My Feelings Exactly

[Benard]

It's hard to explain and I don't like it but this is how I feel aswell.

3. Husker fans don't know who they are anymore.

This is the one that makes the most sense. It's natural. It was bound to happen. Nebraska fans have had it so good for so long, and had it one way for so long, that when Camelot was over, it was going to be one heck of a hangover.

But change came like a hurricane, all at once and in waves. A generation that grew up on Sweep Left can't even get a darned dive iso these days. And the only blood relative still around is Turner Gill. There are so many new names to learn. And the room won't stop spinning.

"The one thing you always knew as a Husker fan was that you would have that continuity," says Kelly Milligan, a middle-aged member of Husker Nation. "The offense, the coaches, the way we did things. That was our identity. And we just got a wholesale uprooting of everything. I'm having a hard time dealing with it.

"I'm having a hard time warming up to this West Coast offense. I used to take a lot of joy in watching that old offense we ran. I used to love that everybody else made fun of it and then watched us steamroll them down the field.

"I still remember the opening drive of the third quarter of the Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee. It was all running plays. It was a thing of beauty.

"Now we're just like everybody else."

That's it. The old song has been turned upside down: Nebraska is like a lot of other places.

But there's something else, something rooted deeper in the emotions of Nebraskans. I've been following the species known as Husker Nation for 13 years, and I never cease to learn something new. But this something surprised me, and I wonder if it surprises Athletic Director Steve Pederson, too.

Last year Pederson fired Frank Solich, the loyal Husker player and coach. There was no easy way to do it, and I think many Nebraskans probably agree now it was going to happen eventually. But it was handled clumsily. Solich and his staff, including many longtime Huskers, were not treated with proper respect.

Most places, you fire a coach and people move on. Even the fans who don't agree know it happens. But, alas, Nebraska is not most places.

A good friend, an Omaha attorney, Mark Enenbach, enlightened me last week. Enenbach, a big fan, said the Southern Miss game didn't really bother him that much. He said he was having a hard time getting excited about the new staff, the new optimism. About Nebraska football.

I told him he'd get over it, like most Husker fans. I said they would realize that college football, deep down, is all about business. Once the program started winning championships again, it would be all aboard on the train.

"I beg to differ," said Mark. "It does matter how you treat people."

And that, I think, is what's on the minds of Husker fans. For some of them, Nebraska football will never be the same, and it has nothing to do with offense.

Story

 

[fasteddie]

I dont really know how i feel about this nor do i care.

 

[AR Husker Fan]

I miss the option terribly, and have for so long considered it part of Nebraska's identity - part of what helped make it unique.

Having said that, change is inevitable. Whether this change works - well, only time will tell.

Ultimately, though, it is about winning. If that happens, most folks will move on and enjoy it. Had we retained the option, and suffered a number of 7 win seasons, folks would have been calling for the heads of the coaches, a passing attack - you name it.

So, while I miss the option, I can embrace the West Coast offense if it allows Nebraska the ability to dominate.

 

[gamecocks]

I really miss the option too, but I love to see the fact that our recievers are running routes without having the play action to get them open. This all will take time to get use to, but I think that Oklahoma likes their change right about now.

 

[Armistead]

I really am a bit surprised by some of the soul seaching done by some of the fans(so called)....bboooo wwhoo over Frank and his lame staff of gravy train rejects....get over it...and if you can't , give up your season ticks to a brother like me.

The next time I care about Frank Solich and his lame a$$ staff will be the first time....WE MADE HIM A WEALTHY MAN...in return he got lazy and buddy buddy with the ole ball coaches who should have retired a couple of years earlier ,they sat on there asses and let the program slide.....And for those of you who think that we owed Frank and the rest of the boys something for all the goodtimes we had, just ask yourself this on your way to work.....Would your boss or your Customers keep paying you for what you did in 1997?...F#ck Solich...and anyone else who still thinks Frank got a raw deal...there is plenty of room on the bus outta Lincoln for all you mofo's...and hey , Take the blue hair west side stadium crowd witcha ya.

Husker Hezzbulla! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

 

[Benard]

I really am a bit surprised by some of the soul seaching done by some of the fans(so called)....bboooo wwhoo over Frank and his lame staff of gravy train rejects....get over it...and if you can't , give up your season ticks to a brother like me.

