Bowfin Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 How about you guys stop saying the prayer altogether. JMO. No, we don't want to know why, so let's not go there. Quote Link to comment
Kiyoat Husker Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Strife WAS the original from the poem, but that only makes sense if you say it like in the poem... "A chance that is equal with all in the strife" meaning a fair chance against your opponent in the strife of battle on the field. I believe that when Jack Stark, the team psychologist adapted the poem to create the Husker Prayer, one of his goals was to make the language more modern and less 19th-century sounding. This is evident in the other parts of the poem and prayer. He probably originally said "strife", especially since that word actually rhymes with "life". Since the wording was simplified to: "a chance to equal our strife" the meaning of the sentence was lost. Since it no longer made sense, word substitution happened by accident over time, and was repeated. Kind of like the "rumors" game where you whisper a phrase to someone, and by the time it comes back to you it is all FUBAR. We can attach meaning to the substituted words, like military stripes, Jesus's whip marks, marching stride, etc., which is fine, but I think it is important to understand that it was not the original. Personally I would rather see that line reworded back to strife, but do it in a way that makes sense and keeps the original intent, like: "A chance against all in the strife" or "A chance to win in the strife" or "A chance to be equal in strife" but I'm sure nobody would want to do that at this point. People are too used to the other way. Kind of like how Beau's players got upset about how the blackshirts were awarded, not understanding the previous and original tradition. I think the lesser of two evils is "Stride". The more popular of the three will probably win out anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Strife WAS the original from the poem, but that only makes sense if you say it like in the poem... "A chance that is equal with all in the strife" meaning a fair chance against your opponent in the strife of battle on the field. I believe that when Jack Stark, the team psychologist adapted the poem to create the Husker Prayer, one of his goals was to make the language more modern and less 19th-century sounding. This is evident in the other parts of the poem and prayer. He probably originally said "strife", especially since that word actually rhymes with "life". Since the wording was simplified to: "a chance to equal our strife" the meaning of the sentence was lost. Since it no longer made sense, word substitution happened by accident over time, and was repeated. Kind of like the "rumors" game where you whisper a phrase to someone, and by the time it comes back to you it is all FUBAR. We can attach meaning to the substituted words, like military stripes, Jesus's whip marks, marching stride, etc., which is fine, but I think it is important to understand that it was not the original. Personally I would rather see that line reworded back to strife, but do it in a way that makes sense and keeps the original intent, like: "A chance against all in the strife" or "A chance to win in the strife" or "A chance to be equal in strife" but I'm sure nobody would want to do that at this point. People are too used to the other way. Kind of like how Beau's players got upset about how the blackshirts were awarded, not understanding the previous and original tradition. I think the lesser of two evils is "Stride". The more popular of the three will probably win out anyway. Great explanation. Yeah, it would be best if we reworded the line to make sense. If we are gonna go with strife, that is. Any of the suggestions you have above would work fine. Or maybe, "a chance to excel in strife." Quote Link to comment
1Huskermom Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 My officially licensed t-shirt says "stride". Quote Link to comment
Kiyoat Husker Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Either way, its pretty freakin cool, and something with a Nebraska origin. I like how the first part has 3 lines that start with "a chance to......" It creates a nice rhythm. That also is very different from the poem, so Jack probably put that in. I also would like to know who started the "day by day...." part. Jack Stark, or one of the players? Maybe some of the players from that time would remember. Jack was hired by NU in 1989, and at least one source mentioned that the poem may have been brought to Nebraska by one of the players around 1990. Are any of the players on those teams in local media right now? Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Either way, its pretty freakin cool, and something with a Nebraska origin. I like how the first part has 3 lines that start with "a chance to......" It creates a nice rhythm. That also is very different from the poem, so Jack probably put that in. I also would like to know who started the "day by day...." part. Jack Stark, or one of the players? Maybe some of the players from that time would remember. Jack was hired by NU in 1989, and at least one source mentioned that the poem may have been brought to Nebraska by one of the players around 1990. Are any of the players on those teams in local media right now? Damon Benning doesn't remember the exact words, but he swears that the words said by team recently is different than the one they said back then. Honestly, this is why I think it's weird the "fans" are trying to get the words right, and it's weird the "fans" are saying this prayer each week. It's a players thing. Let them own it. Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Either way, its pretty freakin cool, and something with a Nebraska origin. I like how the first part has 3 lines that start with "a chance to......" It creates a nice rhythm. That also is very different from the poem, so Jack probably put that in. I also would like to know who started the "day by day...." part. Jack Stark, or one of the players? Maybe some of the players from that time would remember. Jack was hired by NU in 1989, and at least one source mentioned that the poem may have been brought to Nebraska by one of the players around 1990. Are any of the players on those teams in local media right now? Damon Benning doesn't remember the exact words, but he swears that the words said by team recently is different than the one they said back then. Honestly, this is why I think it's weird the "fans" are trying to get the words right, and it's weird the "fans" are saying this prayer each week. It's a players thing. Let them own it. I don't think any fans actually *say* the players' prayer. It's a thread we've had on Husker gamedays here on HB for the past several years. Like any tradition anywhere, some people like it and participate. And some people don't. The players don't own the prayer. Just like they don't own the game itself. Fans are interested in these things. Or at least some are. Quote Link to comment
Kiyoat Husker Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Either way, its pretty freakin cool, and something with a Nebraska origin. I like how the first part has 3 lines that start with "a chance to......" It creates a nice rhythm. That also is very different from the poem, so Jack probably put that in. I also would like to know who started the "day by day...." part. Jack Stark, or one of the players? Maybe some of the players from that time would remember. Jack was hired by NU in 1989, and at least one source mentioned that the poem may have been brought to Nebraska by one of the players around 1990. Are any of the players on those teams in local media right now? Damon Benning doesn't remember the exact words, but he swears that the words said by team recently is different than the one they said back then. Honestly, this is why I think it's weird the "fans" are trying to get the words right, and it's weird the "fans" are saying this prayer each week. It's a players thing. Let them own it. Fair point. I would say the reason is that we are Husker fans, i.e. we have to know EVERYTHING about everyone associated with Husker Football. Because we are obsessed. Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Either way, its pretty freakin cool, and something with a Nebraska origin. I like how the first part has 3 lines that start with "a chance to......" It creates a nice rhythm. That also is very different from the poem, so Jack probably put that in. I also would like to know who started the "day by day...." part. Jack Stark, or one of the players? Maybe some of the players from that time would remember. Jack was hired by NU in 1989, and at least one source mentioned that the poem may have been brought to Nebraska by one of the players around 1990. Are any of the players on those teams in local media right now? Damon Benning doesn't remember the exact words, but he swears that the words said by team recently is different than the one they said back then. Honestly, this is why I think it's weird the "fans" are trying to get the words right, and it's weird the "fans" are saying this prayer each week. It's a players thing. Let them own it. I don't think any fans actually *say* the players' prayer. It's a thread we've had on Husker gamedays here on HB for the past several years. Like any tradition anywhere, some people like it and participate. And some people don't. The players don't own the prayer. Just like they don't own the game itself. Fans are interested in these things. Or at least some are. Sorry, I just think it's weird. JMO. It's not a tradition to me, and I have been following the team for in some way since 1981. I realize that it's a more recent thing, so maybe that's why I don't see it as a tradition. Also, there were posters on here that said they were "saying the prayer" when it was played in the BYU Tunnel Walk. I said then, and I say it again now, I think it should belong to the players and kept in the locker room. I don't even think they players should have made it public. It's not that I am against prayer, I just think it's a players thing. Yes, we are fans, but we aren't players. EDIT: I will refrain for posting anything in any threads regarding the Husker Prayer. I am sure my opinions irk some people, and since the "prayer" is not my thing, I will just not comment on it, and leave my opinion to myself. Quote Link to comment
