Eric Crouch surveys Mizzou’s Faurot Field on his 95-yard touchdown run.
Lincoln Journal-Star Introduces 100-Yard Club
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By Randy York
This blog begins with a disclaimer. I worked 18 years for the Lincoln Journal-Star Sports Department, so I know what it’s like to compete daily against a newspaper with infinitely more resources and is now owned by America’s best-known business magnate, investor and philanthropist. But the truth is Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, didn’t green-light Berkshire Hathaway’s recent purchase of 63 newspapers because they’re a sexy investment. His company bought those weekly and daily publications because he believes in the power of local news, and I must say, few newspapers do that better than the Lincoln Journal-Star. Most recent case in point: The Journal-Star’s introduction of The 100-Yard Club, a creative yet solid idea that launched this spring, will roll through the summer and will whet every Nebraska football fan’s appetite into fall camp.
“Nebraska has such great history, and there so many guys who made it all happen,” said Brian Christopherson, the talented Husker football beat writer who’s “married to a wonderful woman, owner of a mischievous dog” and is closing in on 5,400 Tweets with more than 3,600 followers. “We wanted to try something a little different on Husker Extra, and we thought we could find a meaningful touchdown for every yard on a 100-yard field.” Like every great idea anywhere, the Journal-Star quickly heard that dreaded voice in its collective head, the one that says “Not so fast my friends.” Unfortunately, there were three immediate holes in the Journal-Star’s research of its own voluminous files … no touchdowns for 97 yards, 96 yards or 91 yards. But why let a 3-percent shortage ruin a fabulous idea? Fortunately, Joe Hudson, one of Nebraska’s most exhaustive football researchers, came to the rescue. The former Lincoln Star reporter and now daily proprietor of HuskerMax.com, could verify a touchdown for all three distances. Ironically, all three happened between 1936 and 1938. I would tell you right now who scored those touchdowns, but two of them were Husker legends, and I prefer you take the time to explore the answers for yourself.
The N-Sider has the Journal-Star’s permission to get everyone who hasn’t been involved with this ongoing series into it now. We’ve teased the first three entries of the series to give you an idea of each player’s identity, but deliberately kept the next 17 vague enough so you can open up the link and feel like you’ve just received a neatly wrapped present from the Husker history vault. Use whatever time you can spare and catch up on the first 20 installments of this well executed campaign that’s designed to sustain your off-season interests and build a bridge to the 2012 season. One highlight that will be obvious to everyone is a 95-yard run that became a Heisman moment for Eric Crouch at Missouri. We come clean on that one because we need a picture to put this rocket on the launching pad, and everyone would expect that memorable touchdown to be part of this time capsule anyway. This series will be exciting from the longest yards to the shortest ones and everything in between. Christopherson told me the 50-yard human highlight reel will include a certain Husker who helped beat Iowa … in 1893, for crying out loud.
Christopherson and I agree on many of the best stories, but you’ll have to open the links to see how good you really are when it comes to Husker history. My personal favorite is the 88-yard touchdown because I saw that 1962 game in person, and even though it resulted in a 16-7 Husker loss, it was Nebraska’s first sellout game in an NCAA record streak of consecutive sellouts that continues to this day. The player who scored that touchdown married the daughter of the Nebraska head football coach who preceded Bob Devaney. No. 2 on my list is the 89-yard touchdown by a Husker All-American who paid a price for taunting Oklahoma en route to the end zone. I will never forget Monday’s post-practice after that one, watching Tony Davis walk every yard of the field while asking the perpetrator of that taunt if he thought it was worth having to vomit two days later. No. 3 on my list is the 82-yard touchdown scored on the game’s first play by one of my all-time favorite Huskers. No. 4 on my list is a 92-yard touchdown that was scored in Yankee Stadium, and I remember listening to Dick Perry’s call of that touchdown on the radio. I was in seventh grade, and it was Nebraska’s first bowl game win in school history, a 36-34 thriller over George Mira-led Miami. No. 5 has to be Crouch’s Heisman moment when he turned what looked like a safety into a 95-yard gallop to the opposite end zone, leaving a small platoon of Mizzou players grasping air instead of his fast-moving legs. Check the Journal-Star’s picture of that run above. There’s a laser-like focus in Crouch’s eyes as he surveys the field in front of him. But enough from me; please take your own sentimental journey, one touchdown at a time (and send your favorite personal memories to ryork@huskers.com):
(Send your favorite personal memories to ryork@huskers.com)
Billy Coby explained what teammates presented: Life Skills According to Billy.
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By Randy York
There were lots of laughs Friday when coworkers and friends said goodbye to Billy Coby, who was working his last day as a Life Skills assistant in Nebraska’s Athletic Department. On Monday, Coby will carry his unique Life Skills torch to a new job as program coordinator for the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, the nation’s largest multicultural center attached to a Student Union. Coby’s dry wit and timeless wisdom were in full force in his last day as an athletic department employee, but make no mistake. The once double Division I student-athlete (football/basketball) at Missouri State University brought a lot to Nebraska’s table. “Billy had a positive impact on our Life Skills program,” Nebraska Associate Athletic Director Keith Zimmer said. “He challenged our staff, and he challenged our student-athletes to think in a different way and to keep it real with both our programming and our relationships.”
Owner of a bachelor’s degree in Mass Media and two master’s degrees in Business Administration and Higher and Post-Secondary Education, Coby is now pursuing his PhD in Educational Administration at Nebraska. “Billy has accomplished a lot while he’s pursued his degrees,” Zimmer said. “He’s enhanced the resources and services we provide in Life Skills, particularly in graduate school preparation and mentoring.” During his Nebraska tenure, Coby coordinated the Life Skills Team Competition, Student-Athlete Career Fair, Graduate School Expo and HuskerConnect Mentoring Program. “Billy has been a good advisor for writing personal statements and finding money for scholarships,” Zimmer said. “He even helped prospective graduate students create a disciplined plan and complete schedules with practice tests to prepare them for their graduate entrance exams.”
Mentoring has been an equal point of emphasis. “Billy believes really strongly in mentoring and connecting with kids who don’t have the opportunities or the resources,” Zimmer said. “He’s been great in helping our student-athletes become role models so they can inspire young boys and girls who might be disadvantaged in thinking about getting a chance at higher education. If you have that chance, Billy believes you have the chance to succeed, and he’s gone to great lengths to grow our entire mentoring program. Basically, our mentoring program has tripled in size in his two years here, and he’s been the catalyst for that.”
