skers, it sounds to me like you're being a "debbie downer," but then I'm always grouped into the "sunshine pumper" category, so my opinion may not amount to much.
I get what you're saying in your posts up there, and as usual you provide a lot of wisdom. There's a LOT of truth to what you say. I'm not nearly your age, but I remember the late 70s Huskers reasonably well, and from the Scoring Explosion years on, my memory is pretty solid. You know all about the struggle years with Osborne, the problems, the near-firings, the Colorado stuff, the "can't win the big game" label, all that. You know the greatest of the great eras of Nebraska Football, maybe better than anyone else here. And looking at today through that lens, we're not there - not even close. But I don't think that means we're in a bad place.
Forget about the 90s. We're not anywhere close to where we were in the 80s as a program. We're more like the early Osborne years - lots of potential, winning a bunch of games but not looking pretty doing it. A few star players here and there, but not a whole bunch of depth. Rumblings about the coach getting fired, rumblings about losing recruits, etc. It's all very familiar territory.
The question is, can we get back to where we're a perennial top-ten team, and vie for a National Championship every once in a while? Essentially, can we become another Oklahoma under Bob Stoops? I think we can. I think we have one of the most solid, dedicated fan bases in the country. I think we have money people who are willing to contribute to keeping our facilities among the nation's best. I think we have administrative people who know what it takes to build and maintain a winning program. The question is, do we have the coach to get the job done? And I think it's still too early to know. In fact, the copout answer is that we won't know until he does it. But Bo has potential. It's just a rough ride waiting for that potential to be fulfilled.
I just hope you can stay positive and not lose interest until that happens - or until we can Bo, hire someone else, and do get that success. Stay with us, skers. We will get back there. In the meantime, can I send you some of my sunshine?