Do Husker Fans Handle Losing Well?

[sd'sker]

it is hard to say. this board is the only husker community i am involved with, so i would say it is a resounding 'no'. but maybe irl, the general population of husker fans is a little more level-headed.

The majority of my office has wanted to fire Bo after every loss the last couple seasons. Even after wins, they wanted to can him because it "wasn't a good enough win"

hopefully you do not work for the huskers' athletic department.

 

[Chaddyboxer]

it is hard to say. this board is the only husker community i am involved with, so i would say it is a resounding 'no'. but maybe irl, the general population of husker fans is a little more level-headed.

The majority of my office has wanted to fire Bo after every loss the last couple seasons. Even after wins, they wanted to can him because it "wasn't a good enough win"

I don't know if I could handle that environment......cripes.......

 

[HUSKER FREAK]

I never handle losing very well. Probably not the best example that I am setting for our kids, but I also teach them to play as hard as you can and if you lose and played to the best of your ability there is nothing to be ashamed of, it's when you give up, is when you should be upset. IMO the last few years most not all of the losses DONU has had sure seemed like they just plain a$$ gave up.

 

[sd'sker]

I never handle losing very well. Probably not the best example that I am setting for our kids, but I also teach them to play as hard as you can and if you lose and played to the best of your ability there is nothing to be ashamed of, it's when you give up, is when you should be upset. IMO the last few years most not all of the losses DONU has had sure seemed like they just plain a$$ gave up.

personally, i never get too upset after a loss because, as a fan, i have never given up. i take great pride in that.

 

[huskerjack23]

For those of us that take losses really hard, you're putting way too much expectation on 17-22 year old kids. That's the bigger picture here.

We all love the brand, the tradition, the stadium, the what-have-you, but in a normal circumstance would you trust kids that age with getting your coffee order right 100% of the time?

 

[Count 'Bility]

After reading all the comments thus far, I'm gonna give my take.

I would hope that no one handles losing well. Youre not supposed to. Losing is a bad thing. Losing can also be the best catalyst for improvement. And I'm not just talking Nebraska football here. I'm talking about every aspect of life. Losing is not supposed be fun and I dont think it should be handled well. Now, my interpretation of "well" is probably way off from the intention of this thread, but to me, regardless of that intention, losing shouldnt just be walked away from with a "ho-hum, hee-haw" attitude. It should be disappointing and taken hard. Otherwise, what are we trying to improve on?

 

[TAKODA]

I am better today than I was 10 years ago.

In days gone by I had spent a lot of money on electronics that ended up airborne in the middle of my yard or if watching on T.V, stimulated me to turn furniture into kindling.

I have since calmed down to the point where I tell myself that "tomorrow the sun will still shine"

 

[Landlord]

After reading all the comments thus far, I'm gonna give my take.

I would hope that no one handles losing well. Youre not supposed to. Losing is a bad thing. Losing can also be the best catalyst for improvement. And I'm not just talking Nebraska football here. I'm talking about every aspect of life. Losing is not supposed be fun and I dont think it should be handled well. Now, my interpretation of "well" is probably way off from the intention of this thread, but to me, regardless of that intention, losing shouldnt just be walked away from with a "ho-hum, hee-haw" attitude. It should be disappointing and taken hard. Otherwise, what are we trying to improve on?

Two remarks:

1. If losing is the best catalyst for improvement (which I agree with), then ultimately it isn't a bad thing. In life, losing teaches you the hardest lessons which are the most valuable ones. Failure is nothing to be ashamed of or upset with if you were bold enough to try.

2. I agree with you mostly, but only in the context of individual people's responses to their own lives. I think applying that to a fanbase reacting to a football team's performance is........well, not really applicable.

 

[JJ Husker]

Aging generally helps this out. I say "generally" because some people never seem to outgrow it. When I was college age up through my mid 30's I was a lot more invested and would take losses much harder. Of course losses in that time span were fewer and farther between and almost always at the hands of a very, very good team. However, as I've aged and been forced to deal with the programs demise through the Callahan years, I've learned that you just can't let it get to you. It's a game that we as fans have absolutely no control over. If losses are affecting your life, you're doing it wrong. Don't get me wrong, I still get highly frustrated, yell at the TV, and piss and moan when the team plays poorly, fails to make adjustments, or just doesn't seem to care. But, it's not the losses that bother me. It's the lack of effort, preparation, and/or poor play that typically leads to those losses that bothers me. Last years CCG is an example. First time ever in my life I have turned off a Husker game and walked away from it. 25 years ago I would've suffered through every sickening second, bitching the whole way.

 

[Count 'Bility]

After reading all the comments thus far, I'm gonna give my take.