A serious-minded Coby enjoys the light-hearted side of life, and his farewell reception reflected that with gag gifts, fond memories of competitions lost and won at staff retreats and an impromptu lecture that matched the surprise list of his favorite expressions. His teammates presented the list as “Life Skills According to Billy” and encouraged him to explain the first seven: 1) You can never say the wrong thing to the right person; 2) You can never say the right thing to the wrong person; 3) Avoid being someone’s source of frustration; 4) Microwaves are a man’s best friend; 5) Never commit to weekly yoga with a significant other; 6) Greatness is a gift, and I have it; and 7) When greatness knocks at your door, what do you do? You answer it.”
Well, true to form, when the Jackie Gaughan Center knocked, Billy Coby answered, giving the 30,000-square-foot multi-cultural facility a newly trained leader. “The Gaughan Center is responsible for serving all ethnic and minority students on campus,” Zimmer said. “We’ll continue to work with their staff and integrate programs where it makes sense. We’re always looking for better ways to communicate and collaborate with each other, so having Billy over there can be a real plus for us. We view the Gaughan Center as a spectacle on this campus, and we’d like to find ways for our student-athletes to help out and learn at the same time. This should be a neat opportunity for all of us.”
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Eric Stokes won four Nebraska letters at safety in 1993, ‘94, ‘95 and ‘96.
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By Randy York
In 1998, after an injury ended his two-year NFL career, Eric Stokes had a rare professional experience: Two job offers that came his way within hours of each other … one an opportunity to help his alma mater as a defensive graduate assistant at Nebraska and the other a chance to stay in Seattle and help scout players for the NFL team that drafted him in the fifth round. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard about both offers on the same day,” Stokes said Thursday afternoon. “My wife told me that day there was no way I was going to turn down the Nebraska job. She knew how much the program meant to me, and we both knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That’s where I was leaning at first, but I wanted to talk to some people and get some more feedback before making a decision.”
For Stokes, his wife and his three daughters (ages 11, 8 and 6), a one-day delay proved to be a smart move because on Wednesday, Eric Stokes – NFL player, scout and front-office executive with the Seattle Seahawks since he left Nebraska in 1997 – is now Eric Stokes, the new director of college scouting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “I’m glad I waited a day to make that decision in 1997,” he said, admitting it was one of those times when he went with his head instead of his heart. “I ended up talking to a lot of coaches that day and a lot of people in scouting. The more I listened, the more I learned and the more I understood how unique scouting really is.”
The difference between two promising career opportunities boiled down to one word – stability. “I think it proved true,” Stokes said. “Frank Solich had just finished his first year as head coach, and Craig Bohl (Nebraska’s former defensive coordinator) was the defensive coordinator who offered me the job. They both ended up leaving Nebraska, but I still remember how tough making that phone call to Coach Bohl was. A few years later, he told one of my bosses that he wanted me to be his secondary coach someday. That didn’t work out, but for me, scouting was a good way to go.”
Stokes will never forget intercepting a North Texas State pass in his first game as a redshirt freshman free safety in 1994. “It was a unique time on a special championship team,” he said, explaining how he shared time with Mike Minter and Tony Veland on back-to-back national championship teams before starting every game in ’96 when the Huskers beat Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. “I was a good player on great teams,” Stokes said. “Since I’ve left Lincoln, I’ve seen a lot of pro football and college football players, and I will still say this: I would put that 1995 team up against any team at any time.”
A Lincoln East graduate and NU scholarship recruit, Stokes did not go looking for his new job at Tampa Bay. Rather, it came looking for him – a fitting reward for someone who was an area scout, an assistant scout in the pro personnel department and the Seahawks’ assistant director of college scouting. “I spent 13 years in the Seahawks organization as a player and scout, and I was really settled in,” Stokes said. “Tampa Bay flew me out a week ago last Wednesday. I accepted the job offer last Friday, and we announced it yesterday. You never know what’s going to happen in scouting, but I always thought it was a job right up my alley. You get to talk football, talk shop, scout players and evaluate every aspect about them. It’s been a process. When I turned down the job at Nebraska, I was absolutely torn. But everything has lined up and worked out well. I have zero regret.” We assume he’s talking about his heart and his head. “That’s right,” he said, “and I’m extremely happy about that.”
He’s also happy that three Huskers will be in Tampa Bay’s training camp – safety Larry Asante, linebacker Lavonte David and offensive tackle Jermarcus “Yoshi” Hardrick. “I’m eager to meet ‘em and talk to ‘em,” Stokes said. “I’m sure we all have some good stories to share.”
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Keith Gardner was an Olympian, a role model and a Nebraska ambassador.
Nebraska Remembers Husker Great Keith Gardner
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By Randy York
One of the most successful student-athletes in Nebraska history died peacefully with his wife and three children at his side at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, New Jersey, last weekend. Keith Gardner was 82. Less than two weeks before his death, he had coronary artery bypass surgery, then suffered two strokes, which left him on a respirator, according to Julian Gardner, his cousin. “Keith was definitely a pioneer with a great reputation, and he surely left his legacy as a Cornhusker legend,” said Charlie Greene, Nebraska’s gold medal and bronze medal-winning Olympic sprinter. “Keith came to Nebraska before I did and competed in both the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He was the first Jamaican in what became an incredible pipeline recruited by Frank Sevigne. That’s what made him such a trailblazer. He came to Nebraska at a time when it was difficult for people of color. He came here for three reasons: 1) to get a college degree; 2) to compete at a high level in his favorite sport and 3) to mind his P’s and Q’s, so he could go back to his native country a very successful man. By all accounts, that’s what he did, and everyone who knew him knows the impact he had as an athlete, a role model and a mentor. His influence was strong, and it was widespread.”
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller was among those expressing her “deep sadness” at news of Gardner’s passing. In a national release, she described him as “one of Jamaica’s finest and most formidable track-and-field athletes.” She acknowledged the bronze medal Gardner won as part of the 4x400-meter relay team at the 1960 Olympics. She also hailed his contribution to Jamaica athletics, pointing to his “tremendous commitment and unquestionable loyalty to his country, his high level of discipline and his unwavering professionalism.” A former director of Jamaica’s Multicare Foundation, Gardner played an integral role in the personal development of many young lives in his native country. He gave up those responsibilities three years ago when he left Jamaica to attend to his wife, Fay Stiebel-Gardner, who was ill in the United States. She and their two daughters (Maxine and Christine) and son (Keith Jr.) were with Keith Sr. when he died.
