Nebraska Fan?

Last nights Nebraska game against Missouri got me thinking....What makes a good fan? Not just a "Oh the games on tonight..." fan, but a die hard, chew your nails...decked out in your teams colors..ignore your children fan?

I grew up in Nebraska. If your from Nebraska then you know that's all it takes to be a "Cornhusker Fan." If your out on a game day anywhere in the state you can hear the game..in the grocery stores...radio..pumping gas....at least that's the way it was when I was growing up.

If you were out on a Saturday and were not wearing red in some form or fashion you would get asked why. "Why aren't you wearing red? Are you not from here? Are you not a fan?" My father has these red and white stripped overalls and red cowboy hat that he used to wear back in the day. We had t-shirts and beer koozies, Nebraska flags and Nebraska rocks in our yard. We didn't think that was strange, that's just the way it was.

I have to admit that I have only been to memorial stadium once. I remember it was October and freezing....I don't remember who were playing, all I remember is the excitement...I was in awe..nothing, nothing has compared to seeing that game. Ive been to Wrigley Field...didn't compare..couldn't figure out why people thought the place was so great. Maybe if they came to Memorial Stadium they would say the same thing....I doubt it.

Ive lived out of state now for going on nine years and still and will always remain a die hard husker fan. Its amazing that if your from Nebraska you will search out other Nebraska fans wherever you are at. You see someone in the parking lot in WI with a NE shirt on...and you search them out...."You from Nebraska?" ---then the football talk starts..its always football. They might not have lived there for 20 years...but it doesn't matter, their your new best friend. You talk about how it sucks that you cant get any of the games on TV, have you ever been to a game? Do you still have family there? Remember the 80's?

Ive lived in Kansas-they have the Chiefs, Chicago-Bears, Cubs, White Sox and now Wisconsin-Packer territory.....I get asked a lot ......Bears fan? Packers fan?.....nahhh Husker fan!

Its not about their pay check...at least not yet. Its just football. Face paint, food, friends, a sea of red...balloons at the first touchdown....

This is an example of a husker fan.....When I first lived in Naperville IL there were quite a few games that I couldn't get. My sister would call me and set the phone next to the radio on her counter so I could listen to the game. Usually she would be in the bathroom....because when the game got to intense she couldn't take it and would have to leave the room...and if she was in the bathroom she couldn't hear the game. That left me screaming into the receiver when something good happened...only I wouldn't get a response for about two minutes until she got the nerve to come back out....it made for a long game.....Now if the game was actually televised she'd be even worse, pacing around the house, trying to talk to me...screaming with excitement and then trying to tell me what happened..which never worked...ugh.....

Ive had neighbors (Paul in Overland Park!) steal my Nebraska flag and hide it.... for that, un-known to him, drove around with a Nebraska magnet on his license plate for two weeks before he noticed....

I have raised Nebraska fans....doesn't matter that my girls haven't lived there forever. My oldest is at college in Chicago and we spent last night texting back and forth during the whole game...granted all of the text were not that nice... She is and will always be a husker! Doesn't matter her boyfriend was sitting in the stands at the Missouri game getting soaked in the rain....He goes to Missouri! But..being a husker fan, we will still welcome him at Thanksgiving...we will of course mess with him....but he will be welcomed...We will try to convert him to the red side.....

One of these days I will get back to Memorial Stadium. I would love to take all three of my girls to a game. Unless you've been there, felt that excitement...you just don't understand. I'm not even saying you have to be a Nebraska fan....if your the opposing team even....you see us as we are.....fans..not fanatics....old school...hometown...just bigger....small town...but bigger....friendly, loyal...a little crazy....always Big Red.

I suppose I didnt even answer my own question. What makes a good fan? In Nebraska you just are. And if your not...move to Iowa so we can atleast have another reason to not like you.