“This is Nebraska football!  A tradition filled with passion…loyalty…excellence…accountability…most importantly – family. It’s game day at Nebraska!”

Entering Memorial Stadium

Another field trip. This time with preschoolers. And where do we go? Memorial Stadium in Lincoln – home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Another good day to be a bus driver!

Nebraska football brings back a lot of memories.  Memories of being 10 years old and watching our beloved Huskers play against Alabama in the 1972 Orange Bowl. It was Bob Devaney vs “Bear” Bryant. I can still see “Bear” and his plaid hat pacing on the sidelines. I’ll have to admit, I wasn’t enough of a fan at 10 to know much about football. All I knew was our team was playing in the Orange Bowl and it was pretty big stuff! I can still remember sitting on the floor in front of the TV with my two younger brothers. We all had our Nebraska “garb” on;  Nebraska t-shirts, red and white striped overalls and the red cowboy hats. We also had oranges in our hands (believing they would bring our Cornhuskers good luck) and we were “rooting” for OUR team. And…they won!

Memories of later years are of brisk fall temps and being in a grain truck – in a corn field – waiting for the combine to finish unloading so I can head for the elevator. It was KFAB on the radio and Lyle Bremser (the voice of Nebraska footbball) giving the play-by-play details.

Entering Memorial Stadium was quite humbling for me. I’ve lived in Nebraska my entire life but this was the first time I’d been inside the belly of the stadium where the athletes hang out. I was actually walking the same halls that Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne once walked. I’ve only sat in the stadiums twice. I don’t have the opportunity to go to games like some of the other Big Red fans do. Both times I have gone, though, I’ve felt the electricity, the excitement of the game and the pride of being a Nebraskan! During our tour, we were able to view the following movie in a room that surrounded the audience with its visuals and excitement of a game day. It brought tears to my eyes because after all… I AM A HUSKER!

The Great Bob Devaney

A childhood hero!

The view at the end of “the tunnel”.

When the new portion of Memorial Stadium is complete, these stands will house 95,000 fans. That’s a LONG ways up!

GO BIG RED!!