husker fan myth

M

melscott62

All-Conference
I have never got this one... how many times have you heard it said that we are only loyal fans because we dont have any pro teams? its the craziest thing I have ever heard. I guess they think we just sit around the house on sundays.... or during the summer. I was at the Chiefs game this weekend and I cant tell you how many Nebraska hats/coats/shirts I saw. I guess people think since KC is out of state we cant like their teams. I guess they dont realize that the vast majority of the states population is less than 3 hours from arrowhead/koffman. I guess they dont get the fact that you dont even have to be that close to be a fan. I am a rabid NY mets fan... but I have only seen a handful of games live. but i am still a die hard.

it just seems like such a poor attempt to try to water down something that is really special

:boxosoap

 
melscott62 said:
I have never got this one... how many times have you heard it said that we are only loyal fans because we dont have any pro teams? its the craziest thing I have ever heard. I guess they think we just sit around the house on sundays.... or during the summer. I was at the Chiefs game this weekend and I cant tell you how many Nebraska hats/coats/shirts I saw. I guess people think since KC is out of state we cant like their teams. I guess they dont realize that the vast majority of the states population is less than 3 hours from arrowhead/koffman. I guess they dont get the fact that you dont even have to be that close to be a fan. I am a rabid NY mets fan... but I have only seen a handful of games live. but i am still a die hard.

it just seems like such a poor attempt to try to water down something that is really special

:boxosoap
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with you on the point that there is something special about the fan base of NU. I will have to disagree with you somewhat on the pro team statement though. I grew up out there in SW Iowa, just an hour East of Omaha, and I remember the emphasis being much heavier on the college sports. I now live in the NY/NJ area and there are 9 professional sports teams within an hour diameter: 2 Pro Football, 2 Baseball, 2 Basketball, and 3 Hockey teams. The emphasis out here is absolutely on the Pro teams. There are good college teams within striking distance, Penn State, Rutgers, and Syracuse for starters (ok maybe not Syracuse lately, but they have been a primier program for most of their history). I think it is because of the over saturation of pro teams that this area is so focused on them. People only have so much time and money to devote to the following of their teams. I understand the Chiefs and Royals are right down the road, but it isn't the same. I think if you look at it in this light, you have to agree the lack of pro teams helps contribute to the dynamic somewhat. I mean seriously, all you see out in NE and most of Western IA are NU plates, bumper stickers, paraphernalia. You know I miss all of that........ :)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
caveman99 said:
melscott62 said:
I have never got this one... how many times have you heard it said that we are only loyal fans because we dont have any pro teams? its the craziest thing I have ever heard. I guess they think we just sit around the house on sundays.... or during the summer. I was at the Chiefs game this weekend and I cant tell you how many Nebraska hats/coats/shirts I saw. I guess people think since KC is out of state we cant like their teams. I guess they dont realize that the vast majority of the states population is less than 3 hours from arrowhead/koffman. I guess they dont get the fact that you dont even have to be that close to be a fan. I am a rabid NY mets fan... but I have only seen a handful of games live. but i am still a die hard.

it just seems like such a poor attempt to try to water down something that is really special

:boxosoap
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with you on the point that there is something special about the fan base of NU. I will have to disagree with you somewhat on the pro team statement though. I grew up out there in SW Iowa, just an hour East of Omaha, and I remember the emphasis being much heavier on the college sports. I now live in the NY/NJ area and there are 9 professional sports teams within an hour diameter: 2 Pro Football, 2 Baseball, 2 Basketball, and 3 Hockey teams. The emphasis out here is absolutely on the Pro teams. There are good college teams within striking distance, Penn State, Rutgers, and Syracuse for starters (ok maybe not Syracuse lately, but they have been a primier program for most of their history). I think it is because of the over saturation of pro teams that this area is so focused on them. People only have so much time and money to devote to the following of their teams. I understand the Chiefs and Royals are right down the road, but it isn't the same. I think if you look at it in this light, you have to agree the lack of pro teams helps contribute to the dynamic somewhat. I mean seriously, all you see out in NE and most of Western IA are NU plates, bumper stickers, paraphernalia. You know I miss all of that........ :)
Click to expand...

