Tag Archives: Nebraska

College Bowl Season – Yawn

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Terry| 1 Comment

Last night, I was doing other things when I remembered that the national championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame was on TV.  While playing around on my iPad, I turned the game on with half-hearted interest, paying more attention to the iPad than the TV.  I did end up having the game on for about the first 3 quarters, bring the total number of college bowl games that I watched to a grand total of….one.

One.  This, from a born-and-bred Nebraskan, someone with college football in my blood.  On fall Saturdays, I used to love watching college football.  It didn’t matter who was playing, I still enjoyed watching the big games, and watching games in the Big 8 and then Big 12 conference.  I still have the interest in the Huskers, but even that has changed compared to what it once was.  Throughout the entire college football season, there were very few times I even watched part of a game that didn’t involve Nebraska. 

How does college football largely “lose” a diehard Nebraskan?  I have no doubt that much of it is just changing priorities in life.  I used to take Nebraska football too seriously, letting losses fester and getting way too worked up about the games.  As I’ve gotten older, you realize…it’s a game, played by a bunch of kids you don’t know.  The whole thought of team sports in general is a curious one.  Why SHOULD people have an interest in watching other people play a game?  Deep stuff!! But as things happen in life and as I’ve matured (Ok, gotten old), I’ve certainly come to realize what’s important in life, and what’s not.

Other than changing priorities though, college football has done a lot to ruin what was once special about the sport…the tradition.  When I was growing up and through college, the tradition in the Big 8 winner going to the Orange Bowl was special.  National championships were of course treasured, but just winning the Big 8 and going to the Orange Bowl made any season succesful.  Nebraska/Oklahoma games usually decided the Big 8, and if the home team won, a response by some was often oranges being thrown onto the field.  New Year’s Day would came, and it would be an orgy of college football, with ALL the big bowl games being played on the one day.  New Year’s Day for me and most college football fans was always a 12-hour marathon of bowl games, with multiple bowl games on at once, and the ability to choose the best game happening at the time.

Now?  January 7th…well over 3 weeks after the first bowl game…and we finally had the national championship game.  New Year’s Day?  Yes, there were some of the big games on, but come 4:00 or so when the Rose Bowl started, the big BCS bowl games were the only games on, and they were played in sequence, with one at a time on.  Come January 2nd, most people go back to work…school starts again very soon…and it no longer feels like a holiday.  It no longer feels “special”.  Pardon me if I don’t get too excited over a Sugar Bowl game or Orange Bowl game played during a weeknight after the New Year.

It’s not just the changing of the bowl schedules that has made college football less unique, less special.  As I had the game on last night, at one point they showed a picture of Nick Saban, Alabama head coach, with his salary and bonuses.  A college football coach, and his BASE salary is $5.3 million, with a few hundred thousand dollars in “change” being given for winning his conference or national championship.  College football coaches have become the highest paid folks on college campuses, by far.  The entire identity of colleges has often become synonymous with the success of their college football team.  When Ohio State’s former coach, Jim Tressel, ran afoul of NCAA regulations a few years ago, the Ohio State president Gordon Gee had a press conference where he was asked if he were going to fire Tressel.  Gee’s infamous response was “I hope he doesn’t fire ME!!!”.   At Penn State, the infamous Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal was handled by a football staff and by the university president as if the reputation of the football team was what was at stake…not the lives of the victims. 

I used to be an NFL fan growing up.  I rarely watch NFL games any more, even playoff games or the Super Bowl.  As I grew up, I realized that the NFL simply couldn’t compare to the tradition of college football.  The NFL wasn’t “special” like college football was.

As I’ve come to realize, college football isn’t “special” either.  It’s a for-profit business that for all intents and purposes, is another version of the NFL.  College bowl season?  It’s over?  Yawn.  I missed most of it, but I certainly didn’t “miss” watching a holiday (and post-holiday) bowl season designed for the sole purpose of raking in as much money as possible.

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Husker Football, And Woodpeckers

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
Pileated Woodpecker - By Terry Sohl

Great day, first getting photos of this Pileated Woodpecker, and then watching the other "Big Red" get a win against the Michigan Wolverines.

