np_husker
Starter
Well said!
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200...;u_sid=10485065
Mitch Sherman: No good excuse for empty seats
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
LINCOLN - In the three days since those hundreds of student seats sat empty atop the east side of the south end zone at Memorial Stadium, many explanations have been offered.
It was too cold.
The students were jammed into the lower sections.
It was no different than the Baylor game.
What's next? Maybe the stadium is too far to walk from the dorms? Perhaps hot dog vendors no longer climb the stairs, so everyone just decided to stay home?
Nebraska students are better than that display. At least, for 46 years, they've been better than that.
Sure, this is the age of trashing tradition in Lincoln. So many streaks have ended in the past decade here that nothing seems sacred or untouchable.
Nothing, that is, but the sellout streak. The 45-35 NU win over Kansas marked the 296th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium, far and away an NCAA record.
The streak, as much as Nebraska's five national titles, defines the image of this program.
And while this latest episode does not jeopardize the streak of sellouts, it takes something away from the game-day experience to catch a glimpse of gray, empty benches among the Sea of Red.
"I don't think you ever take anything for granted in athletics," said Athletic Director Tom Osborne, coach when the sellout streak reached 100 in 1979 and 200 in 1994. "But we're so unaccustomed to empty seats that it is surprising and catches your notice.
"Whenever there are empty seats anyplace in the stadium, I notice it."
NU fans have endured cold and wind just like Saturday for at least one game nearly every year during the past 45 seasons. This is Nebraska. Cold and wind are part of the ambiance.
Anywhere else, Saturday's display would not be of great importance. But it's important at NU. And more than anything else, that's what the students apparently fail to recognize. For twice as long as they've been alive, Nebraska has been different.
According to a few students, they feel slighted by the school's decision before this season to move part of their section to the top of the end zone. Students are unhappy with the suggestion that they're not doing their part to fill the stadium.
Well, it's true. The evidence was plain to see.
Nebraska officials plan to examine student turnout on Nov. 28, when Colorado visits the day after Thanksgiving. As Osborne noted, many students will be away for the holiday.
Oh, yes, and it will probably be cold.
Once upon a time, the football game was an excuse to get back to Lincoln - not the other way around.
If sections remain empty, NU may consider overselling the 8,600-seat student section next year, as it does for basketball at the Devaney Center, Osborne said, or offering general-admission tickets to the public.
This year, in fact, marks the first season of general-admission seating for students. Nebraska ticket manager Holly Adam said she suspects that some students without assigned seats on Saturday simply chose to find other spots in the stadium to watch the game because of the cold.
There's no easy remedy, other than for the students to show up.
Their tickets cost $21. For $44 more, students can upgrade their tickets to the $65 face-value price for the general public, sell, break even and ensure that Memorial Stadium looks full for a national audience on ABC in 16 days.
Might be the best thing they do for the school all year.
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1200...;u_sid=10485065
Mitch Sherman: No good excuse for empty seats
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
LINCOLN - In the three days since those hundreds of student seats sat empty atop the east side of the south end zone at Memorial Stadium, many explanations have been offered.
It was too cold.
The students were jammed into the lower sections.
It was no different than the Baylor game.
What's next? Maybe the stadium is too far to walk from the dorms? Perhaps hot dog vendors no longer climb the stairs, so everyone just decided to stay home?
Nebraska students are better than that display. At least, for 46 years, they've been better than that.
Sure, this is the age of trashing tradition in Lincoln. So many streaks have ended in the past decade here that nothing seems sacred or untouchable.
Nothing, that is, but the sellout streak. The 45-35 NU win over Kansas marked the 296th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium, far and away an NCAA record.
The streak, as much as Nebraska's five national titles, defines the image of this program.
And while this latest episode does not jeopardize the streak of sellouts, it takes something away from the game-day experience to catch a glimpse of gray, empty benches among the Sea of Red.
"I don't think you ever take anything for granted in athletics," said Athletic Director Tom Osborne, coach when the sellout streak reached 100 in 1979 and 200 in 1994. "But we're so unaccustomed to empty seats that it is surprising and catches your notice.
"Whenever there are empty seats anyplace in the stadium, I notice it."
NU fans have endured cold and wind just like Saturday for at least one game nearly every year during the past 45 seasons. This is Nebraska. Cold and wind are part of the ambiance.
Anywhere else, Saturday's display would not be of great importance. But it's important at NU. And more than anything else, that's what the students apparently fail to recognize. For twice as long as they've been alive, Nebraska has been different.
According to a few students, they feel slighted by the school's decision before this season to move part of their section to the top of the end zone. Students are unhappy with the suggestion that they're not doing their part to fill the stadium.
Well, it's true. The evidence was plain to see.
Nebraska officials plan to examine student turnout on Nov. 28, when Colorado visits the day after Thanksgiving. As Osborne noted, many students will be away for the holiday.
Oh, yes, and it will probably be cold.
Once upon a time, the football game was an excuse to get back to Lincoln - not the other way around.
If sections remain empty, NU may consider overselling the 8,600-seat student section next year, as it does for basketball at the Devaney Center, Osborne said, or offering general-admission tickets to the public.
This year, in fact, marks the first season of general-admission seating for students. Nebraska ticket manager Holly Adam said she suspects that some students without assigned seats on Saturday simply chose to find other spots in the stadium to watch the game because of the cold.
There's no easy remedy, other than for the students to show up.
Their tickets cost $21. For $44 more, students can upgrade their tickets to the $65 face-value price for the general public, sell, break even and ensure that Memorial Stadium looks full for a national audience on ABC in 16 days.
Might be the best thing they do for the school all year.
