When did Memorial Stadium lose it's "it" factor?

BoNeyard

BoNeyard

All-Conference
When in your mind did Memorial Stadium go from one of the most difficult places for an opponent to win football games, to going on a full year since we last won a home game? I remember there was a time, it didn't matter who the opponent was, that Nebraska was an automatic win at home. I remember growing up thinking the home team simply never lost a game. But at some point Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska lost it's magic. It soon became no big deal for opposing teams to come in and win. It leads us to not winning a home game in over a year and Purdue Boilermakers coming into Lincoln favored.

I think it all changed in 2005 when Texas Tech beat us. We had the game won, and than an inexcusable fumble lead to the Red Raiders getting a second chance to win the game and they did. Since than we had Virginia Tech come to Lincoln, play their backup and he shredded us. We had a back up come in mid game with BYU and win on a hailmary. Since that Texas Tech win in 2005, things just haven't been the same at Memorial Stadium. 

 
It has much to do with the teams we've fielded and virtually nothing to do with the stadium. I've been  to a few stadiums around the country and Memorial Stadium is not particularly loud or intimidating. Maybe the size of it and all the red intimidates some young guys from smaller schools but once they figure out they can push our lines around and take the crowd out of it early....

 
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When our team started to suck lol.

JJ Husker said:
I've been  to a few stadiums around the country and Memorial Stadium is not particularly loud or intimidating. 
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Polled B1G players consistently disagree with this. So do broadcast crews. It's not particularly loud or intimidating when we're not a good football team and not giving fans much to cheer for, but that's true of any stadium. 

 
BoNeyard said:
When in your mind did Memorial Stadium go from one of the most difficult places for an opponent to win football games, to going on a full year since we last won a home game? I remember there was a time, it didn't matter who the opponent was, that Nebraska was an automatic win at home. I remember growing up thinking the home team simply never lost a game. But at some point Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska lost it's magic. It soon became no big deal for opposing teams to come in and win. It leads us to not winning a home game in over a year and Purdue Boilermakers coming into Lincoln favored.

I think it all changed in 2005 when Texas Tech beat us. We had the game won, and than an inexcusable fumble lead to the Red Raiders getting a second chance to win the game and they did. Since than we had Virginia Tech come to Lincoln, play their backup and he shredded us. We had a back up come in mid game with BYU and win on a hailmary. Since that Texas Tech win in 2005, things just haven't been the same at Memorial Stadium. 
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2002

 
I have spent many fall saturdays in Memorial stadium since the late 1960s.   I enjoyed the Colorado game Sept 8th.   That was about as loud as any game I have ever attended.  The stadium is still as 'tough' and home field beneficial for our team as it has ever been.   There have been a few OU games along the way where the end zone stadium fans may have been even louder to make it hard for our opponents to get plays off but many of those years there were 15000 fewer fans in those seats and the loud speaker system was not nearly as over powering and borderline 'unsportmanslike' at times as it was for the Colorado game.   

The fans and stadium are not a part of our team's problems in my very experienced and first hand knowledge opinion.  The team just lacks the kind of fire, drive, energy, determination, desire, etc. (I just like to call that motivation to be "Husker heart") as a group.  There are some individual players certainly but the most obvious deficiency which is contributing largely to the lack of winning football is the absence of heart within far too many on the team.   This is where Coach Frost has his biggest chore and finding a way to get the team truly interested in being champions will test everyone in the athletic department.  

This husker heart has been lacking for decades in my view.  This is the one ingredient that is NEVER measured with a stop watch or a weight total or any recruiting ratings service.   Stars are not an indication of hunger for success with so many players in this generation.  In fact, you might well find more heart and drive in the walk ons and the lesser  sought after guys who weren't the superstar on the local team.   For too many, high school football may have been too easy and didn't require 100% effort all the time.  The team's core must be built upon the guys who 'want it' with every single fiber of the body and soul.   The search for these players is Frost's number one mission in my view.   

 
Memorial Stadium has not lost its “it factor”.  When you’ve attended a big game over the years — Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado , Wisconsin, Iowa it even Miami a few years back — there is a certain charge in the air and the stadium is electric — and you can just feel it in the air, the atmosphere is different and you can just feel the energy.

Now compare those atmospheres to NU vs Mid Directional State U and even the clapping during the fight song is quieter.

Problem is, our psychology and history is geared towards not getting so hyped up for NU vs Northwestern for example, and therefore the stadium isn’t hyped up — less intimidating— and now we see mid- level and lower level teams not effected by the home crowd.

Case in point - Colorado this year— the crowd was rocking and Colorado barely won.  Troy — the crowd was a dud.  No energy .. and the rest is history .

 
Landlord said:
When our team started to suck lol.

Polled B1G players consistently disagree with this. So do broadcast crews. It's not particularly loud or intimidating when we're not a good football team and not giving fans much to cheer for, but that's true of any stadium. 
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Isn't that what I said? We've kind of struggled in the football department for quite awhile. But yeah, when the team is playing well, it can get pretty loud and the crowd can start on a feeding frenzy. I will say though, my ears have literally hurt at old Mile High and at UDub. I've never had that happen at Memorial Stadium even when we were playing well.

 
JJ Husker said:
Isn't that what I said? We've kind of struggled in the football department for quite awhile. But yeah, when the team is playing well, it can get pretty loud and the crowd can start on a feeding frenzy. I will say though, my ears have literally hurt at old Mile High and at UDub. I've never had that happen at Memorial Stadium even when we were playing well.
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Yeah, I think he was arguing to argue.  When NU is kicking a$$ it is great...when they aren't the stadium sucks.  

 
teachercd said:
Yeah, I think he was arguing to argue.  When NU is kicking a$$ it is great...when they aren't the stadium sucks.  
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I hate the argument that “polled B1G players” say yada yada yada. These B1G teams (other than the bottom dwellers) sure do have a funny way of showing how intimidating our stadium is by not playing intimidated at all. If the stadium factor doesn’t show up in the win/loss stat, I’m not going to pay much attention to what some poll says. We haven’t made an impression at all on the B1G conference and that has everything to do with the teams we’ve fielded and nothing to do with the stadium. Seems like just some fluff and respect for our history. When we start winning and intimidating visiting opponents I’ll believe what some poll says.

 
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