Matt Martin, a member of Nebraska’s track-and-field coaching staff for 18 years, credits Gardner for creating the path for so many other Jamaican athletes who followed him to Nebraska. “He was a great athlete, but even more importantly, a wonderful man,” said Martin, Nebraska’s recruiting coordinator, assistant coach for sprints and relays and the staff’s primary international recruiter. “He was great for Nebraska – one of the best athletes and role models we’ve ever had,” Martin said. “So many people have told me how Keith set the stage for everyone else who followed him from Jamaica to Lincoln. Merlene Ottey is one of them, and she’s probably the most decorated female athlete who ever competed at Nebraska. We had some other Olympians from Jamaica that followed Keith here, too … Lynn Headley, Clifton Forbes, Lennox Burgher, Leighton Priestley, Garth Case, Horace Levy and Donald Quarrie.” Quarrie won the 200-meter Olympic gold in Montreal in 1976 and earned the silver in the 100 that same year.
Martin said Ray Harvey was another impressive Husker athlete from Jamaica and became Gardner’s longtime friend. Harvey described Gardner as a great asset to Jamaica track and field and a key component to its development. “Beyond being the successful athlete, his influence was immense,” Harvey said, pointing out how Gardner returned to Jamaica so he could be actively involved in the sport as a meet official. Jamaica’s Director of Sports at the University of West Indies-Mona, Gardner “was the first person who spoke to me about giving back, and he certainly gave back at all levels,” Harvey said. “Keith coached at the high school and the senior levels and mentored many youngsters. He was my idol. At the same time I was starting track and field, he was winning two gold medals (100 meters and 110-meter hurdles), a silver medal (200 meters) and a bronze (4x400 relay) in the Commonwealth Games in 1958. He was an unbelievable ambassador for Nebraska as well as for Jamaica. We have three kids from Jamaica on our track and field team right now – Chad Wright, Dexter McKenzie and Jodi-Ray Blackwood, and I have to think they’re here because of the trail Keith created. His impact stretched from our campus to the University of the West Indies in Kingston.”
“He was a legend in the sprints, the hurdles and the relays,” Greene said. “Frank Sevigne had a pipeline, and Keith Gardner was the first one in it. It couldn’t all have been Frank’s personality, and it couldn’t have been all that easy coming from a British colony in tropical heat to the land of snow. Keith’s success was that age-old power of perseverance, hard work and staying on task. Once he succeeded here, others followed him, and I don’t see that changing much in the future. Jamaicans seem to love it here.”
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The Eternal Flame symbolizes the sacrifices Nebraska veterans have made.
Nebraskans Killed in Action Since 2003
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By Randy York
Ninety years ago this fall, Nebraska’s faculty, students, alumni and friends of the University of Nebraska launched a drive to raise $430,000 to construct a football stadium. When that quota became oversubscribed, Lincoln’s most famous landmark was built and then named Memorial Stadium to honor all Nebraskans who served in the Civil and Spanish-American Wars, as well as the 751 Nebraskans who died in World War I. Memorial Stadium also honors the 3,839 Nebraskans who died in World War II, the 225 who died in the Korean War and the 422 who died in the Vietnam War. Memorial Stadium was completed in a matter of months and was officially dedicated on Oct. 20, 1923, when Nebraska and Kansas played to a scoreless tie.
Yesterday, of course, was Memorial Day, and for a lot of people, it was just another holiday – a day off of work and a chance to get together with friends or family members for a barbecue. I enjoyed the free day as much as anyone, but kept thinking about Nebraska’s fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and how they’re now part of those we will honor in this historic 2012 season when we celebrate 50 years of consecutive football sellouts at Memorial Stadium. The vast majority of us are pretty well removed from World War II when we knew people who served and died. We’re even removed from the Vietnam War when we had friends and classmates fighting for our country. Within minutes of wondering how many Nebraska men and women have sacrificed their lives since the invasion of Iraq almost a decade ago, I received an email from Jerry Wood, a fellow Alliance native who now lives in Valrico, Fla. A strong believer in states’ rights and citizens’ rights, Wood delivered the right email at the right time. I looked at the Nebraska soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan and could only imagine what their families were thinking as they remembered their loved ones on this special day. I could close my eyes and see my late mom selling poppies on Memorial Day for the VFW. She would tell those who were buying the poppies that we should never forget those who died serving our nation during war. My late dad was lucky. As a corporal in the Army, he did not get seriously hurt, even though he helped build bridges in World War II. On one occasion, he even pulled a Nazi flag off a French schoolhouse. That flag is full of signatures from soldiers he fought with. I attended seven WWII reunions with my dad, and that flag brought back fond memories, especially since so many soldiers’ names in their company had been lost over time. That alone helped me understand why my mom worried that our country would forget the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day and sadly, that has happened in many places.
Hopefully, Nebraska is a notable exception, and when you see our state’s contributors to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we hope we will always remember our fallen soldiers. Omaha has ties to 16 fallen Nebraska soldiers this past decade. Lincoln has nine, Bellevue four and Papillion and LaVista a combined three. Grand Island, Scottsbluff and Valentine have two ties each to fallen soldiers since 2003. According to my calculations, 44 recent fallen Nebraskans were in the Army, 11 in the Marines, 11 in the Nebraska National Guard and 10 in the Navy. Other Nebraska cities, towns and villages who are represented on this list compiled by Nebraska’s Department of Veteran Affairs are: Albion, Atkinson, Auburn, Beatrice, Cairo, Clarks, Cozad, Falls City, Fremont, Greenwood, Gretna, Harrisburg, Hastings, Hemingford, Hay Springs, Holstein, Kearney, McCook, Minden, Norfolk, North Platte, Ogallala, Plattsmouth, Plymouth, Ponca, Ralston, Shelton, Sidney, South Sioux City, Spalding, Sutton, Verdon, Wakefield, Wayne and York.
As an Alliance native, it’s touching to know that ground was broken four years ago on a Nebraska Veterans Cemetery, located three miles southeast of my hometown. The cemetery is now open from dawn to dusk seven days a week. It’s Nebraska’s first State Veterans Cemetery and was dedicated and presented to the public on Aug. 13, 2010. The first interment was Jan. 21, 2011. Seven years before I was born, the US Army selected more than 31,000 acres of land in that same basic area to build an airfield in Alliance. A few months later, four 9,000-foot runways were completed. The primary mission was to train airborne troops and equip them for battle. By the time I was born, most of the 775 buildings that housed nearly 12,500 military personnel in Alliance at the peak of the war in 1943 were gone. A whole squadron, carrier groups, glider and parachute infantry and a large team of airborne engineers were deployed to the European Theater. Many who trained in Alliance participated in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.
