Nebraska was on my mind last weekend, as we attended the 31st annual induction ceremony for the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame.
And again, when we sat in sun-drenched, new-look War Memorial Stadium, hosting its 400th game.
Owen’s namesake and granddad, Owen Frank, is in the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame. He played football for the Cornhuskers from 1909-1911, and was inducted posthumously in 1999.
That was during our dating “hiatus,” and I did not attend. Owen did, and Cornhusker stuff is all over his house.
At our ceremony last week, we had about 350 attendees, which is excellent without a team being inducted.
It is a very classy evening, and I am proud to serve on its selection committee.
I also was thinking of the Cornhuskers as I was looking at all the new on the west side of the stadium.
Our entrance ramp on the north end is completely gone, something I missed in the year’s worth of construction news. We now enter from below, where porta potties and a few concession stands fill in until the remodel is complete next year.
Also missing and again I didn’t realize is the decrepit, rusted walkway separating the field from the seats.
In ancient times, the walkway would bounce and groan under the weight of a certain defensive tackle arriving for his Friday afternoon visit on the west side 50 yard line.
The new seats are spectacular. After decades of silver metal benches, the chair backs, arm rests and cup holders make it a very comfortable experience.
We found some of our old Section G neighbors, but have new ones close by.
I heard some grumbles about the state of the concessions and bathrooms, but those were never scheduled to be ready for this season.
Speaking of bathrooms, the nicest available are in the west entrance of the IPF, the site of the free tailgate experience three hours prior to kickoff.
It costs nothing to enter the IPF or use the bathrooms. Food and beverage are available for purchase.
While our War Memorial Stadium has hosted 400 games, Memorial Stadium in Lincoln will host its 400th consecutive sellout on Friday, Sept. 20.
Wyoming’s game Saturday against Idaho was a sellout at just over 25,000, with online trolls again grumbling about all the empty seats.
The west side remodel decreased the number of seats slightly, and tickets sold, not butts in the seats, are what counts for a sellout.
On August 31, 2013, I made my first trip to a Nebraska home game. I hope it was not my last.
Brett Smith and the Pokes offense racked up 602 yards and nearly pulled out an improbable win before falling, 37-34.
The Nebraska Nice folks were just that, as Owen, my brother and I squeezed in among longtime Big Red season ticket holders.
The gentleman sitting next to me said his two tickets had been in the family since his dad got home from World War II. It was the first thing he bought with his saved GI pay.
The soon to be 400 sellouts started with Bob Devaney’s first year, November 3, 1962, a 16-7 loss to Missouri.
Devaney, of course, is the reason I am in Wyoming, so if crabby readers of this space want to blame anyone, blame him.
Devaney left Wyoming for Nebraska, Lloyd Eaton took the Wyoming job, and hired 30-year-old Fritz Shurmur as one of his four assistants.
On my old desk, I had one wire basket. It was filled like a mountain about to avalanche, and frequently did.
When I read something I loved, I printed it out and put it in the basket so I would have it forever and always.
I vividly remember a long form piece about Nebraska and its sellouts. I cried the first time I read it.
When my travel partner gripes about yet another trip to Laramie - weather, team success, other things he might enjoy doing on a fall Saturday - that piece comes to mind.
We can be Nebraska. I firmly believe that and will always.
We can make people love football again.
All it takes is some guts - from the players, yes, but also from those of us willing to support more, both with our wallets and our butts in the seats, and gripe less.
And if our conference changes again - which breaking news indicates it will - we’ll just play who shows up.
That’s not for the fans to worry about.
Nebraska folks would put corn on their heads and go whether they were in the Big 8 or Big 30.
We should too. Just leave the corn heads at home.
Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at: SallyAnnShurmur@gmail.com