A wonderful day yesterday, on multiple fronts!   As with any football Saturday where the Huskers are playing at home, thousands make the trek to Lincoln for the game.  But I bet there are very few that made it a combined football/birding day, like I did!

I left yesterday morning and stopped at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge on the Nebraska/Iowa border.  It’s a beautiful, heavily wooded area along the Missouri River with a series of sloughs and ponds along the river, as well as with some large open grassy and weedy areas.  From a birding standpoint, it’s known for large numbers of waterfowl that utilize it in migration, often including thousands of Snow Geese.  Given the diversity of habitats there though, it’s a very good birding destination for all sorts of species.

I really didn’t have any particular “target” species in mind yesterday, but was thrilled to death when I came across a big Pileated Woodpecker, foraging low in the forest canopy, right after I got to the NWR.  Pileated Woodpeckers are the largest remaining woodpecker in North America…if you believe the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is extinct (I don’t).  In South Dakota, there are tiny numbers of Pileated Woodpeckers in the northeast part of the state, and there are sightings every once in a great while in my part of the state in the southeast, but I’ve never seen one in South Dakota.  Not only did I get great looks at this bird, but I was able to get a series of very nice, close photographs.  Great way to spend a chilly fall morning!

Then the game!  Nebraska!  The mighty Michigan Wolverines, the team with the most wins in the history of college football!  At night!  It was a wonderful, big-time college atmosphere, and a great game for a Husker fan.  Very nice to see Nebraska play well against a big-time opponent.

Nebraska beating Michigan, AND a “life” photo bird!  Great day overall!

Posted in Birds, Photo Story, Sports

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You are NOT entitled to your opinion – Shut the hell up

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment

From Patrick Stokes, here’s a nice piece on why you are sometimes NOT “entitled to your opinion”.   The point he’s making is that you are only “entitled” to an opinion that you can make a coherent argument for.  He uses an example of anti-vaccination paranoia to make his point, where the manic anti-vaccine crowd doesn’t have a scientific leg to stand on.  Science is science, fact is fact.  If your opinion is based on conjecture, intuition, “faith”, or other factor not supported by the facts?  Then you are NOT entitled to your opinion, when trying to argue against science and against fact.

Thus, a “Shut the Hell Up” topic for this post.  As we enter the home stretch of the presidential election, it’s rather laughable to read some of the opinions of those on the right.  Do you believe any of the following?  If so, then please do everyone else a favor, and save yourself some embarrassment.  Just Shut…the…hell…up.

- Obama Muslim? Obama a non-citizen? – Do I need to even mention these? Are you a disgusting, racist, pig-of-a-human being who believes Obama is not a citizen?  Do you believe that historical newspaper reports and a birth certificate are simply part of some massive conspiracy? Are you a disgusting, racist, pig-of-a-human being who refers to Obama as “Barack Husein Obama” and believes he’s secretly a Muslim?  If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, PLEASE…SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.

- Evolution Denial – Science is based on theory.  Theories are tested, with evidence either supporting or negating hypotheses.  With evolution, the evidence is extremely clear, both in the fossil record, and in real-world, observable processes.  Do you believe in creationism?  I really don’t care if you believe some omnipotent, all-powerful entity created the earth and the universe, IF you can reconcile that in your own mind with the science.  Do you believe evolution is false?  Do you believe evolution is a “lie straight from hell”, like Paul Broun, quite possibly the most ignorant congressman in the U.S.?  Do you belive the earth is just a few thousand years old?  If so, then SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.  Save yourself the embarrassment that’s sure to come whenever you open your mouth.

- Climate Change Denial – Possibly as soon as 5 years from now, the Arctic will be ice-free in the summer for the first time in at least 13 million years.  The U.S. is about to set a record for its warmest year ever.  Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, and the scientific evidence continues to overwhelmingly point to not only a warming climate, but a warming climate caused by anthropogenic activity.  Do you believe climate change isn’t real?  Do you believe scientists and liberals are involved in some unprecedented, massive conspiracy to somehow consolidate government power by pointing to climate change?  Do you believe that climate change is occurring, but humans have nothing to do with it?  If so…SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.