The next time I care about Frank Solich and his lame a$$ staff will be the first time....WE MADE HIM A WEALTHY MAN...in return he got lazy and buddy buddy with the ole ball coaches who should have retired a couple of years earlier ,they sat on there asses and let the program slide.....And for those of you who think that we owed Frank and the rest of the boys something for all the goodtimes we had, just ask yourself this on your way to work.....Would your boss or your Customers keep paying you for what you did in 1997?...F#ck Solich...and anyone else who still thinks Frank got a raw deal...there is plenty of room on the bus outta Lincoln for all you mofo's...and hey , Take the blue hair west side stadium crowd witcha ya.

Husker Hezzbulla! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

You get on husker fans like me who question bill but I'm sure 2 years ago and last year you were bashing frank and his players and staff. It's the same thing.

 

[Benard]

I miss the option terribly, and have for so long considered it part of Nebraska's identity - part of what helped make it unique.
Having said that, change is inevitable. Whether this change works - well, only time will tell.

Ultimately, though, it is about winning. If that happens, most folks will move on and enjoy it. Had we retained the option, and suffered a number of 7 win seasons, folks would have been calling for the heads of the coaches, a passing attack - you name it.

So, while I miss the option, I can embrace the West Coast offense if it allows Nebraska the ability to dominate.

See, I'm different. I don't think I could give up everything just to win. It's not like were horrible or not like we couldn't have won it all with what we were doing imo. We gave it all up just to win and were not doing that very well yet.

 

[DaveH]

I really am a bit surprised by some of the soul seaching done by some of the fans(so called)....bboooo wwhoo over Frank and his lame staff of gravy train rejects....get over it...and if you can't , give up your season ticks to a brother like me.

The next time I care about Frank Solich and his lame a$$ staff will be the first time....WE MADE HIM A WEALTHY MAN...in return he got lazy and buddy buddy with the ole ball coaches who should have retired a couple of years earlier ,they sat on there asses and let the program slide.....And for those of you who think that we owed Frank and the rest of the boys something for all the goodtimes we had, just ask yourself this on your way to work.....Would your  boss or your Customers keep paying you for what you did in 1997?...F#ck Solich...and anyone else who still thinks Frank got a raw deal...there is plenty of room on the bus outta Lincoln for all you mofo's...and hey , Take the blue hair west side stadium crowd witcha ya.

Husker Hezzbulla! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

You get on husker fans like me who question bill but I'm sure 2 years ago and last year you were bashing frank and his players and staff. It's the same thing.

It's the same thing EXCEPT Frank had more than 3 games to prove himself as a Husker coach.

 

[Oklahoma Husker]

See, I'm different.  I don't think I could give up everything just to win.  It's not like were horrible or not like we couldn't have won it all with what we were doing imo.  We gave it all up just to win and were not doing that very well yet.

We've only played three games in a brand new offense that is one of the most complicated out there. How can you talk about not winning very well? We're 2-1! That's three games! USC lost a game last year. Settle down and stop complaining until we see how we do coming off this bye week.

 

[chucker21]

I really think we are beating a dead horse and that people need to get over this. Change is inevitabe. And to sit and linger over the past makes no sense. Nebraska will pull through.

 

[Benard]

See, I'm different.  I don't think I could give up everything just to win.  It's not like were horrible or not like we couldn't have won it all with what we were doing imo.  We gave it all up just to win and were not doing that very well yet.

We've only played three games in a brand new offense that is one of the most complicated out there. How can you talk about not winning very well? We're 2-1! That's three games! USC lost a game last year. Settle down and stop complaining until we see how we do coming off this bye week.

We struggled in the 2nd half against a weak western illinois. WE lost to a team that talent wise we were 21 points better. We barely beat Pitt who talent wise we were 4 td's better who beat furman a division 1aa team in overtime. Wait till the big 12. We better get better and fast or we won't be making a bowl.

 

[gamecocks]

"We've only played three games in a brand new offense that is one of the most complicated out there. How can you talk about not winning very well? We're 2-1! That's three games! USC lost a game last year. Settle down and stop complaining until we see how we do coming off this bye week. "

Yeah USC did lose a game last year but they also weren't averaging 4.5 turnovers per game. They had one game last year with more than three turnovers and they lost it. They lost their game to a conference rival, we lost ours to a non-BCS school. You should wait until conference play before you start to compare us to USC.

 

[Oklahoma Husker]

Yeah USC did lose a game last year but they also weren't averaging 4.5 turnovers per game. They had one game last year with more than three turnovers and they lost it. They lost their game to a conference rival, we lost ours to a non-BCS school. You should wait until conference play before you start to compare us to USC.

