Huskers vs. Hawks - A Fan Divided

"So who are you going to root for in that game?"

I get that question a lot from both fan bases. See, I'm a Hawkeye grad, but a Husker fan. I live in Omaha, but have family in Des Moines.

To be fair, I did take one class in Lincoln and may or may not have enjoyed a few beverages on or around O Street during my time as an undergrad, but I don't have any tangible academic ties there.Technically, I gladly report that I have a 4.0 at UNL but have yet to receive a request for a commencement speech.  

But I digress.

I'll make this very simple for everyone out there: I'm a Husker fan first, a Hawkeye fan second.

Now that, that's cleared up, here's what I don't understand about this "rivalry":  Iowa fans didn't care one bit about the Huskers until we (yes, "we") arrived in the B1G. I spent four years in Iowa City - I remembered about 3.5 of those - but I don't recall any Husker smack....at all. Now, all of a sudden Hawkeye fans hate us. I mean, hate us. 

What's with all of the hatred, fellow Hawks? Are you jealous of Nebraska's 5 national championships? Big 8/12 titles? Heisman Trophy winners? The fact that we claim Nile Kinnick to be one of ours? The fact that Husker fans are arrogant AND have the hardware to back it up?

Or are you guys jealous that we don't have players piss brown or had to kick a drug dealer (allegedly) off the team*?

Like I said, I'll wear the Black and Gold, but I won't drink the kool-aid. You've made it really hard to defend being a Hawkeye fan in the off-season lately. You really have. 

This has all the makings of a K-State rivalry than it does an Oklahoma one. They'll have some up and down years (I think we would classify this as a "down" year. Minnesota? Really, guys?), but they'll always be ready for this game. They'll get us and we'll get them, but in the end, they'll be insufferable either way. Maybe time will make this a "Classic Rivalry". We gave Colorado time and look how that turned out. Stay classy, Buffs fans.

I'm still hopeful, though. I really am. So I raise my tailgate red cup to all Hawkeye Fans. Here's to a new era. A new trophy, a corporate sponsored title to the game (both lame) and hopefully a new rivalry. I truly mean that. Nebraska has been missing a true rival for quite some time now. So have the Hawks. At least since I was there.

*I googled "hawkeyes + illegal" and got both articles. On the first page. No lie. C'mon guys.