Whose team is it? Students? Alumni? Boosters?

What's your stake?

  • Total voters
    79
Even though some of these categories overlap, I think there's different ways to define who has more ownership. From a purely monetary standpoint, I would think the boosters have a reasonable argument, given the amount of money they fork over for the program.

That said, I've never looked into season tickets or really paid attention to the money boosters donate. Overtime, could the average "fan" spend more money in season ticket fees than a booster spends in donations and other similar expenditures? My guess is no, but again, it's not something I pay close attention to.

But, personally, any fan has just as much right to ownership as the next in my opinion, regardless of how much money each respective fan has given to the university. I've grown up a huge Husker fan, and even though I went to UNL, I probably haven't given near as much money as others. But does that make me less of a fan, or mean I have less right to enjoy the team? I don't think it does. Right/ownership to fandom shouldn't rely on how much money you have.

 
knapplc said:
Those of you who never went to UNL - do you feel in any way that you are "less of a fan" than those who attended UNL? (again, don't get hung up on the phrase - you know what I mean)
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I don't feel any "less of a fan," and I actually hate that criticism of fans. As much as I wanted to go out of state and attend UNL, it wasn't feasible for me at any time during my higher education. I was born in Omaha and most of my family is still there. My dad and others are some of the biggest fans you will ever meet. Very few went to UNL (or college at all). For any of our fan allegiances to be discounted is ridiculous.

 
Knapp. It was my Husker fandom that nearly led to my being a UNL student. I bet that's true for a sh#t ton of UNL students as well. And on the other side of the coin, I bet there are also a god's plenty of UNL students that attend 4+ years of school there that never for one minute give a damn about the Nebraska football program.

Good convo. I like it.

 
knapplc said:
NUance said:
Students? All of the alumni and most of the Big Money Boosters were students at one time. At what point was "ownership" taken away? Graduation day?
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That's actually where I was going with this, but looking at all the people who are, obviously, ardent fans by their posts on HuskerBoard, I have a new question:

Those of you who never went to UNL - do you feel in any way that you are "less of a fan" than those who attended UNL? (again, don't get hung up on the phrase - you know what I mean)

My reasoning for that question - had I never attended UNL, I'd still be a Husker fan. I was as a kid, and if I had gone to any other college I'd still root for Nebraska today. I cannot imagine any way that people who didn't put their butt in some lecture hall seat at UNL feel like the Huskers are "less" their team than the ownership I feel.

I just can't wrap my head around the team being primarily for the students. Maybe at a smaller school like Doane or Creighton where the teams aren't state- or region-wide institutions, but in Nebraska, no way. It's everyone's team.
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Here's my response to this.

I went to school at Wayne State. I had a passion and dedication to Nebraska ahead of Wayne State, even though I was pretty passionate about the latter. I never felt like less of a fan not being a student at UNL.

But....

since moving to Lincoln, since becoming good friends with a lot of students, going to a few organizational meetings with people I knew, and going to games with and amongst students in the student section, even not being a student myself, I felt like more of a fan. It's hard to explain. There was something heightened through the whole experience... something I can't quite put my finger on. A more tangible connection maybe. And I wasn't even an actual student; I just played along like one from time to time.

This might not even be relevant. I'm tired, but thought I'd share this anyways. Time for bed James.

 
My family has been a booster of the program for nearly 100 years. I never attended Nebraska. I have very close ties to it. I do not understand the term ownership. I understand being 4 years old and attending games with my grandfather. I remember him being buried in his Husker gear. I remember him talking about his father who also attended the university, played on the football team. I have loved the Huskers since I was a small child, and had it not been for Viet Nam, I would have attended Nebraska. But life does not work perfectly for everyone. Some were not fortunate to attend, some decided not to. But it has no bearing on being/owning the team. Whether you donate a dollar, none or hundreds of thousands it makes no difference. Being a student has no bearing, half seem so drunk out of their minds, they only go for the pre and after parties. Not true of all but more party affair than real fans. Fans donate, watch, love, travel and defend their team.

Hard for anyone to tell someone they are a better fan than another. Love the Huskers, they are yours. That is about it for me.

 
Also I just want to say sometimes I forget that the easy and obvious jokes involving my username are right at my fingertips to use often.

