Peoriahusker
Five-Star Recruit
1st, my apologies for the length of this, however, I just have to share this and believe for you die-hards on here..you'll enjoy reading it all. First off I haven't posted on this board in forever, its kind of nice to be back. My Father and his siblings grew up in Omaha where we still have relatives today. I have season tickets in Lincoln and between my dad and I we drive the 6.5 hours for home games as much as we can. I've been a die hard fan my entire life and have been able to raise 3 of my 4 kids to be the same. The 4th is a 19 year old daughter who likes to keep dad on his toes, non conformist! This year has been a bust in my opinion and I often depart the games talking about how much this sucks etc...tonight i got on my laptop and found a paper my 17 year old had written for a class he had earlier this year...i had never seen it...This is what he said:
Mrs. Elliott
English 12, 6th hour
September 17th, 2015
Narration rough draft
It was a sweltering September day in downtown Lincoln. The Cornhuskers home opener was just hours away, and you could see red and white pouring out of shops and restaurants. There really is nothing like Lincoln on game day, the atmosphere, the people, the sounds, all of these things combined make it a one in a million experience. I was there with my grandpa Roger. My grandpa and I have shared many trips to Nebraska together but this one was different, this time I realized what being a Nebraska fan is really about.
When we go to Nebraska it is a tradition to stop by “Husker Hounds”, one of the most popular stores in all of Nebraska, when you pass through Omaha. Husker hounds has more Nebraska merchandise than you could ever imagine. After an overwhelming hour of searching through t-shirts, hats, and stickers we made our way to the hotel. It seems like everyone is a die-hard husker fan, almost everyone you see is wearing a red shirt, a Nebraska hat or telling you “go big red!” That’s my favorite part about these trips is the atmosphere, and tomorrow I was going to be in what I consider the best atmosphere of them all, Memorial Stadium.
Like every trip to Lincoln, traffic and parking was crazy. When the Cornhuskers play a home game the stadium becomes the third largest city in Nebraska, and you can feel it. We arrive on campus about 3 hours early to soak up the game day experience. I see a couple blue shirts and hats for BYU but it really is just a “sea of red”. We went and got a slice of Valentinos my grandpa and I sit on the escalator trying to just get a little bit of the air condition coming from the V.I.P room below. It was an hour before kickoff when we headed to our seats; the 30 yard line about ten rows up is where I have viewed almost all Nebraska home games. Thankfully the stadium provided us with enough shade where it wasn’t miserable. As we watched the teams warm up and the scoreboard slowly tick down to zero the butterflies were starting to stir in my stomach. It was finally game day.
The clock finally got down to the 5 minute mark and it was time for the famous “tunnel walk”. Whether you were a Husker fan or a bulldog fan you could not stop the goosebumps from forming on your arms. The music, the big screen, the fans, it all made for a perfect combination of sound. Finally the teams take the field, Nebraska deferred to the second half so they would kick off. Nebraska stopped the bulldogs forcing a punt, and it was our time to strike, and we did. Tommy Armstrong came out strong as a quarter back and led the huskers down the field. With every yard gained and every pass caught the loyal fans in memorial stadium were shouting, jumping, and high fiving with joy. I was in my favorite place and we were winning! Throughout the game there were ups and there were downs, throughout all of them however the husker fans were there. As the game wound down to 13 seconds left we had the lead by 4. All we needed was one stop to get the first win of the season. The bulldog quarter back snapped the ball and rolled to his right, time seemed to stand still for me as he danced around defenders trying to get to him. Finally after what seemed like an eternity he launched the ball to the end zone, one last ditch effort. The ball sailed to the right side of the field so close to me I thought I could reach out and knock it down myself. Then as if no one was even near him a BYU receiver swooped under the ball, between two husker defender and made the catch. We couldn’t make the one stop we needed.
