2000 Nebraska Football:

Frank Solich started his third year with very high expectations as our beloved Nebraska team was preseason #1 in both the AP and Coaches polls. The season didn’t go as well as everyone wanted as Nebraska finished 10-2 and ranked #8 and #9 in the Coaches and AP polls, respectively.

There were memorable games. #1 Nebraska met #23 Notre Dame on September 9th. This game became well-known because of Husker fans “taking over” Notre Dame stadium. An estimated 25,000 Nebraska fans were in the stands to watch Eric Crouch score the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

Nebraska’s first loss came on October 28 against #3 Oklahoma in Norman. It was Bob Stoops’ second season, and it was clear that he had resurrected a program that had suffered under Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellenberger (who lasted a single miserable season) and John Blake. Nebraska looked great early, scoring 14 points in the first quarter. It wouldn’t last as those rotten Sooners scored 24 in the second quarter. Our beloved Huskers lost 31-14.

The second loss came against #16 Kansas State. This was NOT the game in which Crouch nearly got his head torn off on a non-called facemask - that was 1998. Jonathan Beasley scored on a 62-yard drive with 2:52 to play to ice the game for the Wildcats.

Nebraska finished the season playing in the Alamo bowl against Northwestern. The game was a completely one-sided affair as Nebraska won 66 – 17. It was the biggest blowout in Alamo bowl history. Nebraska set an NCAA bowl record by scoring 66 points. The blowout was fueled by 31 points in the second quarter.

The most memorable player was center Dominic Raiola, who won the Outland Trophy.

Those were the days!

The Gladiator

Jon: “The Gladiator” was very enjoyable. It had your wronged good guy, Russel Crowe. It had a creepy, incestuous bad guy, Joaquin Phoenix. Both performed very well in this movie. “Gladiator” follows a well-known formula and it does a good job doing it. Good guys life gets destroyed as his family is murdered. Good guy works his way back toward redemption. Bad guy loses in the end while good guy dies a hero’s romantic death then rejoins his true love in the after life. Great costumes. Great sword fighting. Great movie really.

My favorite movie from the year 2000 is “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”. If nothing else, the music was a break and different than 99% of other soundtracks. I still listen to it to this day. “Castaway” with Tom Hanks and Wilson was excellent, as were “Unbreakable”, “American Psycho”, and “Requiem For A Dream”, although the latter was pretty damn depressing.

Greg: To put this review in context, I saw this movie in the theater on my 18th birthday...with my mom and dad. I was on crutches recovering from one of two reconstructive foot surgeries I had the summer after I graduated high school. I was eager to see this movie, as the violence appealed to my teenage angst, but also because I considered myself a history buff and enjoyed period pieces like this.

I loved the movie then and I love it to this day. The epic scale of that opening battle against the Germanic tribes showed that Ridley Scott could maximize his budget while telling a ridiculously good story. I think the movie would have been equally good with ¹⁄₂ the production budget but was beyond pleased with the overall narrative put in place. One good man fighting the good fight. “Is the glory of Rome worth one good man’s life?”

Besides that, after the movie I went and ate at Hooters. 18 year old me had it pretty good...minus the whole “being in a cast” thing.

Nate M: The Gladiator was a bit boring, but still a good movie. It was one of those movies that all of my friends loved and I felt like I needed to love as well even though I just thought it was okay. Another one of those movies? Pretty much anything by Quentin Tarantino.

Evan W: First I want to apologize for not getting this article out last week. I was in the midst of finishing up my capstone, job interviews and beginning to move. I only had time to watch one movie last week, and I chose Endgame over “The Gladiator.”

I watched some clips from the movie just to refresh my memory. I remember watching this movie for the first time in seventh grade when we learned about ancient Rome and Greece. The opening battle was definitely one of my favorite scenes. Before I watched this movie, I was not expecting that. I really only have one complaint about the movie. If you’ve ever watched “The Walking Dead” you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Sometimes the colors seemed washed out, and they weren’t that vibrant.

Honestly, I think this is one of Ridley Scott’s best movies ever. Joaquin Phoenix played a great role, and I can’t wait to watch him play the Joker this fall.

This week we’ll still be rolling out another movie review on Friday so be sure to check that out. Donnie Darko is a movie from 2001, and as always feel free to watch along with us and post your thoughts on the movie below in the comments.