The Blackshirts are back

QMany said:
How did Callahan handle them? I don't recall.
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This is kind of an interesting read, mainly because it was written after Pelini's first year: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/97365-history-of-the-blackshirts-at-the-university-of-nebraska

For many years, the jersey was left hanging in a player's locker before the start of the week's practice. During the Callahan era, members of the top defensive unit receive their Blackshirts the week of the season opener in a team ceremony and were presented to all first-unit players, including starters in different defensive sets.

So you could say that the Blackshirts had become watered down as more than 14 players were awarded the shirt instead of earning it. This started to show on the field as well.

.....

Pelini’s concept, the Blackshirts were not given out at the start of the season as had been the normal practice.

Instead, Pelini did not award them until the 10th game of the season, Nov. 11, 2008, to be exact.

This sent a clear message to his team, that team awards such as the Blackshirts had to be earned; they were not just given out for the sake of it. I can also assure you that if the defense fails to live up to the expectations, they will be taken away, count on that.

Also, only 11 of the Blackshirts were given out, to the starters. This is all part of the "Restore the Order" that Pelini and his staff has been using as their motto.

 
Restore the Order was a Callahan thing, so not really sure how accurate that is.

Callahan did it 'normally', and then in 2007 Zac Bowman handed his in after one of the games which caused other players to do the same.

 
Yes, that ugly time when Nebraska validated Colorado's long-yearned-for "rivalry."

LINK

The game had been over for all of five seconds and here was Mark LeFlore stripping at the Folsom Field 20-yard line. Off came the helmet. Off came the jersey. Off came the pads. And then, thankfully for the children, the Husker receiver stopped the tease there. “See this?” he said, flexing like a GQ cover boy and pointing to the words on a cut-off T-shirt he was wearing: RESTORE THE ORDER.

You couldn’t miss those words following Nebraska’s 30-3 flogging of those despised Colorado Buffaloes on Friday. One-by-one, Husker players ripped off their jerseys, not just to celebrate the team’s biggest win in four years, but also to reveal T-shirts with a rallying cry.

RESTORE THE ORDER

“We need to restore the order of who’s No. 1 in the Big 12 and I think it starts with us and Colorado,” said Husker linebacker Bo Ruud, who was so delirious at game’s end he had to be reminded the score.
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knapplc said:
MasterPulverizer said:
Who really gives a sh#t when the blackshirts are handed out?
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A massive portion of the fan base, the hundreds of players who've worn a Blackshirt over the past five decades, all the coaches involved in the defense over the past 50 years, legions local and national media...

Aside from that... nobody.
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My point was that the kids that got them deserve them. What does it matter when they're handed out. It's like if you don't agree when the jerseys were handed you, you don't believe the players deserve them.

The missing piece of your comment is that the only ones who can comment on the matter reliably are the players who wore them and the coaches that handed them out. Lets just play some football!

 
I give out awards for each game...a few years back we lost a game I thought we should have won. I told the team I was not sure if I would be handing out the awards for that game because I did not like the way we played...

Got a text later that day from a Daddy who complained and said I should still give them out...

This has nothing to do with the blackshirts...It just still bothers me to this day! ha

 
teachercd said:
I give out awards for each game...a few years back we lost a game I thought we should have won. I told the team I was not sure if I would be handing out the awards for that game because I did not like the way we played...

Got a text later that day from a Daddy who complained and said I should still give them out...

This has nothing to do with the blackshirts...It just still bothers me to this day! ha
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We brought oranges and Capri-Suns to every game at one time, win or lose.

Then we grew the f#*k up.

 
True2tRA said:
teachercd said:
I give out awards for each game...a few years back we lost a game I thought we should have won. I told the team I was not sure if I would be handing out the awards for that game because I did not like the way we played...

Got a text later that day from a Daddy who complained and said I should still give them out...

This has nothing to do with the blackshirts...It just still bothers me to this day! ha
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We brought oranges and Capri-Suns to every game at one time, win or lose.

Then we grew the f#*k up.
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Amen!

 
teachercd said:
I give out awards for each game...a few years back we lost a game I thought we should have won. I told the team I was not sure if I would be handing out the awards for that game because I did not like the way we played...

Got a text later that day from a Daddy who complained and said I should still give them out...

This has nothing to do with the blackshirts...It just still bothers me to this day! ha
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Buncha frikken whiny entitled kindergartners. Amirite?
 
JJHusker1 said:
teachercd said:
I give out awards for each game...a few years back we lost a game I thought we should have won. I told the team I was not sure if I would be handing out the awards for that game because I did not like the way we played...

Got a text later that day from a Daddy who complained and said I should still give them out...

This has nothing to do with the blackshirts...It just still bothers me to this day! ha
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Buncha frikken whiny entitled kindergartners. Amirite?
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The parents? Yeah!

 
teachercd said:
I give out awards for each game...a few years back we lost a game I thought we should have won. I told the team I was not sure if I would be handing out the awards for that game because I did not like the way we played...

Got a text later that day from a Daddy who complained and said I should still give them out...

This has nothing to do with the blackshirts...It just still bothers me to this day! ha
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Haha, I liked True's comment about the Capri-Suns. I think you made the right decision. I'm a firm believer in only giving awards to people who deserve it. The participation awards that have become more common these days drive me nuts. I don't own a ton of trophies for things... maybe 10-ish. Not a single one of them says 'Thanks for playing!' or anything like that. They're either 1st through 3rd place or nothing at all.

Guys from the Pelini era just have a different mindset on these things, but, the Blackshirt has always been earned regardless of when you get it. It's always been given to the 1st team defenders. We can thank the dominant defenses of the Osborne era for turning the Blackshirt into more than just a practice jersey, but also a defensive mentality.

I have a strong feeling the guys from the 90's would have a thing or two to say to the more recent Huskers who have a problem with Blackshirts getting handed out pre-season.

 
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