- Polls are politically biased – Just one week ago, before the debates, conservative talking heads and blogs were expressing outrage over the liberal bias of polls that showed Obama with a healthy and growing lead over Romney.  Obama with a 6-point lead in Ohio?  A 5-point lead in Florida?  BALONEY, said those on the right!  It’s a liberal conspiracy to discourage Republicans and depress voter turnout from the right!!  One short week later, and an Obama debate flop has the poll trends strongly reversing towards Romney. Hey Rush?  Do you still think the polls are biased toward Obama?  How about you other buffoons and blowhards who scoff at polls when they show Democrats ahead?  GMAFB.  The very success and long-term continuance of polling entities depends on them being RIGHT.  If they’re wrong, they are ignored in future elections and the polling group goes out of business.  Are you one of those idiots who thinks political polls are purposely biased towards Democrats?  Do you think there’s some conspiracy in the polls to depress Republican turnout?  If so, then SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.

- 1997 Michigan was better than 1997 Nebraska - A bit off topic, but…do you believe the 1997 Michigan Wolverines would beat the 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers?  Do you believe the Wolverines were “robbed” when a perfect, 13-0 Nebraska team finished first in the coaches poll, while the Wolverines finished first in the AP poll?  Puh-lease.  The Nebraska ground game easily wears down the Wolverine defense, and the Blackshirts dominate the Wolverines.  Final score if they’d have played?  Nebraska 31, Michigan 13.  Do you believe the Wolverines were the better team?  Laughable!  SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.

- Unemployment numbers manipulated by Obama and Liberals - Unemployment numbers out last week were good by any measure, with unemployment falling to 7.8%.  Good news, right?  Well, to nutjob conservatives, ANYTHING positive that could EVER be attributed to Obama has to be a lie!  A liberal conspiracy!  Clearly Obama has somehow influenced the unemployment statistics!  Are you one of those conservative wackos who believes last week’s unemployment numbers were altered by Obama?  Please, just SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.

- Romney Budget Miracle - Do you believe that you can simultaneously 1) Cut taxes 2) Maintain or raise military spending, and 3) balance the budget?  Romney/Ryan seem to believe in such a formula for long-term fiscal sanity.  Do you believe it’s possible?  GMAFB….SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.

- Voter ID Regulations Are About Voter Fraud – Report after report show that voter fraud in the U.S. is insignificant.  However, a number of states have pushed strict voter ID regulations, with Republican-led state legislatures and governors leading the charge to increase scrutiny of in-person voters.  If in-person voter fraud isn’t an issue, if very few instances have been documented…why the push by Republican state legislatures to push for very strict voter ID laws?  Under oath, I don’t think you’d even get most Republicans to say the laws are about curbing voter fraud.  It’s about suppressing votes by minorities and other groups who historically lean very heavily towards Democrats.  It’s a form of discrimination, it’s a form of racism, it’s about voter suppression.  If you believe it’s actually about voter fraud?  You’re an idiot…SHUT…THE…HELL…UP.

Posted in Culture Wars, Deep Thoughts, Politics

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Ron Brown – You Must be Fired

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments

University of Nebraska LogoFor those of you who don’t know him, Ron Brown is a long-time Nebraska football assistant coach, much beloved and respected in my Cornhusker state.  Or at least he was.  Oh, I’m sure there are many that still feel the same about him after this week.  Do NOT count me among that crowd.  Ron Brown…you MUST be fired.

Ron Brown wears his religion on his sleeve.  OK, fine.  It has served him well at times, such as his “healing” prayer he led when Nebraska played at Penn State, right after the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke and Joe Paterno was dismissed.  It was a horrible week where nobody was really thinking about football, but the game went on.  Brown led a prayer with members of both teams before the game, with a focus on the young victims of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State coach who was accused of sexually assaulting a number of young boys.

Nice moment for Brown, right?  Sure.  He got a lot of positive press from leading that prayer.  And in one fell swoop, he’s blown all that good will this week, to the point where I’m DEFINITELY not the only one saying he should be fired.  Brown’s downfall?