I'm not comparing us to USC. IMO there is no comparison there right now. I'm just saying that one game is not going to kill you. Now I'm sure we'll probably lose more this year but right now there is no reason to go on and on about our offense. It's going to struggle! The reason we are using it its because it will give us a chance to get the best athletes and compete for the national championship EVERY YEAR. It has struggled these first three games but it will continue to get better.

 

[junior4949]

I don't understand what winning championships has to do with this. If I'm not mistaken, we stuck with a coach that took 22 years to win his first championship. If we really thought we were mediocre last season, we need to go back about 20 years or even 15 years. 20 years ago, we got pounded time and time again by Oklahoma. Yes, we were the second best team in the Big 8. However, the Big 8 was extremely soft compared to today's Big 12. 15 years ago, we would go and get slaughtered by a Florida school. In fact, I believe we lost 51-3 or something like that to Miama. Now those were the mediocre days.

Let's face some realities. Steve Pudderson wanted his own guy, and Frank Solich wasn't his guy. In fact, Solich was Osbourne's guy. In my opinion, "Pud" is a power freak who is very intimidated by Osbourne who isn't even part of the program anymore. I believe "Pud" wanted to throw his weight around and show people he's the boss. Will it all work out? I don't know as the jury is still out. I do know we will more than likely go through more growing pains and losses this year with Callahan than we would have with Solich. However, this usually always happens when you totally revamp a system.

What is done is done. I didn't like it, but hey it's done. My problem is with the West Coast Offense and Callahan himself as a coach. In another thread one poster said Notre Dame didn't catch on to the schemes as fast as we are. Well Notre Dame's best year under Willingham was their first year. They aren't improving in my opinion. The power schools now have exactly what we had during the glory years: exceptional athletes. USC has exceptional athletes and so does Oklahoma. If you have exceptional athletes, the option will and does work very effective. With the option, you gradually wear a team down. With the West Coast offense, you simply try to out maneuver them. The problem with this type of offense is that you usually end up beating yourself when you lose by throwing interceptions.

Recruiting a quarterback for the West Coast offense is also a lot tougher than recruiting an option quarterback. Very few power schools run the option, so there isn't nearly as much competition as there is for a drop back passer. Have you ever wondered why Bill Snyder has never really had a drop back passing quarterback other than Chad May? Because Manhattan, KS is extremely difficult to get recruits to or much less stay. Well you know what? Lincoln, NE isn't much better or easier. In business, we are taught to do things just a little different than the rest to be successful. I don't see how football is any different!

 

[Benard]

I don't understand what winning championships has to do with this. If I'm not mistaken, we stuck with a coach that took 22 years to win his first championship. If we really thought we were mediocre last season, we need to go back about 20 years or even 15 years. 20 years ago, we got pounded time and time again by Oklahoma. Yes, we were the second best team in the Big 8. However, the Big 8 was extremely soft compared to today's Big 12. 15 years ago, we would go and get slaughtered by a Florida school. In fact, I believe we lost 51-3 or something like that to Miama. Now those were the mediocre days.
Let's face some realities. Steve Pudderson wanted his own guy, and Frank Solich wasn't his guy. In fact, Solich was Osbourne's guy. In my opinion, "Pud" is a power freak who is very intimidated by Osbourne who isn't even part of the program anymore. I believe "Pud" wanted to throw his weight around and show people he's the boss. Will it all work out? I don't know as the jury is still out. I do know we will more than likely go through more growing pains and losses this year with Callahan than we would have with Solich. However, this usually always happens when you totally revamp a system.

What is done is done. I didn't like it, but hey it's done. My problem is with the West Coast Offense and Callahan himself as a coach. In another thread one poster said Notre Dame didn't catch on to the schemes as fast as we are. Well Notre Dame's best year under Willingham was their first year. They aren't improving in my opinion. The power schools now have exactly what we had during the glory years: exceptional athletes. USC has exceptional athletes and so does Oklahoma. If you have exceptional athletes, the option will and does work very effective. With the option, you gradually wear a team down. With the West Coast offense, you simply try to out maneuver them. The problem with this type of offense is that you usually end up beating yourself when you lose by throwing interceptions.

Recruiting a quarterback for the West Coast offense is also a lot tougher than recruiting an option quarterback. Very few power schools run the option, so there isn't nearly as much competition as there is for a drop back passer. Have you ever wondered why Bill Snyder has never really had a drop back passing quarterback other than Chad May? Because Manhattan, KS is extremely difficult to get recruits to or much less stay. Well you know what? Lincoln, NE isn't much better or easier. In business, we are taught to do things just a little different than the rest to be successful. I don't see how football is any different!

very good post junior.