Every year is exactly the same. I literally could leave the article with just that phrase, and everyone would eventually end up at the same place. It happens. The preseason Kool-Aid (Nebraska product), with the minority being cautiously optimistic/pessimistic about how this season will turn out. The non-conference games we look like world beaters, with the minority still unhappy about the cupcakes. Get to the middle of the season and the losses start. The sky is starting to fall after the first one.
Pile up a few more, and we want everyone fired because we are not going in the right direction.
Every year is exactly the same. Fans will flock from every part of the World to watch their beloved Huskers. As the fall season approaches, the shine and enthusiasm wears off. Once the leaves fall, so does the morale as the doom and gloom of cold weather and bad football commence. Maybe we make a bowl game, maybe we don’t, but the loud minority early now shouts “I bleeping told you so”. The sugar rush from the Kool-Aid wears off, and the majority is now angry.
Every year is exactly the same. We start as a decent football team, and eventually get to conference play, where the competition is much tougher. We all prognosticate the Huskers’ wins and losses. Some are closer than others. We are all happy to do it. We go from “WE’RE BACK!” to “WE’RE NEVER WINNING ANOTHER GAME AGAIN!” When our rivals eventually appear on our schedule, we get beat and left with a void we know we can’t replace until next year. The message is always “just a matter of time” in terms of wins or losses.
Every year is exactly the same. There is no place like Nebraska. We are largely seen as the best fans in all of college football. We pride ourselves on that. Is it because we have nothing better to do? You’re damn right! That’s what makes Husker nation better than everyone else. We are smart; a group of people who know when it’s time for changes. It is also what makes us so very toxic when things go wrong. We care so deeply because it is what we look forward to most on a yearly basis. As a fanbase we leave parts of our souls with each team.
Every year is exactly the same. People pay damn good money to come watch this team. Money that they worked incredibly hard to earn. They come unwind from the real world for just a little while. They get to know these players like they were their own kids. They want to see them succeed as much as their own kids. When it inevitably fails, the crowd turns into the disappointed parents who yell at those same kids. They care for those kids, but they also know they can only do so much for them.
Every year is exactly the same. When the teaching/coaching isn’t good enough, the calling for people’s jobs is loud. Money talks, Beavis walks (AC/DC once said that). If things are good, the money is always there. When things suck, the money dries up. The fans deserve a good reason to use their money. Husker football eventually loses money at the end of the season because things weren’t good enough. It hasn’t “earned” our money, because there are plenty of other things that “deserve” it.
We will always be proud of our teams. Things may not always go right, but we love them anyway. That’s why we hate ourselves so much. It could be a lot better, but it isn’t. The calendar will turn to the next sport, and we’ll carry the same pride for it. Then, when the next sports year begins again, we will do it all over. We ultimately say…every year is exactly the same. Go Big Red!
