The Red State

Imagine a city of almost one million people. Then, imagine that this town has no NFL, no NBA, no NHL, and no MLB team (sorry, soccer fans, MLS doesn't count). Furthermore, the entire state has but one Division 1-A school. When you are the only game in town, it's not surprising that your fan base is passionate and dedicated. But when you are talking about the University of Nebraska, the fans of "Big Red" take it to a whole new level.

Omaha and its environs account for almost one million residents. This represents the bulk of Nebraska's population. Nearby Lincoln, the state capitol and state's second largest city, is home to the University. On game days, Memorial Stadium itself becomes Nebraska's third largest city. By the way, I could only think of one other state with no major league pro teams and only one division 1-A (aka "Bowl Divison") team: Hawaii. Let me know if think of any more (Arkansas? Iffy- Arkansas State is technically bowl division).

USC's visit to Lincoln marked the first time a number 1 ranked team visited Nebraska since 1978 (the last number 1 team to play in Lincoln was Nebraska itself in 2000). This, combined with Nebraska's recent return to footbal competitiveness, made this game one of the most anticipated in almost 30 years. No pressure, Trojans.

I was not about to miss this "opportunity of a lifetime", so I packed the car full of diet Dr Pepper's and my laptop and headed out to Omaha, about 4 hours from home in Iowa City. I met up with step-brother Steve (GoBlue) there, and we traveled the last 40 miles to Lincoln. Founded in 1854 as Lancaster, the town was re-named in honor of the Civil War president when the state entered the union in 1867. At first glance, it looks like any typical prairie-state railroad hub: trainyards, broad streets in a simple grid, and 1920's era brick architecture lining the heart of downtown. Growing like a modernist tumor out the tradititional downtown, the campus of UN-L (University of Nebraska at Lincoln) sprawls northward and is dotted with both modern concrete and the expected neo-classical edifices.

One of the 57 rules of college football is to take at least one road trip without hotel reservations. In this case, that rule actually helped us. Downtown has been sold out for at least 6 months, but we thought we would try a last-minute glance at Priceline.com. Sure enough, a late cancelation or sudden release of blocked rooms allowed us in at the Holiday Inn, only 3 blocks from the stadium. Following a recommendation from Kellen Huston (University of Iowa College of Medicine class of 2009 and former Nebraska Blackshirt), we stumbled over to Lazlo's Brewery, located in the heart of the Haymarket district.

I am not sure why, but it seems like every town has its former seedy wharehouse district that has been transformed into trendy shops and coffee houses. Lincoln is no exception. Better yet, our hotel rested on edge of the Haymarket district, within easy crawling distance of the many bars. Priceline, I love you. Lazlo's food was tasty but not quite delicious. Since we were in the land of the great cattle ranches, we felt compelled to order steaks. In Pulp Fiction (My and Steve's favorite movie), the Jack Rabbit Slim's waiter asks Vincent Vega, "How do you like your steak: bloody as hell or burnt to a crisp?" The friendly servers at Lazlo's allowed us to choose from a slightly wider range of meat temperatures, but I was left out of one little local habit: Lincoln locals prefer their cow still bleeding. If you want your steak medium, you'd better tell them to burn it. If you prefer it a little pink, don't ask for the convential "medium rare". Linolnites only hear the second word in that phrase. Seriously, this is not just an error on the part of Lazlo's kitchen: the trend was confirmed after a converstaion with the waiting staff at another brewery the next day!

We awoke Saturday morning to an impressive sight: a sea of red draped behind ESPN Game Day crew. Other locales call for Game Day to broadcast from the Quad or a park or main street. Only Nebraska requires the capacity of Memorial Stadium for a 9:00 am preview show! They set up their stage on the field and filled the west grandstands with tens of thousands of red-clad Husker crazies. Lee Corso rightly called them the "Greatest Fans in All of College Football", right before he stabbed them in the back and picked USC over Nebraska!

Walking through the campus on Saturday afternoon, we were amazed by the Husker's sense of hospitality. Everywhere we went, we were greeted by "thanks for coming" and "good luck tonight" and "welcome to Nebraska" and "please have another beer." People were so nice it was actually creepy!

Fans of the Big Red do tailgating right. Starting early in day, the surface lots fill with Big Red cars and trucks, many with flat screen TV's set up on the tailgate. Some fans set up buffet tables and others fired up amplifers for some live music. Whereas many stadiums boast prolific tailgaiting traditions, I was particularly impressed by the high quality of each tailgate party I attended. Other schools have greater numbers (Penn State), greater debauchery (Iowa and Michigan), or greater sophistcation (USC and Washington), but the detail and quality on a tailgate by tailgate basis in Lincoln is unparalelled.

The most impressive tailgate set-up by far belonged to our friend and Nebraska football alumnus Kellen. He and his friends "circled the wagons" and drew 5 RV's into a square, filling the center with tables, chairs, and four big-screen TV's. One of the RV's was the single most outrageous piece of college football paraphenalia I have ever seen. It was a Big-Rig 18 wheeler cab welded onto a luxury RV base. Decked out with 7 TV's, custom hardwood floors, signed Nebraska memorbilia, and a margarita machine working overtime, the owner had no shortage of admirers. The neon "Nebraska Football" sign in the window is the icing on the cake.

Finally, it came time to stop talking about it and get to playing the game. We filed into the 84,000 seat stadium in time to enjoy the Star Spangled banner, a jet flyover, and a video tribute to the vaunted Blackshirt defense. By this time, the Red Sea was had been whipped into such a frenzy that I couldn't hear the person sitting next to me. I had heard that Nebraska can be a touch place to play. They are not kidding. Any rumors you heard about this being the loudest stadium in the country are probably true (with all due respect to Oregon and LSU). Fortunately, USC managed to keep the game plan simple and the offensive line made short work of the Blackshirts, literally running away with a 49 - 31 win (49 - 17 before the starters were pulled).

We excused ourselves from the packed stands, politely declined the many offers of a post-game party (how nice are these people? After we stomped them 49 - 31 they are inviting the Trojan fans out for a few drinks downtown!), and thanked the locals for their over-the-top hospitality.

It was my first visit to Lincoln and I will make sure it is not my last.

Fight On,

Hans