I’m proud of all men and women who have served our country, and I still marvel at how Memorial Stadium’s four corners echo Memorial Day’s real meaning. Former Nebraska professor of philosophy Hartley Burr Alexander wrote the words inscribed into the stadium’s hallowed walls. The Southeast corner says: “In Commemoration of the men of Nebraska who served and fell in the Nation’s Wars.” The Southwest corner says: “Not the victory but the action; Not the goal but the game; In the deed the glory.” The Northwest corner says:“Courage; Generosity; Fairness; Honor; In these are the true awards of manly sport.” The Northeast corner says:“Their lives they held their country’s trust; They kept its faith; They died its heroes.” Memorial Stadium means a lot of things, but I think the most important is being able to stop and read what those words say and then allow them to speak so they can really soak in. Yes, focusing on those cornerstones helps you understand the true meaning of Memorial Day because they remind all of us what brave men and women did. Someday, when you have the time to walk around the stadium, try to hit for the cycle. Feast on a professor’s wisdom about faith, glory, heroes and war. In the time it takes to read all four corners, you’ll find what I found – precious words can be etched into your mind every bit as permanently as they’ve been carved into the stadium’s walls.
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Voices from Husker Nation
As a veteran, I found your most recent article one of the best, if not the best, that I have read in a long time. Thank you for that. Very respectfully, Philip Wojtalewicz, Sr. Principal Analyst, Colonel, US Army Reserve, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas
I very much enjoyed your Tuesday piece. Characteristically, it had a great theme, and some insightful observations. It had particular resonance with me in light of the fact that my late father was a WWII machine-gunner in the 5th Marines, and my uncle a WWII rifleman in the Army’s 135th Infantry. Dad survived the war and died at the age of 86, in 2009. I was his partner in business for about 30 years, and he often discussed his service with me. (Indeed, he even wrote a book about his experience which was published by the UNL press – “The Long Road of War” by James W. Johnston.) My uncle was killed in action at Monte Cassino, Italy. Thanks for the blog, and thanks for all the good work in the Husker Athletic Department. Kind regards, James P. Johnston, Wauneta, Nebraska
What a great piece on Memorial Stadium and particularly the tribute to Nebraska Heroes as well as our Nation’s Heroes. As a native Nebraskan (Lincoln) now living in Alabama, I continue to be humbled by the Midwestern spirit and values that make me proud. As a season ticket holder to Nebraska football, I see those four corners and read the inscriptions each trip, and though I am not able to make each game, I am always there in spirit. Being a veteran myself, those “4 corners” truly have special meaning. In short, thanks for a great article. I enjoy what you bring to the table each day. Thanks and Go Big Red! Darin Geiger, Huntsville, Alabama
I don’t know what to say, how to put it in words, but your article on Memorial Stadium on Memorial Day was outstanding! I saw my first game there in 1966 with my Dad vs. TCU (still have the newspaper clipping of the game from the Sunday paper!) You have highlighted what Husker fans have seen and read inscribed on the stadium and have brought them to a much deserved light. Thanks for a great piece. PS - have moved 7 times since leaving Nebraska, always following Big Red. Mark Radachi, Scottsdale, Arizona
Enjoy all of your pieces, but this one was great. Your piece about the ‘60s, prior to all the TV coverage, was also great. I grew up in Scottsbluff and want to thank you for bringing Nebraska values/tradition to life. Clay Gibson, Bakersfield, California
Cancer patient Jack Hoffman holds Rex Burkhead’s Uplifting Athletes Award.
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By Randy York
If the speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack, it’s no small coincidence that Nebraska’s football team has: 1) won back-to-back Life Skills Awards at the past two NU Student-Athlete Banquets; 2) is carrying the highest overall grade-point average in Nebraska football history (3.1); and 3) is in the process of using Bo Pelini’s team leaders to begin their own foundation to support Uplifting Athletes, a national organization that recently named Husker captain Rex Burkhead its 2012 award winner for mentoring and encouraging 6-year-old Jack Hoffman, who is battling pediatric brain cancer. “Coach Bo has made life skills a team focus, and they’re reaching out and drawing players in for outreach efforts like we’ve never seen,” said Keith Zimmer, Nebraska’s associate athletic director for Life Skills. “Everyone knows the popularity of Nebraska football, so there are always requests out there to help others. But ultimately, football has to take the initiative to accept these requests. They’re the ones who have to follow through and deliver, and they have.”
Pelini’s passion begins with his own foundation that has distributed more than $400,000 to help find cures for breast cancer and juvenile diabetes in addition to supporting dozens of other charities, ranging from the Make A Wish Foundation and People’s City Mission to numerous Nebraska-based cancer foundations. Bo’s foundation also supports such critical causes as special needs children, food banks, Cystic Fibrosis and Big Brothers and Big Sisters, plus many others. “Our motto in Life Skills is ‘Live to Give’ and our support comes right from the top – from Coach Bo,” said Ryan Klachko, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield, Ill. “Giving absolutely applies to everything we do, off the field as well as on the field. Giving back to the community is a big part of Nebraska and says everything you need to say when you live here and play here.”
Klachko staunchly believes that the motto connects the game he plays to a much bigger game – the game of life. “When you live to give, it helps your whole mentality about everything you do,” he said. “Your whole mindset is based on how you see things, and when you experience everything we’ve experienced over this past year, it makes you really appreciate what others people have to go through.” When a dozen Huskers showed up at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo on Halloween to hand out candy and hang out with a young teenager fighting spinal cancer, “you realize how important it is just to show up and let people know how much you care,” Klachko said. “We just hung out with Ian and played tag football with him, his buddies and his brother. We looked around and saw about 50 percent of kids wearing costumes were dressed up as Husker football players. That’s when you realize you’re a role model, and you want to do everything you can to help.
“It’s definitely a fight trying to play football every day at Nebraska,” Klachko said, “but when you see what kids are fighting through every day, you realize there’s some really, really tough people out there and whenever you can make them feel just a little bit better about what they’re going through, it’s good. Look at Rex Burkhead and Jack, the little guy Rex is so gung ho about helping. That kid has become part of Rex’s life, and I think that’s awesome to see how much he cares about other people.” The mindset starts at the top and spreads through the ranks. “Coach Bo made sure our whole team got to meet Jack after one of our bowl game practices,” Klachko said.
As a father himself, Pelini invited Jack and his parents to watch practice, so the Huskers could reach out and touch someone with compassion and genuine caring. “We have a lot of caring players on this football team,” Zimmer said. “They’re volunteering all the time and with genuine motives. It’s not about getting extra points or enhancing resumes. They’re volunteering because it’s the right thing to do and it’s part of our tradition. I think it’s really cool what Coach Bo has done with his foundation. What he’s started has spread to his players.” The day before Nebraska’s Spring Game was cancelled, a sizable group of Husker players met with Zimmer and Scott Shirley, a former Penn State player who founded Uplifting Athletes.