Brown made a special trip to Omaha to testify AGAINST a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance.  Brown was against the ordinance, because it protected gays from discrimination.  Brown, as always, is saying he’s putting his faith above all other considerations, and is saying that his faith DEMANDS that he speak out against homosexuality.

But for ANY human to actively lobby AGAINST a discrimination bill?  To effectively lobby FOR the right to discriminate against a certain class of human beings?  I’m sorry, Mr. Brown, but I find your actions COMPLETELY reprehensible.  I don’t give a DAMN about how you interpret your religion.  You’re an employee of the University of Nebraska.  You listed the FOOTBALL STADIUM as your address, for god’s sake, when speaking against the anti-discrimination bill.  The University has allowed you to use University logos and symbology in your ministry in the past. 

You have strongly associated yourself as a Nebraska Cornhusker, as a state employee.  As a fellow Cornhusker, I am ashamed of your actions.  You gotta go…

Posted in Culture Wars

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Whiny Americans and the Blame Game

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments
Missouri River Flooding

Montana and Wyoming got a year's worth of rain in 2 weeks in May. Snowpack in the upper part of the Missouri River basin was at record levels. On Missouri River Dams, water was necessarily being released at record levels, for three straight months, to try to deal with an unprecedented amount of water. So of course, this being America, nature doesn't get the blame for a natural disaster! No, it's the damned government!

I’m a federal government employee.  Given the atmosphere in the U.S. right now, that seems to make me and all other government employees a target of every Tom, Dick, and Harry who has a gripe.  It seems like every problem in the U.S. is somehow blamed on the government.  High gas prices?  It’s not Middle East tensions, skyrocketing demand in China, or the fact that Americans continue to insist on driving the most massive and inefficient vehicles on the planet.  No…it’s the damned government’s fault!  Damned Obama, HE’S causing high gas prices!!   And what about the economy?  Damn government!!  THEY should be able to snap their fingers and “fix” it, while also simultaneously cutting spending on tools that COULD potentially help to fix it!!

To me it all stems from the attitudes of Americans in general, where personal accountability and just plain ol’ common sense seem to be in very short supply.  In America, if your life sucks, it is NEVER your own fault!!   There’s always someone ELSE to bitch about, some evil person who is personally causing your own shitty life.  I’m sure the lawyers of the world LOVE Americans and their craving to always blame another human being for all the ills of the world. 

I was reading the Lincoln Journal-Star this morning (given we’re Nebraska natives), and came across this article about farmers along the Missouri River who are having to deal with massive amounts of sand dumped on their fields from last year’s floods.  The floods also had a big impact up here in South Dakota, and given the attitudes of folks up here about government and the role it supposedly played in the flooding, I guess I should have known where this story was heading.   One of the farmers in the story is talking about sending a $100,000 “bill” to the government, to pay for the clean-up of sand on his fields.

In the Great Plains in general, agricultural profits in general are vulnerable to a host of issues, but on a regional scale, two factors tend to drive profitability for a given year… 1) the weather, and 2) government incentives.    With the Missouri River flooding, it seems that folks are now starting to blame the government for the weather and other naturally occurring events.  Record flooding on the Missouri?  Clearly record snowpack and record spring rains in the upper part of the Missouri basin weren’t the cause of the flooding!  No, it was that damned Corps of Engineers!  Clearly the damned Corps should have been able to magically snap their fingers and make record amounts of water in the Missouri Basin just disappear!

Given just how heavily Great Plains farmers depend on government programs to maintain profitability of ag lands in the region, I find it pretty laughable to have these bozos blame the government for the flooding.  The people who blame the government for everything that’s wrong in life and for being too intrusive overall also seem to often be the same people who bitch about the government not doing enough to solve their every day problems.  TAXES ARE TOO DAMNED HIGH!!  GOVERNMENT IS TOO DAMNED BIG!!!  I WANT MY TAXES LOWERED, BUT, I STILL WANT MY FARM PAYMENTS, PERFECT ROADS, AND PERFECT SCHOOLS!!!

