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The Darkness

Tom Brokejaw

By Tom Brokejaw,
in Husker Football

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Tom Brokejaw Walk-On

Tom Brokejaw

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We lived for a number of years in the bright sunlight at the pinnacle of college football.  The sun was always shining on the Huskers.

 

Then Tom retired and a few clouds began to pass through the sky.  Steve P, with all the accuracy of a third rate weather forecaster assured us the clouds would be blown away.

 

Then Callahan happened.  There were still a few rays of sunlight, but it got pretty cloudy a lot of the time.

 

Then Bo happened.  The sun seemed to shine a bit more, yet when the clouds came, they were all out prairie thunderstorms and tornadoes.

 

Then Smiling Mike came to town.  His smile and demeanor were all sunshine, with flavored sprinkles.  But the sunshine was a two-bit sun-lamp that burned out before it even began to shine.

 

Coach Frost came to town after a great deal of uncertainty and tumult.  The first game of his first season was literally wiped from the field by real storms in the night.  The clouds seldom parted after that first storm, but the forecasts were positive.

 

Scott's second year had the low level of clouds blow away only to reveal the storm cell was much broader and much deeper than imagined.  Slight improvement was seen, but the clouds continued to return to cover the sky in Lincoln.  What little light there was seemed to be overshadowed by lingering storms.

 

Then came COVID, the killer of seasons.  Truly, right now, the state of our football program is still not known.  Most of us have a strong confidence in the coach.  We have a combination of optimism mixed with decades long disappointments that make it hard to clear the sky.

 

I think this is as bad as it gets.  The darkest moments before the dawn.  When the clouds and covids are cleared away, I think the Huskers will come back into the light.

 

 

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Roundball Shaman

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Tom Brokejaw: “We lived for a number of years in the bright sunlight at the pinnacle of college football.”

 

The Huskers have a legacy that only a handful of programs have ever achieved, even if they never won another game. 95% of college programs in America would change places with the Huskers legacy in a heartbeat.

 

“Coach Frost came to town after a great deal of uncertainty and tumult.  The first game of his first season was literally wiped from the field by real storms in the night... Scott's second year had the low level of clouds blow away only to reveal the storm cell was much broader and much deeper than imagined.”

 

A good percentage of national programs caught up to the Huskers in terms of what they could offer top recruits just at the same time that the Husker program was in decline. The SEC became College Football Royalty and a magnet for the very best of the available talent. Recruits began to wonder if there was any reason to go to the Upper Plains with its strong winds and isolation from media centers.

 

“Then came COVID, the killer of seasons.”

 

Covid did not kill the season. One, or a handful of human beings who may or may not have based that decision on good sound reasoning did that. The returns are still out on whether they got lucky and made the right choice or not. 

 

“Truly, right now, the state of our football program is still not known.”

 

Sure it is. The Huskers finally stopped the slide and are clawing their way slowly back up the ladder. They have a coach with a vested interest in seeing that the Huskers get back up there. Motivations beyond just money and fame but State and personal pride.

 

“I think this is as bad as it gets. The darkest moments before the dawn.”

 

Normally, this might seem so. But now we have too many people in high places behind desks and vague agendas making decisions over our lives, including our sports lives. The Game and the Rules are changing every day. It’s tough to win a game when you’re not sure what the rules are from day to day. But Red is still Red. And the Husker legacy is set in stone. That’s a sound foundation for whatever happens.

 

Plus, after every dawn comes another night. Got to be ready for that.

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