“They want to start a players’ foundation to help raise money for a rare disease like Rex’s little buddy has,” Zimmer said. “That’s a real compliment to Bo and good modeling. They’ve seen what Coach Bo has done in terms of service with his foundation, and now they want to do something, too.” Burkhead and his teammates are all “N” because they live to give, just like their head coach.
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By Randy York
Anyone fortunate enough to hear Tom Osborne’s views on college football Friday on national satellite radio couldn’t help but pick up an underlying drift from the two announcers who were interviewing him – Charlotte-based Mark Packer and Dan Hawkins, the former head football coach at Boise State and Colorado. In interviewing Nebraska’s Hall-of-Fame coach, both made constant references to show their respect for Nebraska’s athletic director during a 15-minute College Sports Today segment on Sirius XM’s Channel 91. For fans who prefer highlight remarks, we offer a few off the top here, but encourage N-Sider readers to get the full context of the interview. Here are Osborne quotes from Friday’s interview:
On the state of the union in college football: “I think most everybody in college athletics would like to see some decisions made (in next four to six weeks) and some stability arise out of all this.”
On conference realignment: “I think some of this is maybe a little overblown.”
On conference-first considerations in a proposed four-team playoff format: “You probably have to make some allowance for some other folks besides major conference champions.”
On possibilities other than a four-team playoff: “There’s been renewed interest apparently in a plus-one formula (adding a championship game after all bowl games have been played) because as people begin to look at the four-team playoff, they’re coming to realize that it’s not as simple as everyone thought at one time.”
On the Bowl Championship Series and the likelihood of controversy: “In a way, the BCS has served its purpose, but there has always been controversy. I think people today are saying ‘You know, this four-team playoff will help resolve some of the conflict,’ but my feeling is that almost every team ranked in the top 10 or close to it will have some argument about how they should be one of those four teams, and you will not find that there will be less controversy.”
On primary concern about a playoff system: “You diminish the importance of the regular season, and right now the regular season is very popular. College football has never been more popular, and attendance has never been better.”
On ramifications of a playoff: “We’re a bit uneasy as to where this thing is going to head. There will be a clamor for an eight-team playoff and then a 16-team playoff and you have to worry about the student-athletes.”
In Friday’s interview, Osborne shared his thoughts about Nebraska splitting a 1997 national championship with fellow unbeaten Michigan and how the Huskers would have preferred to play unbeaten Penn State in 1994 instead of playing Miami in Miami. Osborne answered questions in his even-keeled yet meticulous style, prompting repeated references that showed respect for him as a man, a coach, a Congressman, an athletic director and a mentor to his players. Here’s a full transcription of that interview:
Mark Packer: It’s been an honor watching him. In all almost every facet of life, very successful … always handles himself with class, and it’s great having him on the show, Dr. Tom Osborne.
Dan Hawkins: I’m down on one knee, Coach. I’m genuflecting while I talk to you. That’s how much reverence I have for you.
Coach Osborne: Well that’s unusual, and I appreciate that. (amidst laughter, Packer tells Hawkins he can “get up off the floor now.”)
Packer: I don’t know where to start with you because it’s just crazy. In all the years that you have been involved in college athletics in some way, shape or form, have you ever seen it so bizarre? They’re changing the landscape almost every day and college athletics is about as wacked out as I’ve ever seen. Have you ever seen anything quite like it?
Osborne: I would say that at least the last 2 ½ years have been very volatile, and this year with the proposed four-team playoff and the possible jockeying within conferences makes for a very unstable situation. I think most everybody in college athletics would like to see some decisions made and some stability arise out of all of this.
Packer: So what do you think ends up happening here? We’ll probably get an answer here in the next two or three weeks.
Osborne: I think as far as conference realignment, I think some of this is maybe a little overblown. I hear about Clemson and Florida State talking about possibly going to the Big 12, and I would think that may not happen, but it’s still possible. Certainly the Big East is in a difficult position there, particularly with the announcement of the added bowl game between the SEC and the Big 12. The question is where their champion would go. There is some nervousness. I would think in the next couple of months we’ll have a better picture and a better idea of how it’s all going to shake out.
Hawkins: Coach, when it does shake out, will there still be that de-facto BCS and non-BCS layers in there between the upper crust and the middle crust – what’s your thinking there?
Osborne: I think some of that depends on how the four teams are selected. If you just go with the highest ranked four teams, you’d have to think Boise and schools like that are still in play. If on the other hand you interject conference champions into that mix and say at least the three highest ranked conference champions would be in there and then the possibility of a fourth team that’s the next highest ranked or an Independent, such as Notre Dame, you probably have to make some allowance for some other folks besides major conference champions. But nobody knows right now how that’s going to shake out. There’s been renewed interest apparently in a plus-one formula because as people begin to look at the four-team playoff they’re coming to realize that it’s not quite as simple as everyone thought at one time. You have the controversy of whether you have the home-field advantage for the Nos. 1 and 2 teams and the 3 and 4 go to those home venues or whether you play within the bowl system or you have neutral sites or how the revenue is going to be split. So all of those things I think have caused people to think a little bit about it and say: ‘Well, maybe we better stick with the old system and just go plus-one’, so who knows what’s going to happen? I think that within the next four to six weeks, we’ll have a clear idea of what’s going to happen.
Packer: Coach, you’re such a humongous figure within college football and college athletics. When you were in the heyday as a head coach – and I know you’re always worried about hey we have a great team and let’s go win championships and if it falls into place and you win a national championship. I use the example of what you did to Miami down in the Orange Bowl years ago and to this day, it left an impact on me that we’re here to win this game (referring to Nebraska’s 31-30 loss when a two-point conversion failed in the final minute), and you didn’t win a championship. But did you ever think that as a head coach at Nebraska that we would be in a situation we’re in now where we’d be talking about a playoff in college football?