I guess I should have specified on this... clearly its different in NY, LA places like that.... but most of the time when we are compared to other college programs they arent HUGE cities like that. really aside from USC what decent college team is in a huge city? normally the fans that are saying this to us are fans of other big 12, sec, big 10 type schools....

 
melscott62 said:
caveman99 said:
melscott62 said:
I have never got this one... how many times have you heard it said that we are only loyal fans because we dont have any pro teams? its the craziest thing I have ever heard. I guess they think we just sit around the house on sundays.... or during the summer. I was at the Chiefs game this weekend and I cant tell you how many Nebraska hats/coats/shirts I saw. I guess people think since KC is out of state we cant like their teams. I guess they dont realize that the vast majority of the states population is less than 3 hours from arrowhead/koffman. I guess they dont get the fact that you dont even have to be that close to be a fan. I am a rabid NY mets fan... but I have only seen a handful of games live. but i am still a die hard.

it just seems like such a poor attempt to try to water down something that is really special

:boxosoap
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with you on the point that there is something special about the fan base of NU. I will have to disagree with you somewhat on the pro team statement though. I grew up out there in SW Iowa, just an hour East of Omaha, and I remember the emphasis being much heavier on the college sports. I now live in the NY/NJ area and there are 9 professional sports teams within an hour diameter: 2 Pro Football, 2 Baseball, 2 Basketball, and 3 Hockey teams. The emphasis out here is absolutely on the Pro teams. There are good college teams within striking distance, Penn State, Rutgers, and Syracuse for starters (ok maybe not Syracuse lately, but they have been a primier program for most of their history). I think it is because of the over saturation of pro teams that this area is so focused on them. People only have so much time and money to devote to the following of their teams. I understand the Chiefs and Royals are right down the road, but it isn't the same. I think if you look at it in this light, you have to agree the lack of pro teams helps contribute to the dynamic somewhat. I mean seriously, all you see out in NE and most of Western IA are NU plates, bumper stickers, paraphernalia. You know I miss all of that........ :)
Click to expand...

I guess I should have specified on this... clearly its different in NY, LA places like that.... but most of the time when we are compared to other college programs they arent HUGE cities like that. really aside from USC what decent college team is in a huge city? normally the fans that are saying this to us are fans of other big 12, sec, big 10 type schools....
Click to expand...
Well in that case I completely agree with you, it is like the pot calling the kettle black. Honestly the overwhelming majority of these teams are in a similar dynamic as NU, a few pro teams within driving distance but the college team is the priority, obviously not to the same extent as the Big Red. I am having a hard time thinking of any teams in the Big XII that are different. The Big X, little 11 is not any better.

 
"what decent college team is in a huge city"

Washington (Seattle)

UCLA (LA)

Miami (Miami)

Pitt (Pittsburgh)

Granted most of these teams are down the past few years but they are in pro markets.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I guess i see it both ways. Although I do agree with Mel that it takes nothing away from Nebraska fans. There is a pretty big difference between growing up in Lincoln, Omaha & KC.

If you grow up in Lincoln you are around Husker everything, you are about 30-60 minutes from AAA baseball, semipro indoor football & semi pro hockey, UNO & creighton sports.

If you grow up in Omaha you have AAA baseball, semipro football, semipro hockey, creighton & UNO. you are 30-60 from Lincoln and 3+ hours from KC

If you grow up in KC you have MLB, NFL, MLS, Arena League, Pro indoor soccer, Mid major D-1 sports, Pro tennis & Nascar. You are 1-2 hours from 3 Big 12 schools and all their sports. You have one of the best D-II football teams 90 mins away. One of the best D-II baseball teams about 60 mins away and I am sure I am missing others.

$$ is one issue in that there are so many options and not enough cash to go around. My opinion is that there are just more options. More teams to fall in love with, more things to follow. Its not that your love/loyalty is more or less than anyone else. Its just there are less people/things to share it with.

