classic example of why is dislike most iowans.

[husker B-rent]

link to blah blah blah i have no reading comprehension.

 

lived there for 5 years and its always a better than thou type of politically correct attitude over there. oh no he said iowa isnt the GBPs of the BIG!!! OH MY WORD!!

[knapplc]

What did he write that was wrong?

[nowhereman]

What did he write that was wrong?

 

I think it was the tone of the article. It reeks of a knee-jerk response by someone who has a burr up their butt about Nebraska. It's also clear he doesn't "get" the purpose of Delaney's comparison between NU and the Packers. He's not the only one. The guys at ESPN nearly howled in disgust on College Football Live the other day when that was brought up. They seemed to take it literally, just like the Iowan who wrote that piece.

 

Delaney was responding to those scratching their heads as to why the Big Ten would invite a school in such a small market. It's because, like Green Bay, Nebraska has hit above its weight for all these years. People DO take interest nationally when Nebraska plays another heavyweight team. Period. Notre Dame hasn't won anything in ages, either, but people still tune in.

 

If the author of this piece reflects the general insecurity of Iowans about Nebraska joining its ranks, then we certainly do have another Colorado on our hands. And that will be fun.

[Eric the Red]

Nebraska hasn't won a single thing in the past 10 years to make people take notice. We can't beat any teams from the South division with any regularity.

 

The article is a good read and accurate.

[bball_backer]

Iowa isn't at the same level of FSU, Tennessee and Georgia, sorry. They have drawn some attention the last few years, yes, but claiming to be even with FSU, Tenn and Georgia seems a bit of a stretch.

 

He does make a couple good points, though. Not a terrible read.

[HuskersGJ]

Delaney said, Nebraska=Green Bay because its small market with National internest. Period. What about that isn't accurate?

If your just trying to make a comparison, then a Green Bay comparison works.

 

I wouldn’t put Nebraska in the top 10 national programs. Very close, yes. But not there at this moment in time. In May of 2011, I think the top 10 (in no particular order) are Alabama, Boise State, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and USC.

I get what he's saying, no we aren't top 10 "at this moment in time" but Nebraska is in the Big Ten for the long haul, so a 15-minute "moment in time" is really irrelevent. Have we been there before? Yes. Do we have potential to be there again? as the the writer says, yes. Delaney didn't say Nebraska is top 10 according to bleacher reporters and the ever changing tides of top 10 lists. he said we are a small-market but national program. and again, what about that isn't true?

 

It’s certainly substantial, but when was the last time Nebraska football was a national talk-radio topic other than when it joined the Big Ten?

Ndamukong Suh. 2009. ring any bells? Radio I can only base it off of listening to Sirius college football shows but that Big 12 championship game is what put Nebraska back on the map, consistantly, for the first time since '01. It seems like night and day how much Nebraska has been discussed since before that game.

the conference switch was a bigger story because Nebraska is a national program. Do you think Missouri and Colorado leaving would have been anywhere near the same media circus?

 

As far as the AAU. its been discussed and I think Delaney is downplaying its importance a year ago. but IMO Nebraska having been in it, and many feel still worthy of being in it, is much better than if they'd never been a member at all.

[The Dude]

But if Nebraska grinds out a West (er, Legends) Division title, I’ll be rescinding this essay and saying the Huskers are all that and a bag of corn chips.

 

Yeah, sure you will.

[JTrain]

I like Mike Hlas, but this article is a real reach. Even as a blog post, I can't see how it was worth writing, especially from a real sports journalist on salary. Aside from being better written, it reminded me of something you would see on Bleacher Report. Maybe next, Hlas can give us a breakdown of the ten hottest B1G cheerleaders.

 

Let's follow his argument here:

 

- Delaney compares Nebraska to Green Bay, saying that they are both small-market teams that garner interest on a national level

- Hlas says Nebraska isn't in his current top ten programs

 

Stop. His argument is dead in the water. Exit Without Saving and hit up Google Images for "hot big 10 cheerleaders". Delaney never said Nebraska was a top ten program. Being a top ten program isn't a prerequisite to being in a small market or to gathering national appeal. The End.

 

But just for fun...

 

- Hlas' criteria for the Official Hlas Top Ten Programs is a bit muddled; apparently it consists of how many randoms you see in a team's T-shirts or caps on the boardwalk or in Times Square. Hlas lives in Cedar Rapids.

 

- A program can still sneak into the Official Hlas Top Ten Programs list if they are "hot-button" and "interesting". Apparently Auburn is neither.

 

- USC qualifies because "it's still USC". Never mind the fact that, without Pete Carroll, USC has won 10 games in a season one time since 1980.

 

Hlas later says, "But if Nebraska grinds out a West (er, Legends) Division title, I’ll be rescinding this essay..."

 

Huh? So a single division title will put Nebraska back into the Official Hlas Top Ten Programs? Somebody please explain.

 

He then devotes a few paragraphs to the AAU issue which, unless I'm missing something, has absolutely nothing to do with the Packers.

[corncraze]

How on earth does he have Michigan and NOtre Dame above us?!?! Clearly his bias is showing...

[irieboy8]

How on earth does he have Michigan and NOtre Dame above us?!?! Clearly his bias is showing...

 

 

i stopped reading after that.....

[JTrain]

How on earth does he have Michigan and NOtre Dame above us?!?! Clearly his bias is showing...

 

The Gazette paid Mr. Hlas to fly out to LA and then NYC for a day each this spring, where he camped his lawn chair on the edge of the sidewalk and conducted a scientific study by counting the number of passersby wearing each college football team's apparel. How he differentiated between different sports, I'm not entirely sure. But anyhow, here are the results:

 

Notre Dame: 61 (34 shirts, 27 caps)

Michigan: 58 (29 shirts, 28 caps, 1 pair of pajama pants)

Nebraska: 43 (23 shirts, 19 caps, 1 tattoo)

 

This put ND and Michigan in the top ten while Nebraska slipped to the 11-15 range. In the next post I'll detail the research that qualifies a program as "hot-button".

[The Dude]

How on earth does he have Michigan and NOtre Dame above us?!?! Clearly his bias is showing...

Because when you walk down Venice Beach you'll see more MU and ND hats. This was the qualifications for his entire top ten, no exceptions.

[okaive]

the conference switch was a bigger story because Nebraska is a national program. Do you think Missouri and Colorado leaving would have been anywhere near the same media circus?

 

 

 

Think? Hell they left and you don't hear anything about CU at all in the media.

[The Dude]

Whoa wait, Colorado left? Good on them.

[bsbch]

I live in Iowa and share the OP's frustration with the Hawkeye fan "jackassery" but hate to admit that the article is pretty spot on.