In the Deed the Glory Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 It is strife Video produced by NET for Big Red Wrap-Up and narrated by Kevn Kugler. It has the original version as adapted by Dr. Jack Stark. 2 Quote Link to comment
1Huskermom Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Either way, its pretty freakin cool, and something with a Nebraska origin. I like how the first part has 3 lines that start with "a chance to......" It creates a nice rhythm. That also is very different from the poem, so Jack probably put that in. I also would like to know who started the "day by day...." part. Jack Stark, or one of the players? Maybe some of the players from that time would remember. Jack was hired by NU in 1989, and at least one source mentioned that the poem may have been brought to Nebraska by one of the players around 1990. Are any of the players on those teams in local media right now? Damon Benning doesn't remember the exact words, but he swears that the words said by team recently is different than the one they said back then. Honestly, this is why I think it's weird the "fans" are trying to get the words right, and it's weird the "fans" are saying this prayer each week. It's a players thing. Let them own it. I don't think any fans actually *say* the players' prayer. It's a thread we've had on Husker gamedays here on HB for the past several years. Like any tradition anywhere, some people like it and participate. And some people don't. The players don't own the prayer. Just like they don't own the game itself. Fans are interested in these things. Or at least some are. Sorry, I just think it's weird. JMO. It's not a tradition to me, and I have been following the team for in some way since 1981. I realize that it's a more recent thing, so maybe that's why I don't see it as a tradition. Also, there were posters on here that said they were "saying the prayer" when it was played in the BYU Tunnel Walk. I said then, and I say it again now, I think it should belong to the players and kept in the locker room. I don't even think they players should have made it public. It's not that I am against prayer, I just think it's a players thing. Yes, we are fans, but we aren't players. EDIT: I will refrain for posting anything in any threads regarding the Husker Prayer. I am sure my opinions irk some people, and since the "prayer" is not my thing, I will just not comment on it, and leave my opinion to myself. I respectfully disagree. I taught that prayer to my boys. It hung on their walls. I wrote it out and sent it to my son when he was in basic training. When times were tough, it was, and still is our motto. It gave us a sense of unity and strength and belief that things would get better during some times that weren't very much fun. 2 Quote Link to comment
Kiyoat Husker Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 It is strife Video produced by NET for Big Red Wrap-Up and narrated by Kevn Kugler. It has the original version as adapted by Dr. Jack Stark. Nice Find! So maybe mystery solved on the original version, but obviously the current version is the one stuck in most people's minds, and now that has more meaning. I know this guy doesn't want to hear that the current version is wrong: I guess NUance got two questions answered with this thread: Which version is more correct, and which is more preferred. ... now about that last part.......... till we can't be beat.........or.........a team that can't be beat............... never mind. Quote Link to comment
Kiyoat Husker Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 and the debate rages on...... 2 Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 I see "stripes" is a distant third in this poll. Does it matter that the team says it that way? Listen to the first Youtube above in post #2 of this thread, the stripes version. In fact, the second Youtube in that post--the strides version--sounds a bit like the team is saying stripes instead of stride. So then, if I think the team is saying stripes, am I obligated to use the word "stride" so as not to offend any who voted for stride? (This is a rhetorical question aimed at the person who contacted me about the matter.) Quote Link to comment
RunRedRun Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I see "stripes" is a distant third in this poll. Does it matter that the team says it that way? Listen to the first Youtube above in post #2 of this thread, the stripes version. In fact, the second Youtube in that post--the strides version--sounds a bit like the team is saying stripes instead of stride. So then, if I think the team is saying stripes, am I obligated to use the word "stride" so as not to offend any who voted for stride? (This is a rhetorical question aimed at the person who contacted me about the matter.) You found stripes once, you cant find it printed or stated like that ever. your once does not make it fact over the THOUSANDS of time it is stride or strife. not sure what your agenda is here, but I for one don't think you are the one that is going to change it! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.