Osborne: Well, I wasn’t sure. There’s always been that conversation. I know in 1997, we were in a difficult situation. We were undefeated, and Michigan was undefeated, and we very badly wanted to play Michigan and we were pretty much a free agent and able to move at that time, but Michigan had contractual obligations with the Rose Bowl. So as the champion in the Big Ten they had to go to the Rose Bowl and they couldn’t’ play us. We weren’t allowed to go to the Rose Bowl at that time. I think those kinds of scenarios led to the BCS and the desire to get 1 and 2 together. And for the most part, over the years, when you look at it, the 1 and 2 teams have played for a national championship. You avoided that dilemma where you had undefeated teams, and, of course, in 1994, the same thing happened. Penn State was undefeated, and we were undefeated. We beat Miami in Miami. Penn State beat Washington State, and we were voted the national championship. But again, we would have much rather played Penn State, and that would have been much more definitive. So, in a way, the BCS has served its purpose, but there has always been controversy. I think people today are saying ‘you know, this four-team playoff will help resolve some of the conflict,’ but my feeling is that almost every team ranked in the top 10 or close to it will have some argument about how they should be one of those four teams, and you will not find that there will be less controversy. The concern that many of us have is as you move toward a playoff system that you diminish the importance of the regular season. Right now, the regular season is very popular. You know college football has never been more popular. Attendance has never been better, and as you know from looking at the NFL, sometimes if you have a playoff, you can lose five or six games and still get into the playoff, and some of those games late in the season with a team that’s already clinched home-field advantage, they don’t even play their best players to try to win the game. So we’re a little bit uneasy as to where this thing is going to head. There will be a clamor for an eight-team playoff and then a 16-team playoff, and you have to worry about the student-athletes. How many games are they going to have to play and still go to school. So there are a lot of things in the mix and no one has a clear answer right now.
Hawkins: Coach, just transitioning a little bit. Obviously you’ve won a bazillion games, but like Pack said, you did it in the right way, and you’re such a classy guy. Can you just talk about the role that you played and wanted to play as a mentor and a father figure and how important that is in a coaching realm?
Osborne: Well, I just spoke at a (high school) coaching convention down in (Dallas) Texas yesterday, and I think the theme of the conference was appropriate. Essentially, as we’ve seen, there’s more and more dysfunction in our culture. More and more kids are growing up without fathers, and as a result, I think the coach can play a fairly unique role. I think it’s around 40 or 45 percent of our young people are growing up without both biological parents. We have over 25 million fatherless kids in our country, and I guess I saw that evolving over my 35 years in coaching. So obviously, sometimes people say athletics builds character, and in the right circumstances it does. But it can also be very destructive if a coach is a poor role model or if the coach de-humanizes or mistreats his players or uses players to accomplish his or her own goals instead of being concerned about players’ welfare. It does really play out in some very destructive scenarios. So the coach really has a critical role in our society and I think it’s become ever-more important. Some coaches pull it off well and some probably not so well.
Packer: Coach, one more question. What was the biggest thing you learned about your athletic department playing in the Big Ten for the first year? What was something that maybe surprised you or something that you didn’t expect in the Big Ten, just out of curiosity?
Osborne: Well, I’d say from a pure athletic point of view, we found that the level of coaching was very good, particularly in basketball. It was kind of different. The Big 12 maybe had more high draft choices in the NBA, but in the Big Ten, teams were very hard to beat because they were so well coached. They were generally older teams where a lot of kids had redshirted … a lot of seniors, high skills, great shooters, great defense … some very good athletes but maybe not as many of them. As far as football goes, (the Big Ten has) a little different style … fewer teams that spread you out with wide receivers and cause you to play nickel and dime maybe three quarters of a game … probably had more big strong linemen, particularly on defense … maybe a few bigger backs, so it was an adjustment time and yet very interesting, and we’ve been treated well in the Big Ten. We enjoy the culture, and we enjoy the leadership of Jim Delany. We appreciate the Big Ten Network, so we feel it’s been a good move, but there has been a learning curve.
Packer: Let me say this, and I mean it with all sincerity. We get a chance to talk with a number of great folks, and you are one of them … class personified from day one and continued success in Lincoln.
Osborne: Thank you and thank you guys for calling.
Hawkins: (after Osborne was no longer connected): I’m a better man for having talked to him.
Packer: I just think he is good folk. I don’t care if you don’t like Nebraska. That’s all fine and good as far as I’m concerned. But that guy right there has always had it in perspective from the get-go, whether it’s winning a championship or whether he’s getting his hat handed to him – which didn’t happen very often – but he’s always even-keeled, even in that interview. He’s not too high, not too low. Let’s figure this thing out. There’s a solution. We’ll get to it. Let’s figure out what’s in the best interests of everybody. I just like his approach and always have. And an incredible coach, a good administrator, a Congressman. He’s one successful guy, and it’s not a coincidence. He knows what he’s doing.
Hawkins: I wanted to ask him what is wackier right now, college football or politics?
Packer: I wanted to do that, too, but, you know what? I wanted to keep him on sports. We’ll have to bring him back and ask him sometime: What’s easier? Figure this thing out and who’s going to be the four teams or balance the budget? That’ll be a whole different show with Dr. Tom. Hopefully, we’ll get him back sometime and have some fun with him. I got nothing but respect for that guy. I think he’s as good as it gets. I want him on MY side.
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Roy Helu Jr. will marry Dani Mancusco Saturday afternoon in Omaha.
Ex-Huskers Found Love after a Leap of Faith
For Helu, Football is About Perspective, Humility
Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider
By Randy York
At 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon in Omaha, the owner of Nebraska’s single-game rushing record will marry another star Husker athlete, so I guess you could say that Washington Redskins’ running back Roy Helu Jr. sees life, love and the pursuit of happiness a little differently than most 23-year-old grooms. First and foremost, he’s marrying former Nebraska volleyball star Dani Mancuso, who’s four years older than he is and shares his strong spiritual commitment. That’s probably why the couple found love after taking a leap of faith. Helu is one of those rare athletes who would leave his ego at the door every time he stepped inside Nebraska’s West Stadium, and that explains my second point in this Californian’s faith-based walk that ended up with him taking a knee and asking a Nebraska girl to marry him. Both the groom-to-be and bride-to-be see Jesus as the central focus in their lives, and Helu credits his two-year daily competition with Rex Burkhead as a major building block in the foundation of his faith.
“Rex is a talent,” Helu told me recently. “While I was here, he physically and athletically was great to compete against because he brought everything he had to every practice and every game. I mean, his drive is incredible. I think Rex is one of the most Jesus-like people I know. The reason I say that is because of the way he lives. The biggest thing I notice is that he goes about his business on the field the same way he goes about it off the field. He’s very disciplined, even in the type of effort he exerts in everything. He’s chiseled. He’s solid. I think his strength is incredible. I know I learned a lot from Rex in the two years we competed together. I followed the relationship he developed with that little Jack (a 6-year-old with brain cancer). That was very touching. I know Rex is younger than I am, but he was a role model in a lot of ways … with his quietness and his calmness, and the way he would compete to the best of his ability every day. No matter what, he was always working as hard as he could. He didn’t say much because he didn’t have to. He just did it, and we all learned just watching him.”