Sorry, Nebraska farmers.  Dealing with the aftermath of last year’s flooding is tough, no doubt.  But please, just shut the hell up about record flooding being someone’s “fault”.   As a wise man once said…Shit Happens.   I can’t imagine living my life with such a bitter and hateful edge that every event in life has to be blamed on other human beings.

Posted in Culture Wars, Deep Thoughts

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Money Ruining College Football

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment
The "Sea of Red" - Nebrask Fans

Hey!! Remember us!? The actual college football fans? The Nebraska "sea of red" on game day in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln...THIS is what college football is about. Passion. Love of team, and state. AMATEUR SPORTS. It's not about a 3-week long, corporate sponsored, bloated series of 30, three-hour infomercials.

I was born and raised in Beatrice, Nebraska, a town of about 12,000 that’s just 40 miles south of Lincoln.  If you are born and raised in Nebraska, your genetics, coupled with some mysterious element in the ground water, automatically makes you a lifetime college football nut.   You live and die with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  I also got my B.S. and M.S. at the University of Nebraska, and met my wife there, further strengthening the Cornhusker link.   Oh yes, there are obviously other sports at Nebraska than football.  But nothing stirs the passions of a Nebraskan more than a crisp fall day at Memorial Stadium.

I still am a Nebraska football fan.  Increasingly though, I am less and less of a fan of college football in general.  I used to love the bowl season.  I used to love New Year’s Day, with an endless procession of games, typically with multiple games on at the same time.  However, it’s just not the same anymore.  There is only one bowl game I watched this entire bowl season, and that was the Cornhuskers (rather forgettable) game in the Capital One bowl.  Other than that?  I watched snippets of a few games on New Year’s Day, but that’s it.  The supposed “National Championship” game was played last night…and I couldn’t have cared less.

To start…IT WAS FREAKIN’ JANUARY 9th!!!!   What the heck?   The first bowl games were played before Christmas, but the supposed national championship game isn’t played until January 9th?!??!!?  It’s DAMNED hard to maintain any continuity, any momentum in terms of fan interest when the bowl games are stretched out over a 3 week period.  Just like everything else in America these days, it’s now all about the $$$$$$.   Bowls used to MEAN something.  They were a great reward for a good season, a chance for your team and your fans to celebrate one last game in a warm location.  It didn’t matter if your team was playing in the Astro Bluebonnet Bowl or the Rose Bowl, it MEANT something to your team and your fans.

Then along game the BCS, and an “improved” bowl system.  Instead of January 1 representing THE day of celebrating college football, the BCS demanded that the “big” bowls (Fiesta, Rose, Sugar, and Orange) never be played simultaneously.  God FORBID two games be on at once and split college football viewing, and the related advertising $$$$!!   No, all of the major bowl games HAD to be played at times when no other football games were on, so now we have bowl games being played on January 1st…2nd…4th…9th….etc.   Corporate sponsorship also meant that tradition no longer mattered with the names of bowls.  Instead of the Sugar Bowl, it’s the “Allstate Sugar Bowl”.  Instead of the Gator Bowl, it’s the “Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl”.  Some bowls just dropped the pretense all together and basically admitted it’s all about the money, hence the “Beef-O’Brady’s Bowl”, the “Little Ceasar’s Bowl”, the “Chick-Fil-A Bowl”, etc.  Who needs  the actual old bowl names?  Let’s just call it the Little Ceasar’s Bowl and use a giant wad of cheesy-bread instead of a football!!  Let’s have the players wear Little Ceasar’s logos on their uniforms instead of their school logo!!!  Let just take those 3 hours and make it one big infomercial, and dispense with the game itself!!

So as the (supposed) National Championship game was played last night, I turned the TV on, and…ended up watching “The Horse Whisperer”.   I didn’t watch a single play of the game, and didn’t know (or care about) the outcome until looking at the news this morning.  On January 9th, one week after getting back to work after the holidays, college football has already been long forgotten for me.  After January 1 (actually January 2 this year, since GOD FORBID we keep tradition and play the bowl games on January 1 if it falls on a Sunday), I mentally check out of the college football mindset for another 8 months.

