Riley: Huskers are 'America's Team'

Mavric

Mavric

Yoda
Staff member
“Nebraska — we’re truly America’s Team,” Riley said. “We’ve got guys from everywhere. The Cowboys think they’re America’s Team? We are.”

Riley took to Twitter to reiterate the theme: “Coast to Coast, North to South. In the middle of everywhere! Be a part of something special. Be a part of America’s Team!”

It’s an effective branding statement. Riley is right. Nebraska football — at its very best — is a melting pot of guys from Omaha, Lincoln and small Nebraska towns, mixed with regional stars, mixed with national recruits, often from big cities.

If one Nebraska coaching staff looked at recruiting nationally as a kind of burden — it took too much time, too many plane rides and too much guesswork — Riley, true to his form, has flipped that idea on its head. He wants to use the geographic diversity of Nebraska’s team as a plus. How Riley handled Husker players kneeling for the national anthem last season only gave him more credibility.
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OWH

 
Nebraska was "America's team" from a national college football fans' perspective in the late 90s as well. We still have a deep national fan base that watches and while the fervor may not be there these days, if we do make a 'cinderella' run, we will once again have the nation's attention and lots of support. Many football fans across the nation still know and remember the Huskers. The fact that the '95 team remains the greatest ever in the minds of the largest block of fans etc is an indicator.

Our rise in the rankings last fall at 7-0 so high (beyond even many die hard Husker fans locally) suggests that many Americans are pulling for us and would be excited to see the return of "Husker Nation".

 
StPaulHusker said:
We can be Berlin's team for all I care as long as we win games.
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This is a great way to approach recruiting. Rather than sitting back and listening to all of old school views on recruiting Riley and staff are reinventing the approach.

 
I really hope Riley succeeds here, such a great fit for our team and this is exactly why

 
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Mavric said:
“Nebraska — we’re truly America’s Team,” Riley said. “We’ve got guys from everywhere. The Cowboys think they’re America’s Team? We are.”

Riley took to Twitter to reiterate the theme: “Coast to Coast, North to South. In the middle of everywhere! Be a part of something special. Be a part of America’s Team!”

It’s an effective branding statement. Riley is right. Nebraska football — at its very best — is a melting pot of guys from Omaha, Lincoln and small Nebraska towns, mixed with regional stars, mixed with national recruits, often from big cities.

If one Nebraska coaching staff looked at recruiting nationally as a kind of burden — it took too much time, too many plane rides and too much guesswork — Riley, true to his form, has flipped that idea on its head. He wants to use the geographic diversity of Nebraska’s team as a plus. How Riley handled Husker players kneeling for the national anthem last season only gave him more credibility.
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OWH
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I love the branding. I am a fan of the original version of America's team (the Cowboys) and also the current darlings of America (the Cubs), so let's make it a trifecta and have the Huskers be America's team for college football!

 
Riley coming here reminds me of when johnny orr came to iowa state basketball. he got this set up to succeed. so even after he retired the program kept going at a quality pace!

 
Might be just me - It kind of gets under my skin when people appropriate other teams brands for their team. "Husker nation" and "America's team" are examples. I like it when originality is used.

 
chainsaw said:
Riley coming here reminds me of when johnny orr came to iowa state basketball. he got this set up to succeed. so even after he retired the program kept going at a quality pace!
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Johnny Orr went to Iowa State as a 53 year old coach and was there for 15 seasons. Riley came to NU nearly 10 years older than Orr, and he may not last 5 years at NU. I don't see that comparison at all.

 
Being in the middle is a good thing. Awesome seeing staff using it as a positive and not using it as an excuse or crutch like past regimes.

 
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