Nebraska football fans aren’t just aggravated by the losses
Nebraska football fans aren’t just aggravated by the losses
John Fey watched wide eyed as Johnny Rodgers streaked down the sideline on that punt return five decades ago.
Fey couldn’t believe what he was seeing — and he wasn’t seeing it on TV.
He was in Norman for the Game of the Century between OU and Nebraska, sitting on the second row near the 5-yard yard line. When Rodgers, Nebraska’s superstar wingback, returned a punt for a touchdown in the south end zone, he came running right toward Fey.
“Johnny Rodgers scored that touchdown right in front of me,” the diehard Cornhusker fan said. “I mean, it was unbelievable.”
For decades, Nebraska fans saw lots of unbelievable things out of the Huskers.
Now, unbelief has turned to disbelief after four consecutive losing seasons full of head-scratching moments and eye-rolling losses. A season-opening loss to Illinois a few weeks ago has fans asking if this season will be more of the same.
“Unfortunately,” Fey said, “that’s where they’re at.”
As Nebraska prepares to renew its rivalry with OU — they'll celebrate, too, the 50th anniversary of the 1971 classic Game of the Century — Husker fans seem a bit resigned to the sorry state of the program. Now, don't misunderstand, they don't like where the program is, and they want it to change.
But anger? Outrage? Fury? You don't hear that.
“Right now,” longtime Husker fan Chad Schroeder said, “I'm just kind of numb to it.”
Growing up in Nebraska, Schroeder went to every home game. His family had season tickets, and when the Huskers were on the road, they'd sometimes travel to those games. They went to bowl games, too.
“That was so much fun,” Schroeder said, “but now we're just hoping we get to a bowl game.”
Schroeder is a self-proclaimed optimist when it comes to Nebraska football, but this past decade has made positivity difficult.
Schroeder, like nearly every Nebraska fan, believed former Husker quarterback Scott Frost was the right guy to hire as head coach four years ago. He knows the program. He understands the culture. He appreciates the challenges.
Now in his fourth season, Frost has upgraded the talent and brought in athleticism, Schroeder said. He points to the Nebraska linemen as a good example of that.
And yet, Schroeder sees other signs that don't square with a program taking steps to get back to contender status. Stupid penalties. Unforced errors. Timely mistakes. How can such things keep happening — and costing the Huskers — in Frost's fourth season?
When Frost was hired, Schroeder and many other Husker fans believed this game against the Sooners could mark the return of Nebraska football. It was already on the schedule, and it would give Frost three-plus seasons to work his magic.
Maybe OU-Nebraska circa 2021 would feature a couple top-ranked teams and harken back to some of the classics of yesteryear.
Now?
Most Nebraska fans are hoping the Huskers are simply competitive against the Sooners.
“It's a lot to ask,” Husker fan Gerry Fey admitted. “There's no question.”
Fey is John Fey's son, and like his dad, he is a Nebraska diehard.
Full disclosure: I went to college with Gerry, and even though we were at Kansas, I only ever knew him to wear Nebraska Cornhusker and Minnesota Twins garb.
He believes he's a realist about the state of Nebraska football. He wishes the program was further along in Frost's fourth season, but Fey understands the situation Frost inherited and the landscape the Huskers must compete in.
“I hope that they give Frost a long leash,” Fey said. “He walked into a situation with no talent; (Mike) Riley destroyed that team.”
There are Nebraska fans who believe the Huskers will again play for national titles every year.
Fey calls that a crazy idea.
“If they're like Wisconsin, I'm fine with that,” he said of the Huskers. “If they're playing for the Big Ten championship two out of every four years, I'm happy with that. When you're in the conference with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, it's not like the Big Eight.”
Fey believes Nebraska can be in that upper echelon again — it has the facilities, the resources and the support to make it happen — but right now, it's about making forward progress.
The downfall didn't happen overnight.
Neither will the rebuild.
“If they had a winning season, maybe go to a bowl, I'd be happy with that this year,” Fey said. “To me, that's a good year.
“I think most Nebraska fans would agree with that.”
His dad would.
“They've got a tough schedule,” John Fey said, “and I just don't see it getting really better this year. But you never know.”
He has seen lots of magical moments, after all, from the Huskers over the years. That Johnny Rodgers punt return for a touchdown stands at the top, though Fey admits he still isn't exactly sure how his father even got tickets to the Game of the Century. They went to games occasionally when Fey was growing up, but they didn't have the money to go to a bunch of away games.
And one as big as the Game of the Century?
Fifty years later, Fey still marvels he was there.