I’m sorry, AllState, AT&T, Discover, GoDaddy, etc….your bowl sponsorship in the post-January 1 games was wasted on me.  I’m sorry, TV networks, but your attempts to spur interest in your regular TV shows during the bowl games were wasted on me.  One of your network “stars” (hah) from some “reality” TV show singing the National Anthem?  Missed it.   Cutting away in the middle of a game to show one of your “stars” on the sidelines or in the stands?  Missed it.  Showing the game stats during the game, with the stats “sponsored” by an insurance company or car company?  Missed it.

The sad thing is that I AM what should be your core audience.  College football has some serious issues, if the direction college football is going can turn off a die-hard, born-and-bred Nebraska Cornhusker.

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“The Healing Has Begun” at Penn State – GMAFB

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Terry| 1 Comment
Nebraska - Penn State Football Game

Nebraska and Penn State players huddle and pray before the game today. A nice gesture, and Nebraska coach Bo Pelini had a great post-game press-conference on the game, and its importance in the big scheme of things. But did the fact that a football game was played really start any "healing" process?

My Nebraska Cornhuskers had a very awkward situation this week, having to travel to (formerly) Happy Valley to play Penn State.  Nebraska ended up winning 17-14.  I’m glad they won, but I admit I didn’t even watch the game today, as I just didn’t want to think about the Penn State situation today.  I didn’t want to spend my afternoon dealing with an incredibly awkward situation and such a strange football game.

So instead, my 8-year old son and I went fossil hunting today, and had a great time.  It wasn’t until I got home that I saw that Nebraska had won, but it was the headlines on multiple web sites that really bugged me.  “The Healing Has Begun” seemed to be the common theme, both on sports websites, and on regular news sites.  All I have to say about that is G…M…A…F…B. 

All week long, there’s been more focus on Joe Paterno and Penn State football fans than there has been on Jerry Sandusky himself, or the Penn State officials who assisted in the cover up.  And today, it seems the press is again reverting back to that line of thinking.  Yes, Penn State played Nebraska in football today.  I saw the players all gathered at mid-field for a group prayer before the game.  Very nice.  I suppose that for the players themselves, maybe “the healing has begun”.

But c’mon, mainstream media.  Just because Penn State played its first football game since the news broke, how the hell does that qualify as the start of the “healing”?!?!!   How does Penn State playing a football game today have ANYTHING to do with the crime?   Again, I’m showing my cynical side, but…I’d be completely shocked if the names of all Penn State folks involved in the scandal have surfaced yet.  I have little doubt there are more people at Penn State, and more people within the football program, that had knowledge of the allegations and suspected behavior of Jerry Sandusky.  I REALLY doubt that a large number of Penn State football staff on the sidelines today will be there next year, once the story continues to develop.

But yet, the media has declared that today was a start to the “healing”?  Does the fact that Penn State played a football game today have ANYTHING to do with the “healing” of the victims and their family?  With a scandal such as this, having played out for SO many years and with so many people involved, I’m afraid we’ll continue to see the story in the news for some time to come.  I’m afraid the wounds the situation has caused will continually be re-opened as the story evolves.  I’m afraid the anger will only continue to crescendo as all the sordid details come out, and as we learn of more names involved. 

While the “healing” may have begun for the seemingly all-important football component of the story, healing is a long ways off for the families involved in this tradgedy.

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Cure for Taking Sports too Seriously

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Terry| Leave a comment
Nebraska Cornhuskers

A life lesson from my 8-year old son, while bringing him to his first Nebraska Cornhuskers football game.

I’m Nebraska born and bred, got my bachelor’s and master’s at Nebraska, and met my wife in college at Nebraska.  As most Nebraskans, I’m a HUGE Huskers fan.  And, I take it too seriously some times.   My wife doesn’t appreciate my, uh, colorful language that sometimes slips out of my mouth when Nebraska is on TV, and they’re not doing well.  When Nebraska loses, well, I’m often not in much of a social mood for several hours. (Days?  Weeks?  Months?   ;-)

Well, my 8-year old son is definitely NOT a sports fan.  He doesn’t know (or care about) all the rules for football, much less care about the Huskers.  But in something I was looking forward to for a long time, I took him to his first Huskers game this weekend.   What a WONDERFUL weekend!!  We were playing Northwestern, in a game that started at 2:30.  My son and I drove down from South Dakota yesterday morning, and got to Lincoln around 11:30.  For a couple of hours, we walked around campus, eating lunch, visiting the University Bookstore and student union, going past many of the buildings where I had classes…a very nice time, and my son seemed to genuinely enjoy it, and all the people dressed in red that were walking around.

