LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A gaggle of Nebraska fans was lined up behind a barricade enar the tunnel leading to the visitors' locker room, waiting for Houston Christian's players to come through moments after
they lost to the Cornhuskers by more than seven touchdowns.
“Chin up, chin up,” Braxton Adrian told the players as he slapped hands and patted shoulder pads. “Thanks for coming out. Good luck with the rest of your season.”
Win or lose, the 26-year-old welder from Lincoln is there to greet visiting players on their way off the field. An older cousin who took him to his first game in 2006 told him it was the right thing to do.
“Since then it’s been something I always do no matter what section of the stadium I’m in,” Adrian said. “I always make my way around and congratulate them.”
The toxicity of fandom is well known across sports, from the hooligans of soccer to the keyboard warriors who go after athletes on social media and the derisive chants that players can hear on the sidelines. Sportsmanship doesn't always get much attention, though there are great fans across the country. Nebraska has a specific tradition that dates back decades.
Husker fans applauding the visiting team at game's end started back when Nebraska was a powerhouse that routinely stomped opponents. Some observers thought it was condescending, as if the visitors were getting a pat on the head for coming and taking their beating. That notion can be easily disspelled.
In 1980, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was so moved by his team's treatment after it beat the Huskers that he wrote a letter to Nebraska.
“I actually had the feeling that when we upset the Nebraska team that instead of hate and spite, the Nebraska fans thanked us for coming to Lincoln and putting on a good show," Bowden wrote. "This is nearly unheard of in today’s society. Nebraska, you are a great example for Americans to copy. I hope we show half the class your people do.”
Former Texas coach Mack Brown offered a similar sentiment when recalling the day his 1998 Longhorns ended the Huskers' 47-game home winning streak as Ricky Williams ran 37 times for 150 yards.
“We were walking off the field and I told him, ‘Put your helmet back on and keep your head down. People may be rude and they might throw things at you,'” Brown told ESPN. "The stands were still packed and the Nebraska fans gave him a standing ovation. They started to chant, ‘Heisman! Heisman!’ It was one of the coolest sportsmanship moments I’d ever seen. It was just really a touching moment and we don’t have much of that anymore.”
Back in those days, Nebraska fans crowded in and around the seating sections above the tunnel to show up and salute the visitors. Fans don't do that in the same numbers nowadays, but those like Adrian cling to the tradition.
“I think it's what college football needs to be about, especially when it comes to these FCS schools,” Adrian said, referring to Houston Christian. “They know what they’re coming here for. It’s not like we’re just trying to put a smackdown on them. We do appreciate their company."
The warmth of the fans did not go unnoticed by Akron coach Joe Moorhead, whose team lost 68-0 at Nebraska last month.
“Usually when you drive in on the team bus, and they know you’re coming in, you get the double bird salute," he said. "The Nebraska fans are wishing you luck and are super polite and friendly.”
The atmosphere inside and outside the stadium continues to be regarded as one of the friendliest in college football.
Sure, like every fanbase, Nebraska has its share of knuckleheads who disparage the other team and sometimes their own and are rude to visiting fans. Nearby fans are known to police such behavior. To boo is still taboo, though it happens.
In 1981, Tom Osborne’s Huskers were 1-2 and trailing Auburn 3-0 at halftime. Boos rained down as the team jogged to the locker room, something no one could remember happening in Lincoln. The Huskers ended up winning, but Osborne and his players were shaken.
Visiting fans regularly describe positive interactions, telling how they were invited to tailgates as they walked by, had beers bought for them at downtown bars or were offered suggestions about where to eat.
“I’m sure you guys get this a lot but you guys are all class,” a Michigan fan wrote on Reddit. “Some of the most gracious, welcoming, and sincere people I’ve met anywhere in the world."
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule noted that fans can be tough on the team on social media but recalled only one instance of a fan saying something to his face that could be interpreted as negative. Rhule was head coach of Temple, Baylor and the Carolina Panthers before he arrived at Nebraska three years ago. What differentiates Nebraska, he said, are the fans.
“My two daughters sit in the stands — and they can't do that eveywhere,” Rhule said. “They can do that at Nebraska because the people here are the best people in the world. Our fans are elite.”
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