Cheering when we caught punts vs. NW

knapplc

knapplc

International Man of Mystery
I, along with about 15,000 other Husker fans, loudly applauded when our punt returners caught the ball instead of fumbling in the latter stages of Saturday's game. Ross Els, Special Teams coach, was asked for his reaction to this:

@danhoppen

Ross Els' reaction to NU fans sarcastically cheering when the Huskers didn't fumble punts vs. NW: "I was cheering too. Are you kidding me?"

I found it funny that so many other people did the same thing I did. It was damned frustrating to be trailing a team that we should have been beating because of our own boneheaded mistakes.

One thing of note, and this goes toward how badly TV coverage can skew your perception of the game. I watched the latter half of the 3rd quarter and all of the 4th quarter yesterday, and I noted that you couldn't hear the Husker fans cheering Ameer for catching the punts. They have microphones all over the stadium, and they turn up the gain on certain sections at certain times to paint a very different picture than what's going on at the game. At one point the Husker pep band was playing so loudly during the broadcast that you couldn't hear the crowd - but in the stands, from where we sat, you could only hear them a little bit. That was an audio exaggeration.

I noticed this watching the replay of the Wiscy game as well. Wisconsin didn't have many fans at the game, maybe 4,000 or so, but when they were doing well you could hear their fans quite clearly on TV. In the stadium.... not so much.

Keep that in mind as you're watching the game on TV. What you're seeing/hearing isn't always exactly what's going on in the game.

 
I thought you could here the sarcastic cheers just fine on TV. They must've been much louder in person.

I thought it was neat when the Northwestern marching band was playing this little ditty:


 
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I was at the game and I wasn't sarcastically cheering. I was cheering because I was genuinely happy that they caught the ball. I knew if we eliminated turnovers, we had a chance. That punter's kick was not easy to track and get under. I thought we would be better off not trying to catch it.

 
Some have criticized this cheering as unbecoming of NU fans.

Well, if that is the case, then a similar slur can be directed toward this team -- that it is unbecoming of NU teams.

There was nothing wrong with cheering. Good for you. This team is frustrating to watch whether you are in the stands or at home.

And yeah, the TV production can really change the perceived atmosphere. Should be interesting on Sat whether OU's or ND's fight songs are played more incessantly. That's like the battle of the all-time fight songs, haha.

 
A fair catch is among the least exciting plays in the game of football, and the returner catching the ball is the bottom rung of his job description.

There's only one way to interpret the huge cheer for Abdullah's fair catch: sarcasm.

That's the way I heard it. And from Abdullah's double-take I'm guessing that's how he took it, too.

Whether it was fair or polite is another question.

 
I noticed after Ameer caught that one punt he turned and looked at the other side of the field to see what all the cheering was about. Priceless. The cameras panned to the crowd and there was knapp standing and cheering. Bastages ;)

GBR

 
rawhide said:
I noticed after Ameer caught that one punt he turned and looked at the other side of the field to see what all the cheering was about. Priceless. The cameras panned to the crowd and there was knapp standing and cheering. Bastages ;)

GBR
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He's standing again?! That's a big improvement for an old, decrepit guy like knapp ;)

 
There were so many empty seats in the stands around us I was able to bring my walker in. I stood several times. I felt like I was 60 again.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
A fair catch is among the least exciting plays in the game of football, and the returner catching the ball is the bottom rung of his job description.

There's only one way to interpret the huge cheer for Abdullah's fair catch: sarcasm.

That's the way I heard it. And from Abdullah's double-take I'm guessing that's how he took it, too.

Whether it was fair or polite is another question.
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Pretty sure catching the ball would be at the top rung of his job description.

I just hope they continue to be punt "returners" instead of just punt "catchers". It seemed like a couple later could have been returned.

 
After we dropped two in a row, I was genuinely happy when we caught the ball on punt returns. It is the little things in life.

 
I thought that was very funny. What was really funny was Ameer's reaction after the catch wondering what everyone was cheering for.

Glad Husker fans can have a sense of humor in that situation. Also glad that there were so many Husker fans there that it could be heard on the TV.

 
I thought it was clear that the previous muffs affected AA's willingness to catch the ball and run with it. On at least 2 subsequent kicks, it looked like he had enough room to make a return but elected to fair catch instead.

 
Colorado beat the Huskers back in '89 or '90 and Bill McCartney was asked what the key to the victory was, and he said "we caught the punts and they didn't"

The Huskers let some punts drop. It was cold, and snowy, but letting the ball drop and roll gave the Huskers terrible field position.

I thought of that quote as I watched the muffed punts.

 
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