We went to the stadium and sat down about 45 minutes before the game.  We had very good seats, only three rows from the field, down on around the 10-yard line.   The band played their pregame, the national anthem played and a giant Air Force tanker plane flew over the stadium, the famed “Tunnel Walk” played the Alan Parson’s Project’s ”Sirus” while famous Husker moments played on the big screen, and then came the moment when the Husker team roared out onto the field, right from the very corner of the field where we sat.  While the stadium roared and clapped, my son stood on the seat to see over the crowd, and cheered right along with everybody else. 

The game began, and for the first half, my son stayed very interested.  He really didn’t understand why people cheered, or groaned, at certain parts of the game, but I kept explaining things, and he started to catch on.  When the other side of the stadium started the “HUSKER!!!” cheer, our side of the stadium responded with the proper “POWER!!!!” cheer, back-and-forth, back-and-forth, with my son yelling “POWER!!” at the top of his lungs!  Nebraska was playing horribly, and was behind Northwestern when halftime came, even though Northwestern was a huge underdog.

The band came on the field, and my son’s interest in the happenings took a temporary dive.  By the time halftime ended and the second half kickoff sailed into the sky, my son was curled across my lap, fully asleep!! For the first 10 minutes of the second half, I didn’t dare stand up to cheer, or to see the game when the other fans stood, as I didn’t want to wake him up.  But he did wake up after his short little nap, and again started to show interest in the game. 

I’m not sure he really understood why I was groaning occasionally, such as when Nebraska failed time and time again to be able to run effectively against what had been a very bad Northwestern defense, or when a Northwestern receiver was (again) seemingly running completely free as he grabbed a pass and raced towards the end zone.  My son continued to cheer when I cheered, and even started to groan a bit when I would groan.  Picking up what I or the other fans were saying, late in the game he started looking at me and saying “our defense isn’t very good!!”.  I had to agree!!!  From the perspective of a hard-core Nebraska fan, it was a HORRIBLE game.  Nebraska, the 9th ranked team in the country, lost on our home field to a Northwestern team that was down to its backup quarterback and had already lost 5 games this year. 

And you know what?  I had a WONDERFUL time!!  Sure, it would have been better if Nebraska had won, but I loved sitting there with my son.  I loved his goofiness, when he would occasionally totally forget about the game, such as the 15-minutes when he kept playing with the elastic cord on my jacket and trying to tie me up with it.  I loved his little heart, when the fans were all standing and clapping to the band playing “There is No Place Like Nebraska” and my son was standing and clapping along for all he was worth.   I loved hearing his little giggles late in the game, when the rest of the stadium seemed lost in despair.   And I loved walking out of the stadium with him, hand-in-hand, with him jabbering away as happily as if nothing bad had happened.

And HAD something “bad” happened?  I guarantee that if I were at home watching that god-awful game on TV, I would have been a mess, and would have been in a very bad mood.  Instead, as we walked out of the stadium, my son asked if we could come to games more often, and I was already looking forward to next year, the next time when I’ll be able to take him.   Yes, Nebraska lost.  Yes, as a Nebraska fan, that hurts, especially when it’s such a shocking loss on your home field.  But it really wasn’t until today when we got back home that I really even thought about the outcome of the game.  It was a great weekend, one where my son taught me there’s one HELL of a lot more to life than who wins when a bunch of guys mix it up on the football field.

Posted in Deep Thoughts

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GOOOOOOOOOO HUSKERS!! Biggest comeback ever!!

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Terry| Leave a comment
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Nebraska beat Ohio State 34-27, completing the biggest comeback in team history.