That being said, it's all mine. Everything is mine. Rent due on the first. And goodnight.

 
knapplc said:
NUance said:
Students? All of the alumni and most of the Big Money Boosters were students at one time. At what point was "ownership" taken away? Graduation day?
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That's actually where I was going with this, but looking at all the people who are, obviously, ardent fans by their posts on HuskerBoard, I have a new question: Those of you who never went to UNL - do you feel in any way that you are "less of a fan" than those who attended UNL? (again, don't get hung up on the phrase - you know what I mean) My reasoning for that question - had I never attended UNL, I'd still be a Husker fan. I was as a kid, and if I had gone to any other college I'd still root for Nebraska today. I cannot imagine any way that people who didn't put their butt in some lecture hall seat at UNL feel like the Huskers are "less" their team than the ownership I feel. I just can't wrap my head around the team being primarily for the students. Maybe at a smaller school like Doane or Creighton where the teams aren't state- or region-wide institutions, but in Nebraska, no way. It's everyone's team.
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True it's everyones team and Husker sports represents a way of life not just a student body, boosters, city, state or fans. We pride our selfs on being knowlegable, passionate, tradition loving, caring fans of a university that has a hard work ethic and does things the right way. In my eyes thats what our team represents.

But if i had to list them in order this is how i'd list them student body>alumni>boosters>city>state>fans.

The reason I put them in that area is when I was in the military I traveled all over the world. I've lived in Georgia, Kentucky, Germany, Kuwait and Iraq. The further I moved away the less I felt connected to the university and team. Sometimes the only husker news or updates I got was when I was able to call home. I was able to catch a couple bowl games on AFN tv when deployed but only about a hours worth of the game.

 
I felt stronger while I was in the military. Always an Oklahoma guy or a Big 10 guy to discuss the games with. Of course only in News papers. I received the Weird Harold every week. Highlight of the week normally, not only for me, but every other Husker and college football fan in my company. I do not relate fandom to distance, closeness to the facility. You either love the Huskers or you don't. No I have no idea how the new stadium looks, what buildings have been torn down, how the improvements work, but no less a fan for me. I follow this board to have some idea of what is going on, information on the team and the other teams that Nebraska fields. Go Girls, beat Washington.

 
skersfan said:
I felt stronger while I was in the military. Always an Oklahoma guy or a Big 10 guy to discuss the games with. Of course only in News papers. I received the Weird Harold every week. Highlight of the week normally, not only for me, but every other Husker and college football fan in my company. I do not relate fandom to distance, closeness to the facility. You either love the Huskers or you don't. No I have no idea how the new stadium looks, what buildings have been torn down, how the improvements work, but no less a fan for me. I follow this board to have some idea of what is going on, information on the team and the other teams that Nebraska fields. Go Girls, beat Washington.
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Normally no distance doesn't matter. But it affected me as I didn't have access to internet, local news stations or news papers. The closest I had to someone I could talk football to I wouldn't. Mainly because they were the typical egotistical Texas fan, which went even further thinking the state of Texas is gods gift to all of humanity that we should worship. So for four years of my life the most husker info I could normally get was calling home on Sunday to only hear we played good.

 
wildman, when you were unable to connect to the team when deployed, did you feel like the Huskers weren't "your" team anymore? Or just that you had difficulty getting info and staying in the loop?

 
There is no way that it can't be all of the above.

The students are what make the university a university. Without students, the university doesn't exist. If the university doesn't exist, the athletic programs don't exist and there is no replacement for alumni, fans, or the big money boosters to provide their support. Furthermore, the students are fans themselves. We are in our seats an hour or so before kickoff (two hours for South) and are arguably the loudest section in the whole stadium. If the stadium were all students, no team would want to play there. If the stadium were all big money boosters (most of whom are probably of the older generation) or older fans and alumni, I bet a lot of teams wouldn't mind playing a game in Memorial Stadium. Now while pay discounted prices for tickets, they still pay for their tickets, along with concession prices, which goes to the athletic department.

But if you want, break it down into ownership by parts.

If you're talking about who owns the electric atmosphere inside Memorial Stadium on Saturday, then that ownership belongs to the students. If you're talking about the financial ownership, then that ownership goes to the boosters, obviously.

 
knapplc said:
wildman, when you were unable to connect to the team when deployed, did you feel like the Huskers weren't "your" team anymore? Or just that you had difficulty getting info and staying in the loop?
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it was mainly staying in the loop. I've always felt the team was my team to the point the first thing i'd pack and contantly repack is my blackshirts flag that now hangs on my wall. The teams I like will always be my teams. Like right now i'm wearing an Oakland Athletics jersey. I've rooted for them since I was 5 currently 33 and i've never been to a game or been in California. But with my experiences even though they are my team. I'm not as connected to them as I could be if I lived near the stadium, went to games like other fans or attended the school.

 
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This team has always been the team of the citizens of Nebraska, most of which have not gone to the University, but are average dokes like myself. "In the day", on a Saturday when Nebaska football was on the radio, and not even being televised, the state would grind to a halt for about 3 hours, as everyone in the state would be sitting next to a radio somewhere, since the game was transmitted to the whole state, cheering on their Huskers.

That tradition can only be found in a few places in this country...luckily Nebraska is one. I live in Nevada now, but there is a large contingency of Husker fans here, and in the neighboring states of California, Idaho, and Arizona.

 
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