The trials and tribulations of a Nebraska basketball fan
Is there a support group? Cause there should be. It is hard to be a fan. In fact, its the hardest sports franchise I have ever cheered for. As an alum of Elkhorn High School we were always good at football, my 4 years at UNL were great football years and also saw the birth of the baseball team. I am a fan of Minnesota sports franchises and the Twins are perennial winners now and produced 2 World Series winners in my life time, the Vikings have seen some great talent come through and though they have not won any championships, have played some great football but is 2nd to the most heart wrenching sports team I follow to Nebraska men’s basketball.
I have told many people before but I am a bigger day to day fan of Nebraska basketball than I am a Nebraska football fan. That’s right. I hear kids my age talk about how they used to play football on Saturday’s and listen to the football game on the radio, or how their dad’s took them to a Nebraska football game when they were 8 years old and they were hooked for life. Well, I didn’t play football and listen to the Nebraska football games and I didn’t go to a Nebraska football game until I was 17 years old. What I do remember is listening to Kent Pavelka call Nebraska basketball games. What I do remember is names like Jaron Boone, Erick Strickland, Eric Piatkowski, Tyronn Lue, Cookie Belcher, Rich King, Venson Hamilton, Larry Florence, and Clifford Scales dominating my youth. I remember the Big 8 title in 1994. I remember the NIT title in 1996. I remember crying at the closing moments of the 1994 1st round loss to University of Penn pleading with the team to pull it out.
I’m a big fan. It comes from my mom who moved here from Minnesota and at least in that part of Big 10 country, basketball is the preferred sport. Its been with me for a long time. That’s why I tell people this one thing that seems to put me in the minority around here, I’m a bigger day to day basketball fan than I am a football fan. If Nebraska football were to lose to OU by 7 points, by Sunday...I’m over it. But now two days after Nebraska let one slip by an average (average by their standards) Kansas team, I’m still mad. I’m still mad that at 2-4 in the conference, we could easily be undefeated.
I get upset with people who call themselves Nebraska fans but could give a rats hoot about the basketball team. I hate fans who have no allegiance to Creighton basketball and who have jumped ship to their team because they’re the better of the two programs (although this year NU is undoubtedly the better of the two). I hate fans that leave at the end of a game that is still in doubt and at overtime just so they can beat traffic. I hate the nickname “The Lincoln Library.” Do you know how hard it is to generate excitement in the Bob Devaney Sports Center? Its so hard for people to get on their feet to generate any noise for Nebraska basketball. And then I was promptly yelled at halftime “down in front” because the people behind me couldn’t see the halftime show.
I just want you to all know that when the bandwagon starts for the Nebraska basketball team when the eventually do start going to the dance on a consistent basis and *GASP* maybe win a game, that I was on it from the beginning.
My name is D.M.B. and I’m proudly a Nebraska basketball fan.
The Comments
Boomer says Great post! I would January 30, 2009 at 8:03pm
Great post! I would consider myself to be equally partial to the basketball team as I am to the football team. I get excited when the bball games are on TV. My wife thinks I’m nuts for being so excited about the basketball games.
Personally I think Doc has the team on the right track. I really think in a couple of years we could be very good.
biancalana says All you need to do February 4, 2009 at 9:43am
All you need to do is look around the Devaney Center when attending a game to see how relatively old a demographic it is--just don’t see very many couples with young children--when you combine that with 9 straight losing seasons in conference play, you end up getting something substantially less than a meaningful home court advantage.
Of course moving the student body off the floor didn’t help either....I do think Sadler will eventually have some NCAA tourney teams, though it may take a little longer than initially expected…