As we left the stadium I was steaming, all I wanted was to win. My anger was only made greater by my grandpa telling me that “hey, we witnessed good game and made great memories” I thought he had grown soft after 30 plus years of cheering on his huskers. Later that night I was in the hotel room after going to dinner with my grandpa and I realized what he had been saying was true, I had watched my favorite team, seen family I only get to see when we go see a game, and I spent a weekend with my grandpa which is more than a lot of people get. I realized that being a Cornhusker fan isn’t just about winning its about being a part of a community of fans and family where you all have one thing in common, you love Nebraska football.
Mrs. Elliott
English 12, 6th hour
September 17th, 2015
Narration rough draft
It was a sweltering September day in downtown Lincoln. The Cornhuskers home opener was just hours away, and you could see red and white pouring out of shops and restaurants. There really is nothing like Lincoln on game day, the atmosphere, the people, the sounds, all of these things combined make it a one in a million experience. I was there with my grandpa Roger. My grandpa and I have shared many trips to Nebraska together but this one was different, this time I realized what being a Nebraska fan is really about.
When we go to Nebraska it is a tradition to stop by “Husker Hounds”, one of the most popular stores in all of Nebraska, when you pass through Omaha. Husker hounds has more Nebraska merchandise than you could ever imagine. After an overwhelming hour of searching through t-shirts, hats, and stickers we made our way to the hotel. It seems like everyone is a die-hard husker fan, almost everyone you see is wearing a red shirt, a Nebraska hat or telling you “go big red!” That’s my favorite part about these trips is the atmosphere, and tomorrow I was going to be in what I consider the best atmosphere of them all, Memorial Stadium.
Like every trip to Lincoln, traffic and parking was crazy. When the Cornhuskers play a home game the stadium becomes the third largest city in Nebraska, and you can feel it. We arrive on campus about 3 hours early to soak up the game day experience. I see a couple blue shirts and hats for BYU but it really is just a “sea of red”. We went and got a slice of Valentinos my grandpa and I sit on the escalator trying to just get a little bit of the air condition coming from the V.I.P room below. It was an hour before kickoff when we headed to our seats; the 30 yard line about ten rows up is where I have viewed almost all Nebraska home games. Thankfully the stadium provided us with enough shade where it wasn’t miserable. As we watched the teams warm up and the scoreboard slowly tick down to zero the butterflies were starting to stir in my stomach. It was finally game day.
The clock finally got down to the 5 minute mark and it was time for the famous “tunnel walk”. Whether you were a Husker fan or a bulldog fan you could not stop the goosebumps from forming on your arms. The music, the big screen, the fans, it all made for a perfect combination of sound. Finally the teams take the field, Nebraska deferred to the second half so they would kick off. Nebraska stopped the bulldogs forcing a punt, and it was our time to strike, and we did. Tommy Armstrong came out strong as a quarter back and led the huskers down the field. With every yard gained and every pass caught the loyal fans in memorial stadium were shouting, jumping, and high fiving with joy. I was in my favorite place and we were winning! Throughout the game there were ups and there were downs, throughout all of them however the husker fans were there. As the game wound down to 13 seconds left we had the lead by 4. All we needed was one stop to get the first win of the season. The bulldog quarter back snapped the ball and rolled to his right, time seemed to stand still for me as he danced around defenders trying to get to him. Finally after what seemed like an eternity he launched the ball to the end zone, one last ditch effort. The ball sailed to the right side of the field so close to me I thought I could reach out and knock it down myself. Then as if no one was even near him a BYU receiver swooped under the ball, between two husker defender and made the catch. We couldn’t make the one stop we needed.
As we left the stadium I was steaming, all I wanted was to win. My anger was only made greater by my grandpa telling me that “hey, we witnessed good game and made great memories” I thought he had grown soft after 30 plus years of cheering on his huskers. Later that night I was in the hotel room after going to dinner with my grandpa and I realized what he had been saying was true, I had watched my favorite team, seen family I only get to see when we go see a game, and I spent a weekend with my grandpa which is more than a lot of people get. I realized that being a Cornhusker fan isn’t just about winning its about being a part of a community of fans and family where you all have one thing in common, you love Nebraska football.