Perfect example, I know plenty of people who love KU/MU and grew up Chiefs fans. Some can afford the $ is takes to have season tickets to both. Most have to make a choice. Do I spend my $500 on MU tickets or spent $750+ on Chiefs tickets. THey are both close and available.

Most of my friends in Omaha have never been to an NFL game. Do peopel from NE make it to Chiefs games, hell yeah they do. But not as often & not as many as go to Husker games and vis versa. You see lots of Husker gear at a Chiefs game, but how many make it to husker games.

Loyalty is loyalty. I think the thing that would fit best is "you staduim is only that big because / you have no problem selling tickets because"

Another point on this is, Nebraska, as a state, is almost fully behind the university & much of the state has no other teams near to follow locally. Where as MO, OH, PA & other states have multiple pro teams on different sides of the state. Plus college teams and so on for the people who grow up and live there.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
dbetz23 said:
"what decent college team is in a huge city"

Washington (Seattle)

UCLA (LA)

Miami (Miami)

Pitt (Pittsburgh)

Granted most of these teams are down the past few years but they are in pro markets.
Click to expand...
And most of those have trouble keeping a solid fan base. UM had vast sections of their stadium empty on TV the other night vs. VT. Pitt is notoriously bad with fan support. I am not sure about UCLA and UW. Big city environments just don't have the same fan base for collegiate teams.

 
fro daddy said:
I guess i see it both ways. Although I do agree with Mel that it takes nothing away from Nebraska fans. There is a pretty big difference between growing up in Lincoln, Omaha & KC.

If you grow up in Lincoln you are around Husker everything, you are about 30-60 minutes from AAA baseball, semipro indoor football & semi pro hockey, UNO & creighton sports.

If you grow up in Omaha you have AAA baseball, semipro football, semipro hockey, creighton & UNO. you are 30-60 from Lincoln and 3+ hours from KC

If you grow up in KC you have MLB, NFL, MLS, Arena League, Pro indoor soccer, Mid major D-1 sports, Pro tennis & Nascar. You are 1-2 hours from 3 Big 12 schools and all their sports. You have one of the best D-II football teams 90 mins away. One of the best D-II baseball teams about 60 mins away and I am sure I am missing others.

$$ is one issue in that there are so many options and not enough cash to go around. My opinion is that there are just more options. More teams to fall in love with, more things to follow. Its not that your love/loyalty is more or less than anyone else. Its just there are less people/things to share it with.

Perfect example, I know plenty of people who love KU/MU and grew up Chiefs fans. Some can afford the $ is takes to have season tickets to both. Most have to make a choice. Do I spend my $500 on MU tickets or spent $750+ on Chiefs tickets. THey are both close and available.

Most of my friends in Omaha have never been to an NFL game. Do peopel from NE make it to Chiefs games, hell yeah they do. But not as often & not as many as go to Husker games and vis versa. You see lots of Husker gear at a Chiefs game, but how many make it to husker games.

Loyalty is loyalty. I think the thing that would fit best is "you staduim is only that big because / you have no problem selling tickets because"

Another point on this is, Nebraska, as a state, is almost fully behind the university & much of the state has no other teams near to follow locally. Where as MO, OH, PA & other states have multiple pro teams on different sides of the state. Plus college teams and so on for the people who grow up and live there.
Click to expand...
we are close to both UNO and NWMS for football. NU's baseball is top notch as is creighton basketball(and look out for Doc and the boys as well). the MLS, nascar all of that... KC is only 2-3 hours(less if my wife is driving) for the majority of the states population. it might be a little bit more of a drive, but its there.... but our loyalty is always with NU football.

