And so we say goodbye...

by Screwface on Sep 27, 2011 8:11 PM CDT

[Jon: Promoted from the Fanposts section.... in all the hoopla. Or hype, or whatever you want to call it, I'm glad somebody said something. If you take a moment, it is pretty sad to think about all of the tradition we left behind.[

Well, it's officially here. Over 100 years of tradition. From the cold autumn days in Ames, to the warmer but still chilly Novembers of Oklahoma. From the Rockies of Colorado to the Ozarks of Missouri. All gone in seemingly the blink of an eye.

We've officially moved on, moved east, moved forward.

This is truthfully the first time I've realized that there will be no more Games of the Century. There will be no more 2 ½ hour drives to Manhattan. There will be no more buff bashing.

I feel defeated.

The solemn realization, much like getting divorced, that you're free, liberated but also knowing that there will be many things you miss about your ex. I won't miss Kansas, Texas Tech, or Baylor but I will miss Oklahoma and constantly striving to outdo them. I'm going to miss ribbing my Mizzou J-school friends after another loss to Nebraska. I'm going to miss the familiarity that came along with being in the same place for so long.

Forging ahead.

Saturday we officially start a new chapter in our school's proud 142 year history. It starts in Madison, Wisconsin. Home to the 7th ranked Badgers. Whose athletic director once played for this great university, whose head coach once played under a grad assistant by the name of Mark Pelini. Whose uniforms seem to mirror ours in a bizarro-Superman sort of anonymity with a single letter on the side of the helmet being the largest discrepancy.

We're alike in many ways, yet have so little in common.

Nebraska mirrors so many of the legendary programs in the Big Ten, whether it's being in the top-10 on the all-time wins list, or having some of the most legendary coaches in college football history, our history shows we are much better aligned with other Big Ten schools than we were with many of our Big XII counterparts. However, none of the other Big Ten schools are nearly as defined by their university as Nebraska is.

What this all means.

I understand change is an inevitable part of life. But there were many who were born and died during Nebraska's 100 year run in the MVIAA, MVC, Big 6, Big 8, and subsequently the Big XII. So many things changed in the time; 2 world wars, the television, the computer, the internet. But Nebraska was always in the same conference.

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all...

This FanPost created by a registered user of Corn Nation.

Tweet Comment 18 comments | 1 recs |

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Comments

I guess I'm over it

And have been for some time. I don’t follow basketball, and baseball wasn’t all that hot last season. So, once the football conference season ended last year in Dallas, against Oklahoma, that was it. I had a little mourning time for them (Sooners). But once that was over, bring on the B1G!

by Wolvie on Sep 27, 2011 11:46 PM CDT reply actions

Being a younger guy (early 20s)

I think has really helped out in my not feeling that sense of mourning all that much. Because in all reality 90% of my friends are NU fans and 10% are iowa fans, and the iowa fans just happen to be my best friends, so it was like this move was meant to be but never was until now.

by Fake Pelini on Sep 28, 2011 12:18 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Yes,i was pretty

torn up to leave the Big 8…but not so much the Big 12. The rivalry to end all rivalries ended once Nebraska and Oklahoma was seperated. So while it’s with sadness for some teams and downright glee about others (Kansas stated can suck it) it’s time to start some new legendary rivalries for our kids to fall in love with

by Omahusker on Sep 28, 2011 2:45 AM CDT reply actions

Big 8

Exactly, I was more devastated my the Big 8 turning into the Big 12. So, the move to the Big 10 was, in my opinion, kind of corrects the wrong of the Big 12. The Big 12 never was the same for me, especially with the loss of the annual OU game. I am very sad that our rivalries have ended and really hope that the Huskers meet the Sooners one day in a National Champ game. On a selfish note, living in Pennsylvania, the move to the Big 10 means I get more access to the Huskers. The BTN is part of my normal TV package and the papers out here have had more Husker coverage. Overall, I feel that the move to the Big 10 got us out of the black hole that is…err, was…the Big 12, but I will never forget the Big 8.

by CCE718 on Sep 28, 2011 7:21 AM CDT up reply actions

Bittersweet

After loosing the annual OU rivalry, how much less would the Big 12 have felt like home had CU still gone to the PAC 10 and Mizzou taken our spot in the B1G? Of course, there’s the chance OU would’ve been restored with a 10 team league, but the sensible move to the B1G was made for well documented reasons. My biggest concern is that the move, along with the relocation of the State Fair grounds, will create a greater disconnect between Lincoln/Omaha and all parts west.

Same screen name since AOL- 'cause like many Nebraska fans, I'm stuck in the '90s.

by crowe1856 on Sep 28, 2011 5:56 AM CDT reply actions

Not as concerned abou the disconnect

I just did the comparison for an outstate Husker fan to travel to away games in the B1G versus the Big 12. For a Husker fan in Chadron, Minneapolis is just about the same distance as Lawrence; Iowa City is a little closer than Columbia; Madison is about the same as Norman; and Ann Arbor is about the same as College Station. (Penn State? Might as well use that subsidized air service to Denver to fly in for that one.) The only “close” road trip they lose, by comparison, is to Boulder.

by jrf2027 on Sep 28, 2011 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions

My initial point...

