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My 2 Cents
10/1/07

Commentary by David Max

Based upon the feedback that I received from my commentary of 9/24/07 I would say that the Husker Nation fan base is still intact and alive and well. Here are a couple of excerpts:

You can take the Husker out of Nebraska, but you can't take the Husker out of the Nebraskan.

Constructive criticism is helpful, destructive criticism is not.

This is the email that I received from the lady that has sit in front of us since 1964. She is in her 80s but can wave a Black Shirt towel with the best of them. It is a real pleasure to see her get excited when the Huskers do well. It hasn't changed in 43 years.
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Hi David,
I just finished reading your commentary and it brought tears to my eyes. My daughters and I feel the same way. I remember so clearly your dad and my husband visiting before each game. They both loved the game so much. I remember when Mel said to me I think we will put in for tickets in the South Stadium. We had been going to the games but sat in different seats each time. JoLene, who sat with me at the USC game, and I heard the fan that sat behind you at the game.We both agree that that kind of fan reaction is uncalled for.

Section 17 can be the loudest and proudest supporters of our Huskers on Saturday and lead the stadium with our cheers of GO BIG RED and HUSKER POWER throughout the game.

We won't be able to make it to your tailgate, but JoLene and I would each like to have a Black towel to wave, and we would glady give a donation.

See you Saturday and GO BIG RED
Arleen Heibel
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No one is naive enough to believe we are going to go 60-3 over the next five years based upon our performance the last five but it doesn't mean it can't happen. The games haven't been played yet. It was a real pleasure to go to the Iowa State game and observe the intensity of the players and the coaching staff as well as the fans. I have never been to a game at Texas A&M but I understand they stand for the entire four quarters. Last Saturday, I felt like I was at an A&M game as the folks in Section 17 didn't sit much the entire game and my voice was pretty hoarse at the end. There were two Iowa State fans directly behind me and they were great sports. We agreed that the officials needed a remedial course.

I took 100 of the Blackshirt towels to the Husker Nation Booster Club tailgate and they didn't last long. We raised $176 for the Thunder Bear Foundation which is a non-profit based in Ogallala that works with handicapped hunters and fishermen. I took an extra 30 towels with me to our regular seats in the south end zone and passed them out in rows 35, 36, and 37. If you would like to make a donation to Thunder Bear you can do so here. Maybe the Black Shirt towel will take off and we can mirror the terrible towels of the Steelers. It would be nice if each Section would designate a Nebraska based non-profit organization to support and corporations can purchase the towels for each section and accept donations for each Section's designated non-profit. Corporations can write it off as advertising and the non-profits can benefit. Just an idea. It worked for our little area of Section 17. I think it would be a sight to behold when Kansas State comes to town.

The activity on the bulletin board hasn't changed a lot since the Iowa State game. The "Debbie Downers" are writing it off saying it was just Iowa State IN Lincoln. I choose to look at the positives from the Iowa State game. The reality is the defense kept us in the game in the first half when we gave up three quick turnovers. We are no where close to the Blackshirts of the Peter/Wistrom era but it was a significant improvement over Ball State, especially in the intensity department. I got into a dialog with a regular poster on the site and I took the position that I expect the team to win every game they play. He thought that position was unrealistic. The reality is Nebraska may lose more games this season. Expectation is a powerful description when you are talking about attitude. Do you think Tommie Frazier, Grant Wistrom, the Peter brothers and their teammates expected to lose any game they ever played at Nebraska? I don't think so. I have interviewed several players from the '70 - '71 teams and the common theme was that they EXPECTED to win. There was no way they were going to let Coach Devaney, the coaching staff, themselves, their teammates and the fans down. They knew that other teams may have had better individual athletes but, as a team, nobody could beat them. That was the prevailing attitude of all five of Nebraska's National Championship teams. They EXPECTED to win.

If the 2007 edition of the Huskers EXPECT to win every game they play the rest of this season they will win more games than if they don't expect to win. Several members of the BBS have already written off "2 or 3 more losses" the rest of the season and that's if we're lucky. There is the other faction that has so much anger directed toward the current coaches and administration. The Omaha talk radio last Friday had the majority of the callers wanting Coach Callahan to resign and AD Pederson to be fired. It was hard to find much support at all for the team from the talk show crowd. Too bad the team disappointed them by winning with a double digit margin. It is interesting to note that the talk show attitude was similar on Sunday after the game.

The schedule the rest of the season isn't going to get easier and anything can happen. Just ask Texas and Oklahoma. All I ask is that the coaches, players, and fans that go into Farout Field on October 6th go into that stadium with the EXPECTATION of winning the game. The rest of us will be expressing our expectations in front of TVs, radios and Internet connections at home and at watch sites all over the world.

Just my 2 cents. What about yours?

GO BIG RED!!!