Helu thinks Burkhead is the perfect poster child for Bo Pelini’s mantra to work hard and compete every day. With Rex as a role model and his chief competition for the starting job, Helu’s focus and commitment to a highly demanding system increased. “I sincerely believed that every week we had a chance to win a Big 12 championship because of the process and the way we embraced it,” Helu said. “We stayed focused on the process and competed every day. That’s what college football is all about … being a man and that’s what I took on to the next level. I totally believe in what Coach Bo is doing here and what his staff is installing here. That’s why I still come back here to work out and train. I knew I was physically ready for the NFL because of all the training here before I ever left.” Day by day, Helu kept getting better and better and before he knew it, his college career was over, and he landed in Washington D.C. with more than a $2.5 million, four-year contract. Suddenly, even though he committed fully to the Redskins’ physically demanding on-and off-season training programs, Helu had more free time than he ever had, and he didn’t want to squander it.
So guess what a rookie running back in his first year in Washington D.C. focuses on to inspire his mind and feed his brain besides his daily devotions? Roy Helu Jr., didn’t watch his alma mater play a game on television last year, but he watched plenty of movies – almost all by himself – and became a critic for a small group of friends. “You can ask my friends. I almost never watched a movie growing up in California. They didn’t interest me,” Helu said. “For some reason, I just started watching some movies at home to relax my mind and take it off football. I kind of got lost in another world. It was fun and entertaining. Good movies will get you emotionally involved, but you have to be careful about separating the movie with reality.” Sometimes, Helu became so immersed in what he was watching, “I had to keep telling myself: ‘Hey, this is a movie!’” Helu can’t remember movies he’s watched with his teammates at Nebraska. He wasn’t fully engaged. But when he no longer had classes or homework to occupy nearly all of his free time, Helu went from not interested to all in. “Some of my friends would say I’m overly critical about the movies I watch,” he said. “Others will say they respect my opinion because after they hear what I say and see the movie themselves, they agree with me. Let’s just say I’m not afraid to criticize.”
Helu keeps his ratings simple and offers up three basic levels of quick analysis. If it’s okay, he calls it a Redbox movie (a.k.a. cheap rental). If it’s a notch higher, he tells his friends it’s a matinee movie. Then if he really connects with a movie, he tells his friends to take the time and go to the theater and see it at night with someone else. Having seen enough Helu headlines and Helu highlights on TV, I decide to challenge this rookie running back turned movie critic. “What’s the first movie you told friends to see at night with someone else?” I ask Helu. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” he said, “even though I will never watch it again myself.” When I ask why, he said: “Because there are just no redeeming characteristics from the movie. It’s very dark, but the storyline was good, and the acting was amazing.” I ask Helu to recommend two more movies he’s seen over the past year. “Lincoln Lawyer and Moneyball,” he said. “Everybody liked those two.” Now that I’m convinced he has a little bit of Roger Ebert in him, I ask him if he has any more suggestions. “Yes,” he said. “Don’t ever go to the theater on Friday or Saturday. It’s always better to go during the week when not many people are there. With my job as a pro football player, I could go at 5 every day if I want, and I went to a lot of movies and saw almost every one by myself. I really enjoyed doing that.”
With his impending nuptials, Helu now will have another movie critic as a sidekick, and he welcomes the opportunity with, well, open arms. His constant companion is a young woman he’d never seen until two years ago in Nebraska’s athletic training room when Dani, a three-time Academic All-Big 12 outside hitter on teams that went 124-10, was getting treatment for a shoulder injury. Dani is a sister of Gina Mancuso, the first-team All-America outside hitter on Nebraska’s current roster. Dani started on Nebraska’s 2006 national championship team and played on another Husker team that reached the NCAA finals. The Helu-Mancuso romance is bound together through the faith, hope and love they share as devout Christians. Helu said his goal is “to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to live that out every day by loving my neighbor. That’s part of my livelihood and part of my life. I learned a lot at Nebraska. I had good coaches, good teammates, good role models, good teachers and good people supporting me. In every way you can look at it, Nebraska has been an unbelievable blessing.”
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Russ Hochstein (pronounced Hoke-stine) begins NFL season No. 4 at Denver.
Russ Hochstein on YouTube: Hartington’s Favorite Son
Hochstein as a Nebraska Cornhusker
Hochstein’s First 11 Years in the NFL
Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider
By Randy York
Leave it to an offensive lineman to come up with the ultimate gift that will just keep on giving every time his junior high school or high school needs to go somewhere. Yes indeed, former Husker All-American Russ Hochstein is as pragmatic as he is creative, so Hartington (Neb.) Cedar Catholic Junior-Senior High School students and athletes have been riding in style this spring to track and field meets, a district music contest and a trip to Omaha’s world-famous Henry Doorly Zoo. Too bad there’s not enough trumpets and trombones to salute the man who donated the bus and handed the keys to Cedar Catholic Principal Terry Kathol, who considers the 55-foot, 59-passenger bus the perfect gift from a loyal, hard-working Nebraska graduate and Hartington native … Russ Hochstein, beginning NFL season No. 12 with the Denver Broncos.
How can anyone forget Hochstein, who started the final 29 games of his Husker career before going on to play in three Super Bowls for the New England Patriots? Hochstein set Nebraska’s school record with 23 pancake blocks in the Huskers’ 27-24 overtime win over Notre Dame in 2000 at South Bend, Ind. Let the record show, however, that he wasn’t the only person irritating the Irish that day. That game will be forever etched in the minds of both teams because it was the first and only time in Notre Dame’s storied history when the visiting fans almost outnumbered the home fans. A consensus first-team All-Big 12 player that year, as well as a team captain and first-team Sporting News All-American, Hochstein spent his first NFL year in Tampa Bay, the next seven years in New England and begins his fourth year in Denver.
The Yankton (S.D.) Press & Dakotan published a story explaining why Hochstein, No. 71 in your program but No. 1 in your heart, bought a bus to benefit his hometown. “Since the school launched him on the road to success, he wanted Cedar Catholic students and their Trojan teams to hit the road in style and comfort,” the story said. Makes perfect sense to me, especially from Hochstein, who lays low and does everything humanly possible to stay out of the limelight in any situation, including Super Bowls. I’m guessing here, but I think the bus would meet his criteria as a sound investment and a mixture of bells and whistles and common sense. The bus has been in service almost as many years as Hochstein has played in the NFL, so he must figure the wheels on the bus keep going round and round, just like he does. We should point out there’s some measure of extravagance. The 2001 model has a rest room and five movie screens besides heating and air-conditioning.