I would hope that no one handles losing well. Youre not supposed to. Losing is a bad thing. Losing can also be the best catalyst for improvement. And I'm not just talking Nebraska football here. I'm talking about every aspect of life. Losing is not supposed be fun and I dont think it should be handled well. Now, my interpretation of "well" is probably way off from the intention of this thread, but to me, regardless of that intention, losing shouldnt just be walked away from with a "ho-hum, hee-haw" attitude. It should be disappointing and taken hard. Otherwise, what are we trying to improve on?

Two remarks:

1. If losing is the best catalyst for improvement (which I agree with), then ultimately it isn't a bad thing. In life, losing teaches you the hardest lessons which are the most valuable ones. Failure is nothing to be ashamed of or upset with if you were bold enough to try.

2. I agree with you mostly, but only in the context of individual people's responses to their own lives. I think applying that to a fanbase reacting to a football team's performance is........well, not really applicable.

A. My comments were regarding the reactions to losing as opposed to losing in itself. But I see where that became muttled.

B. I figure my thoughts were not applicable to this conversation but I had already hit the post button and there was no turning back. But regardless, my stance is still on that pedestal. Even as a fanbase, if we "handled losing well", it's probably becuase we quite frankly dont give a damn. I dont think we handle losing well as a fanbase, and I'm glad of it. Otherwise, we're Colorado or Iowa. :ahhhhhhhh

 

[TAKODA]

Aging generally helps this out. I say "generally" because some people never seem to outgrow it. When I was college age up through my mid 30's I was a lot more invested and would take losses much harder. Of course losses in that time span were fewer and farther between and almost always at the hands of a very, very good team. However, as I've aged and been forced to deal with the programs demise through the Callahan years, I've learned that you just can't let it get to you. It's a game that we as fans have absolutely no control over. If losses are affecting your life, you're doing it wrong. Don't get me wrong, I still get highly frustrated, yell at the TV, and piss and moan when the team plays poorly, fails to make adjustments, or just doesn't seem to care. But, it's not the losses that bother me. It's the lack of effort, preparation, and/or poor play that typically leads to those losses that bothers me. Last years CCG is an example. First time ever in my life I have turned off a Husker game and walked away from it. 25 years ago I would've suffered through every sickening second, bitching the whole way.

Yep, aging was probably the reason for my calming down and to your point of Callahan years, ouch! That was a tough go but got through it.

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I can't really say one way or the other how well we handle losing games. I don't know how other fan bases react when they lose a game, and I'm sure that no one here, unless they constantly frequent a message board for another team, knows either. This question asks for a comparison of us to other fan bases and can't be answered by Nebraska fan using only anecdotes about how different Nebraska fans handle losing games.

So I'm going with...Mexicans.

 

[EbylHusker]

I'd say overall, Husker fans handle losing alright as long as it seemed like the team was trying and was fundamentally strong. It's when they have looked like they were quitting or just had poor fundamentals that problems really arise.

And I am talking about Husker fans out in the real world, not internet Husker fans. You can't judge a group of fans based on what happens on an internet board like this. If we're talking about, "Does Huskerboard handle losing well?" then the answer is a definitive, "No." It's an epic f'ing meltdown everytime the Huskers lose, no matter what. And it's hilarious to watch, I love it.

 

[Fuzzy]

OF COURSE WE DON'T HANDLE LOSING WELL!

UH DUHHH!

 

[jmfb]

In general- it depends on how you define what losing well means

If it means we dont take our frustrations out on the opposing team, fans or their property- yep NU fans are great

If it means we are overt sportsmanlike to opposing teams ala the standing ovation for the opposing teams, NU fans are great

We dont beat up fans, key cars, poison trees, yell profanities etc etc

Our fan base has a very passionate subset, that live and die with NU football

Many have high standards. COMPARITIVELY, NU has FAIRLY football savy fans- again comparing them with the average college football fan who knows VERY little about the game. KNowing a few buzzwords and knowing you have 4 downs to get 10 yards isnt being knowledgeable.

If NU loses, some of that subset go to pieces and some act out either against the percieved cause of the loss: refs, coaches, players or sometimes even inanimate objects. Most of it is silly and immature IMO

Like many, I personally am just fine if we play well and win, play well and lose. Im not happy when we dont play well and win or dont play well and lose. Im not a just win baby type of guy. Lack of Effort and discipline are what gets at me. I dont get angry or destroy anything or carry around a nasty attitude, I just dont like seeing it and move on.

My dad never got mad when NU lost, but when they did, sometimes he wouldnt read the paper for an entire week - and he ALWAYS read the paper LOL