 
Here's my 2 cents, so you can take it for whatever it's worth. Nebraska has had the most active walkon program of any D1 school. The reason there's so much loyalty and so much interest is because there are/were so many local kids on the team. Almost everyone knew personally at least one player on the team. Everyone watches and follows closely to see how that player is doing and whether or not they'll play or not. All of us that played high school football more than likely played with or against someone on the Husker team.

 
Sad to say, but we may see societies evolution ruin some of the tradition for Nebraska. Used to be "back in the day" that parents celebrated the Huskers with their children - you don't see that so much anymore. There is too much other stuff going on in people's lives now days. TV has evolved to where we can get 100's of channels, unlike when I was young, we got two channels - Lincoln and Grand Island, both showing the same network feed.

When I was a child, no matter what you were doing on Saturday afternoon it came to a stop, and the radio came on to listen to the Nebraska game. We lived and died with the Huskers. We and a few other elite programs around the country have become aging dinosours, waiting for our time to end unless there is a thawing of the ice age and people begin to actively talk about and promote the traditions and share that experience with their children.

There will always be a few die hards, like some of us on this board, but more and more we are becoming a closed society amongst ourselves. We can stand around patting each other on the back, talking about how great we are as fans, or we can take an active role - sharing our experiences and joys of being Huskers with those that don't know. Unless we do that, we will just become like other fans around the country - looking like band wagon fans, showing up when our team is hot, and ignoring them when they disappoint us in our expectations.

So, we can talk about being good fans - or we can be good fans, and go out and spread the news. That is what will make us truly good fans.

 
i respectfully disagree with you Trucker.

I have two kids under the age of 3 and my two brothers have kids as well. None of us even live in NE anymore, but we attend games, go to Husker bars on gamedays, raise flags, etc....my son can even throw the bones!!

Husker fans make it important in their kids lives to watch and cheer for the team, and also explain why the tradition is important. Not just winning or being on tv, but In the Deed the Glory.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am I said:
i respectfully disagree with you Trucker.

I have two kids under the age of 3 and my two brothers have kids as well. None of us even live in NE anymore, but we attend games, go to Husker bars on gamedays, raise flags, etc....my son can even throw the bones!!

Husker fans make it important in their kids lives to watch and cheer for the team, and also explain why the tradition is important. Not just winning or being on tv, but In the Deed the Glory.
Click to expand...
Right with you there, my 3 year old get's pissed off when I go back for a game and don't take him. I can understand how it might not be seen as a family type deal anymore. I would love to take my 2 kids to games, but 4 tickets, plus travel, hotel and most importantly booze, hits the pocketbook pretty hard. They do have a great time at the spring game though.

 
We just got an NBA team here but until they win consistently these fans are steadfast diehard OU fans.

I think the Nba is a very sweet attraction doesnt interest me. I really dont like pro football either.

Its the Skers for me my family(bros and sis) and kids.

 
Replying to husker fan myth

melscott62 said:
I have never got this one... how many times have you heard it said that we are only loyal fans because we dont have any pro teams?
Click to expand...
Never heard the pro football angle in person....

except on message boards.

I have always heard it's because neb only has one 1A college team. Which is true. No intra-state team to share the fanbase.

And it probably doesn't hurt to have 30+ years of success. It's easier to cheer for a winner. It's just human nature.

2002 proved that it can be hard to lose. everyone doesn't support a team or coaching staff that loses.

2007 reinforced it in spades.

How many folks have said, ISU sucks, KSU sucks, they are still kansas.... blah, blah, blah? Perhaps evidence, that to some folks a team which doesn't win perenially- isn't worth supporting or even respecting (sportsmanship?).

Good thing those teams don't have the "greatest college football fans!" Only the opponent would come to the games.

Attendance shows they don't have a large fanbase, and often, only a small, loyal one... because the stadiums aren't empty either.

myth? maybe.

BEAT CU!!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top