Here's a teaser for a new documentary called "Through These Gates" being made about Husker fans. The guys at HuskersGameDay.com spoke with documentary producer/directory/creator Ryan Tweedy about his project.
One negative for me - the teaser starts out with "The Code". You know it, every Husker fans knows it:
Dear Lord, the battles we go through life,
We ask for a chance that's fair
A chance to equal our stride,
A chance to do or dare
If we should win, let it be by the code,
Faith and Honor held high
If we should lose, we'll stand by the road,
And cheer as the winners go by
Day by Day, we get better and better!
Til' we can't be beat...
WON'T BE BEAT!
Is this a sign that the documentary won't be covering any new ground, or that the producer felt like going with the familiar was the best route? (Everyone's a critic, right? Keep in mind that I'd really rather listen to newer music my 19-year old son is listening to than hear the a Rolling Stone song for 233,433th time so i'm not one to stick with the familiar.)
Being the curmudgeony SOB that I am, my first reaction is "Oh, great, a documentary sucking up to Husker fans that'll review ever old joke we've already ever heard about the place."
A more balanced reaction? Actually, it's been a while since someone did something about the fans like this, hasn't it? You have to admit, Husker fans are pretty good fans. One need to look no further than last year's Penn State game to a testament of how well we can do when really crappy things happen.
The President of Northwestern is a Nebraska fan? WELL OF COURSE HE IS, THEY'VE BEATEN US IN DAMN NEAR EVERY SPORT WE'VE PLAYED THEM IN. It's not hard for him to be a Husker fan. Me, I've come to hate Northwestern and I hope we beat the living snot of them for years to come.
Here's the deal. You can support the project (i.e., donate them money) and follow the project and you can even send them stories if you like. I'd encourage you to support them because they look like they could really use the funds.
HAT TIP: Big Red Network - Come to think of it, we need to do a better job of linking to other Husker sites on a more regular basis. If you're interested in doing a couple link-type articles a week, contact me please.