was after his benching.

 

Martinez spent the rest of that game all but ignoring his teammates. He wasn't in the offensive meetings on the sidelines offering encouragement. He wasn't in backup Zac Lee's ear giving support. Remember, too, that was a hard-fought game won by Texas by only a touchdown.

 

I understand that Martinez was disappointed, but as the starting quarterback, he is a team leader.

 

He needed to act like it.

 

The person Martinez might've talked to most during the second half of that game was his father. Late in the contest, Martinez's dad made his way down to the bench from his seat in the stadium, and father and son spent the last minute and a half of the game talking.

 

Is it any wonder that a month later, local media reported that when Martinez went left the game at Texas A&M after aggravating his left ankle sprain, he ended up calling his dad while in the locker room for treatment?

 

Not long after Martinez returned to the sideline, Bo Pelini lit into him. The coach yelled at him, pointed at him, even poked at him. He jabbed Martinez just above the quarterback's collar.

 

Neither coach nor quarterback ever explained what sparked the outburst.

 

Then again, Pelini spent about as much time yelling that afternoon as he did coaching.

 

He unloaded on the officials time and again in College Station. Television cameras caught him repeatedly unleashing profanity-laced tirades on referees. His eyes bulged. His lips snarled. His face gave a whole new meaning to Big Red.

 

He looked like a stark-raving madman.

 

Sure, we've seen our share of that from coaches in our own state, but that doesn't change the fact that Pelini's antics became a YouTube sensation and a Nebraska embarrassment.

 

School chancellor Harvey Perlman called out Pelini, something that just doesn't happen in big-time college football. Usually, the coach is the king of his castle. Normally, he answers to no one.

 

But when you go around acting like a lunatic, you deserve a little comeuppance.

 

All of this has left the Cornhuskers tarnished. Take the N's off the helmets, and there would've been times during the final weeks of this season that you'd have had a hard time telling this was Nebraska.

 

Nebraska has long been known as a genteel program. Classy. Polite. Refined.

 

Not any more.

 

The Cornhuskers may have returned to their winning ways – heck, they may even win the Big 12 title on Saturday night – but they've definitely lost something along the way.

 

 

Read more: http://newsok.com/have-the-nebraska-cornhuskers-turned-into-the-oakland-raiders/article/3519790#ixzz16yAlZx8b

 

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Good... but unfortunate read.

 

I think NU has lost what made NU... NU. Hopefully, in time, we gain it back. It was great wearing the white hats. Now, wearing the black hat... not so great.

[The Dude]

My IQ dropped 7 points just reading that.

[dave]

Horse crap. That's all I read there.

 

Nebraska hasn't lost anything except for the respect of some of the Big 12 schools. They're just bitter, let them be.

 

Pelini was a raving mad man, I agree. How many husker fans were sitting at home yelling at their TVs as much if not more than Pelini was yelling at those refs? It was WARRANTED. I'm not saying all 16 flags were BS. The majority of them were legit. Pelini wasn't livid about those. He was pissed about the others.

[NEBRASKANHEAT]

I think NU has lost what made NU... NU.

 

 

Um, you do realize, no one other than Nebraska fans ever gave a darn about how "classy" Nebraska fans thought they were, right?

 

 

Remember in the 90's when we'd all get upset because the National Media didn't give us our due. How ESPN and SI and all the other pundits hated us.

 

Remember when the program fell, they were all too happy to forget about us. Unlike Michigan or Notre Dame, they were happy to ignore us. We were out of their hair.

 

 

At what point did our "class" help us?

 

I've seen 30 for 30 espn specials on "THE U" and on a Oklahoma who had a coach who was not nearly as classy as Tom, and a player who behaved much like this writer talks about Martinez.

 

Haven't seen one yet about the "class of Nebraska fans." Actually never hear about it outside of Nebraska.

 

Point being. I'm tired of this "class" or "best fans" garbage. They want to hate on us, bring it.

 

Caount me in the I hope Pelini spike's the big 12 trophy crowd.

[SkerMin8r]

Yeah...OK...

 

I suppose I agree to a certain extent...but time heals all wounds...and this is a some what sensationalized point of view. I agree Bo could (and should) have handled himself much better...but I'm curious what the reaction of other coaches would have been in under the exact same circumstances. And I'm not referring to the circumstances of that particular game alone...but rather the circumstances surrounding the program at that point in time.

[NUance]

eh, old news. The chick that wrote it is kind of a hottie though.

[knapplc]

I love how the focus of every sports writer is on the fact that Pelini went ballistic during the A&M game, as if getting angry is somehow worse than referees directly affecting the outcome of the game by failing to throw penalties on one team.

[NUpolo8]

I love how the focus of every sports writer is on the fact that Pelini went ballistic during the A&M game, as if getting angry is somehow worse than referees directly affecting the outcome of the game by failing to throw penalties on one team.

 

 

That's because you really don't need a brain or possess the ability to reason to write for a newspaper anymore. You just need a semi-sharp crayon.

[DSMHusker1]

Fair, but somewhat speculative. We ALL speculate becasue 99.9% of usHAVE NO IDEA what's going on inside the team.

Honestly I don't care what some little chickie(hot or not), thinks about my beloved Huskers. I don't need her approval. That goes for the general media, ESPN, bloggers, or anybody else who thinks their opinion matters one little iota about our program. F' em.

 

Pay no attention to them haters cause we'll whip em all- words to live by

[Husker In Oklahoma]

eh, old news. The chick that wrote it is kind of a hottie though.

Uhhhh, no she's not dude, you would not want her, trust me. She is a loner.

[Husker_x]

As far as writing, completely average.

 

As far as fair, not even a passing attempt at it.

 

As far as scathing, I've read childrens books with more bite.

 

As far as timely, might as well have been about 1790s cricket.

 

As far as relevant, inapplicable word.

 

As far as truthful, more like childish and lazy.

 

Waste of time was reading that.

[HuskerJosh]

As fair as the refs in the A&M game

[Saunders]

This is the same chick that was Trolling Mike Gundy about Bobby Reid, and caused the infamous "I'm a man, I'm 40" rant. She's a dumb bitch.

[DJR313]

As far as writing, completely average.

 

As far as fair, not even a passing attempt at it.

 

As far as scathing, I've read childrens books with more bite.

 

As far as timely, might as well have been about 1790s cricket.

 

As far as relevant, inapplicable word.

 

As far as truthful, more like childish and lazy.

 

Waste of time was reading that.

 

Nicely put. I am fine with criticism, and there is plenty to go around for this year, but that article was just not good. I wrote better papers in Junior High. Way to grab that REAL low hanging fruit, Jenn.

[TXHSKR]

:spooners Personalities change with different Coaches, and quite honestly the players don't seem to mind Bo going on a Tirade.

 

I get all my news from the Salt Water Aquarium Guy.