Was to talk about new horizons and all the “foolg good” stuff that goes with being in the B1G, but I ended up remembering when I was 4 and I would sit on my grandfather’s lap the day after thanksgiving to watch OU/Neb and even though we didn’t play every year, we still had that conference bond with them. And my first Neb game in Lincoln against the Buffs, and how excited I was to witness first hand what I had basically grown up loving.

It is bittersweet, and there is a new path to be forged out of all of this.

@GochfaceKillah on Twitter

by Screwface on Sep 28, 2011 9:17 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

... "foolg good" = "feel good"

@GochfaceKillah on Twitter

by Screwface on Sep 28, 2011 9:18 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Nice job writing this up

Truthfully, I’m going to miss playing in the Big 12. Politics aside, it was a good league. It played a fun type of football. I don’t doubt we made the right decision jumping to the Big Ten, but it’s sad to think about the decades of history we left behind.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Sep 28, 2011 10:39 AM CDT reply actions

Nice touch with the Beatles reference,

and what a awesome way to start anew, this will be one intense game with Madison charged up. Look forward to it.

Reporter: What would you say a Greg Studrawa offense is like? Stud:

"Attack and be very physical…fly around…attacking, come after you and come after you and come after you…." Me: I love this answer.

GET TO THE RIM HEAT (and SKY)! ATTACK THE PAINT!

by mjtig on Sep 28, 2011 10:48 AM CDT reply actions

for some reason, I think I will miss ISU fans, but not really the others (sans OU)

Probably because the student pool is more from smaller towns than kids from KU, Mizzou, KSU, CU. Seemed like that grads from those schools always felt like they had to make a point about how redneck/stupid we are because Omaha was Nebraska’s biggest city. That is what bugged the hell out of me about them. Just look at the BOTC community. Every other comment they are self describing themselves as the center of reason and intelligence, and how stupid other people are. I am convinced that they believe that its OK to be an asshole to neb. fans simply because they are nebraska fans. Never really got that from ISU fans. Granted, i am sure they hated the team and would make fun, but it seems like they get that Neb. fans antics (which there are certainly bad points) has little to do intrinsically with Nebraska, just the result of successful fb team generating a large fan base in an area with no pro sports teams.

I really do hope the best for them. Esp. since they oftentimes ruin Iowa’s season.

Google's homepage celebrates too much shit.

by meatybob on Sep 28, 2011 10:54 AM CDT reply actions

I Second the BOTC Characterization

My visits there were kept to a few by the insular frat boy mentality and pervasively smug self-congratulatory attitude about how cool they thought they were. First time I ever saw moderators engaging in and encouraging flaming replete with much hardcore four letter invective that elsewhere would merit a warning or banning.

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

by UltimaRatioRegum on Sep 28, 2011 4:16 PM CDT up reply actions

Moving piece Screwface

I too will miss playing our annual partners (B12N); and OU.

by HuskerINtheArmy on Sep 28, 2011 10:58 AM CDT reply actions

Being a 2nd Generation Sooner Fan ...

… and watching all the great games we’ve (OU/NU) had over the years, I’m still partial to the Big 8. My Thanksgivings during the Switzer/Osborne years (was there a better coaching rivalry … EVAR??!!) were marked by two things: Turkey and Stress. After ‘71, I became ’trained’ to encounter severe knots in my stomach after eating copious amounts of turkey. Those games were intense, and there have been few, if any, rivalries in college football that matched that intensity year in and year out. Ciao Huskers, it’s been tremendous, and I’ll be pulling for you Saturday and in the B1G.

by FortySeven on Sep 28, 2011 3:28 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Really enjoyed your post.

I still regret that the birth of the Big XII marked the death of our great rivalry.

Can you imagine the battles that would have been fought between the Youngstown boys on a yearly basis? I salivate at the thought.

Good luck to your Sooners, and may we meet soon in the Big One.

They're 18 to 22...how perfect were you at that age?
The Power of Red begins with the Passion of Walk-Ons.

by redvalley on Sep 28, 2011 10:37 PM CDT up reply actions

ya better run fer your life if you can, little badger

hide yer head in the sand, little badger
catch ya tryin’ playin’ man to man, little badger
that’s the end-ah, little badger

it’s all in the mind, ya know

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

by pheidole on Sep 28, 2011 9:41 PM CDT reply actions

Screwface,

thanks for this final farewell to our previous conference, which to me was the Big 8. That XII thing never felt comfortable, and was stained with a lot of bad memories, coaching hires, and one lousy AD.

Who knows what awaits us this Saturday as we start B1G play, but for this long-time Husker fan, I’m inhaling the freshness of the air.

And, a rec for this article.

They're 18 to 22...how perfect were you at that age?
The Power of Red begins with the Passion of Walk-Ons.

by redvalley on Sep 28, 2011 10:51 PM CDT reply actions

From one of the "assholes" at BOTC, good post.

Nebraska was the measuring stick when Coach Snyder started building, and one of my best memories is being in the stands when we finally beat you sumbitches. I can’t say that I wish your team well—I’d be lying, because the memories of last summer are too fresh for that—but there’s certainly something sad about not having Big Red on our schedule ever again.

"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come." *Victor Hugo*

by K.S.B. on Oct 2, 2011 11:35 PM CDT reply actions