Nebraska Cornhuskers, 34, Ohio State, 27!!   It was 27-6 in the 3rd quarter, Ohio State, and Ohio State looked totally dominant.  Given that Nebraska was shelled at Wisconsin last week, 48-17, it was pretty depressing being a Nebraska native/fan in the third quarter. 

But then came the greatest comeback in Nebraska football history.  Nebraska scored 28 unanswered points and wore down the Ohio State defense.  Taylor Martinez ran the offense to perfection in the 2nd half, overcoming a lot of criticism after last week’s game.  Rex Burkhead, as always, was a complete beast and took the offense on his shoulders in the 4th quarter.

INCREDIBLE GAME!  What a comeback.  

GOOOOOOO BIG RED!!

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Perusin' & Musin'

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Terry| Leave a comment

Some random thoughts from perusing the web…

Rick Perry Backtracks on “Heart” comment – Rick Perry faced backlash over his comments in the last debate that his opponents lacked heart over immigration issues.   Perry is now backtracking on that comment.   It’s quite obvious to be a successful, card-carrying member of the Republican Party, you HAVE to show you’re a heartless son-of-a-bitch.  Hence the correction from Perry that he’s more Dick Cheney than Jimmy Carter on the heart issue.

EPA Rumored for Massive Expansion - A right-wing website posted news this week that the EPA was about to undergo a massive expansion, increasing by 230,000 employees.   Of course Fox (or Faux) News then picked it up, because of course if you see it on the internet, and it’s says bad things about the government, it must be true.  Unless it’s not.  The EPA now only has about 17,000 employees, so you’d think there might be a smidge of journalistic investigation before going with a story like this.  That is, if you were actually interested in the truth.  Faux News doesn’t roll that way.

EPA Cut Corners on Climate Ruling!! - What the hell, while the media is spreading sensationalistic lies about our evil, evil government, why not another one?  From the headlines you’re seeing, just like the total BS “Climategate”, you’d think there was some conspiracy climate idiots skeptics could get behind.  I have no doubt climate idiots skeptics WILL start spouting this “news” as proof of some conspiracy.   But whoever wrote the headline and/or story obviously was just trying to rile these idiots skeptics up with this headline.  JUST as with “Climategate”, the SCIENCE behind the story is NOT in question.   It’s just some stupid administrative thing that somehow makes it to front page news on some websites?   “Cutting corners” means the science behind this EPA report ONLY went through review by 12 expert scientists.  Considering to make it into the peer-reviewed, scientific literature, you typically only go through 2 to 4 reviewers, that’s a pretty damned robust scientific review.  But yet, the media, and the right-wing climate idiots skeptics seem to think there’s a story here?? 

Climate Scientists Wrong – What the hell, how about some more climate news?  It turns out the climate idiots skeptics were right!!!   Climate scientists HAVE indeed gotten the story of impending climate change wrong!!  But unfortunately for climate idiots skeptics, we’ve UNDERESTIMATED how fast things are changing, not overestimated.

Reebok hit with $25 million fine for deceptive advertising – Reebok has agreed to refund $25 million to customers who bought shoes referred to in an ad campaign as ”a better way to a better butt”.  Frankly, it should probably be the buyers of those shoes who are fined for being stupid enough to think that buying this sneaker would cancel out all the beer and donuts they ate.

Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 14 - This is my prediction for my beloved Huskers come Saturday.  Well, actually, I’d have predicted something more like Wisconsin 38, Nebraska 28, in more of a high-scoring affair.  But, my subconcious said otherwise.  I had a dream last night where I was watching the game (please don’t provide commentary on the psychology of this!!).   Wisconsin was ahead 14-7 going into the fourth quarter.  Wisconsin was driving to score again, but a pass into the end zone was tipped, and Nebraska ran it back 100 yards to tie the game!! Woo-hoo!  But Alas, Wisconsin prevailed 24-14 with 2 late scores.     Oh…and also look for a tornado to hit the stadium at halftime, as that was in my dream (all my dreams have tornados).  If this all comes true Saturday, I’m quitting my job and moving to Vegas.

Posted in Climate Change, Perusin' & Musin', Politics

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