His principal says Hochstein and his family always have been very good about supporting the school, and he sees that support as an extension of his Catholic faith and staying true to one of the strongest influences in his life. “He’s a person of very good character, and a lot of people look up to him,” Kathol said. “He’s always worked hard and he’s stuck to that work ethic and enjoyed a long football career. We’ve always had the Nebraska fans. Then you’d see a lot of New England fans, especially at the elementary schools. Then they became Denver fans.” Now, they’re simply Russ Hochstein fans because the veteran pro is enabling them to travel like first-class passengers – something he never got to do when he was their age. Somehow, I think I know what he’d appreciate most in return – for everyone who sits down in that bus to work as hard as he did when they get off that bus.
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By Randy York
The North Stadium lobby and hallways outside Nebraska’s football locker room Wednesday morning were overflowing with 120 kindergarteners from Lincoln’s Kooser Elementary, a school ready to celebrate its third birthday this summer. Named in honor of U.S. Poet Laureate and Nebraska’s Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ted Kooser, the school was making its third straight visit to the Osborne Athletic Complex. That means everyone went home today with a better understanding of what it takes to be a Nebraska football player and a sizable number of young visitors left with a keener sense of their daily dream intact. “Oh my gosh, these kids are in awe,” said Melissa Christensen, one of five Kooser kindergarten teachers pairing up with five Nebraska tour guides leading each class on separate but adjacent tours inside the complex. “Even the kids who have been to a Nebraska game are completely shocked when they get inside this building and see everything in it.” If the 40-foot waterfall doesn’t get their attention in the North lobby, Bo Pelini’s booming voice does when he introduces the popular “This Is Nebraska” GameDay video that triggers the emotions and starts the journey. Once kids get outside, their favorite thing to do is run up and down the same field Johnny Rodgers did and Rex Burkhead still does. The first thing they notice is how different a stadium feels when fans aren’t squeezed into all available seats. That sight helps kids see football in a completely different light. “The minute they leave here,” Christensen said, “they’re telling each other on the way back why they’re going to play here someday.”
No wonder Nebraska offers a football version to its annual rite of spring to accommodate school buses carrying passengers from across the state to a parking lot that welcomes them with a Tom Osborne/Brook Berringer statue. Full busloads of school kids account for most of the 12,800 visitors who have toured Memorial Stadium in the last three months. That’s 2,300 more visitors from the same three months a year ago, according to Karen Cook, who organizes Memorial Stadium’s tours. Cook agrees with Christensen that running on the field is the No. 1 experience for boys and girls alike whenever they take the same Tunnel Walk route leading past the locker room, underneath the North Stadium stands and into the blue sky and bright sun shining down on a stadium getting yet another makeover. Once that’s complete late next summer, the East Stadium will become the most iconic view of Nebraska’s campus.
Just like a tour of Lincoln’s State Capitol Building, “This really is an educational experience, even for 5 & 6-year-olds,” Christensen said. “They’re amazed when they think they see a swimming pool inside the training room and then realize that’s where athletes go to heal their bodies or exercise their injuries. We always get a lot of questions about the hot tub, and everything it takes to keep an athlete healthy.” Christensen said the tour demystifies the perception of helmet-wearing players blocking and tackling each other on TV. Instead of seeing them as action heroes, they become real people. “This helps a kindergartener realize that football players are people just like everyone else,” she said. “They just need to practice playing football like we need to practice reading and writing. Seeing all of this helps them to understand the whole game day experience a little differently. They realize that football players are also students who become doctors, lawyers, teachers, parents and everything else.”
Kindergarteners weren’t the only ones getting wowed in the hallways Wednesday. I spotted two equally fascinated young ladies checking out the training room, the weight room and the glass-encased painted portraits alongside the hardware won by Nebraska’s major award winners. These two young women were negotiating their way through the hallway traffic so they, too, could slap a horseshoe hanging over the exit door and walk the red carpet into the stadium. Jessie Pflug and Dominique Edwards seemed so excited I had to ask them why. “We’ve never been down here by the weight room and locker room,” Pflug said. “It looks so much different in person than on TV,” Edwards said. “Seeing it makes you want the season to start.” I finally got to the root of their eagerness. Pflug (Omaha Westside) and Edwards (Omaha Central) are just graduating from high school, but both made Nebraska’s Spirit Squad, proving that cheerleaders can be just as excited about an inside tour as a school full of kindergarteners. “I can just see both of them in that situation,” said Erynn Nicholson, the head coach of the Nebraska Spirit Squad. “This whole experience is exciting for them. They’re like kids in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for the first time.”
Noting how many kindergarten parents were taking the tour along with their children, I couldn’t resist asking how many moms and dads showed up Wednesday. The collective answer was as funny as it was true: “Too Many”. Knowing you’d do what they were doing, you can’t help but laugh. Why not take a half-day of vacation to capitalize on such a golden opportunity? As tour organizer, Cook compiles a list of all the villages, towns and cities bringing in groups to see why Memorial Stadium is such a state treasure. Her list since last March includes 91 communities, and they include: Adams, Alma, Amherst, Anselmo, Ansley, Arapahoe, Arlington, Axtell, Bartley, Battle Creek, Beatrice, Bellevue, Bennington, Bertrand, Broken Bow, Cairo, Cedar Rapids, Ceresco, Columbus, Concord, Conestoga, Creighton, Crestridge, Dakota City, Dorchester, Elkhorn, Elwood, Emerson, Fairbury, Falls City, Florence, Franklin, Fremont, Fullerton, Genoa, Giltner, Gothenburg, Grand Island, Grant, Greeley, Hastings, Henderson, Hubbard, Juniata, Lakeview, Laurel, LaVista, Lexington, Lincoln, Louisville, Malcolm, McCool Junction, Milford, Minatare, Nebraska City, Norfolk, North Bend, Omaha, O’Neill, Papillion, Pawnee City, Paxton, Pleasanton, Ponca, Raymond, Red Cloud, Schuyler, Scribner, Shelby, Silverlake (Iowa), Snyder, Springfield, St. Bernard, St. Edward, St. Paul, Stanton, Superior, Sutton, Syracuse, Underwood (Iowa), Valley, Wahoo, Walnut Creek, Wayne, West Point, Western, Wood River and York. If you can’t find your favorite town on this list and have a group that wants to see what it’s been missing, please feel free to contact Karen Cook at kcook@huskers.com or call her at 402-472-3333. Kids no doubt will consider such a gesture heroic.
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