So Nebraska had just lost 80-70 in the Big 12 tournament after facing a Texas A&M team that had everything working right. It was the first defeat of the season for the Huskers, and not surprising considering how both teams had looked in their quarterfinal match-ups. Texas A&M had appeared to click well against Texas, while there were things that didn’t look as good for Nebraska against Kansas State.
Still, even though this was a loss that all but those with the rosiest-colored glasses might have seen coming, there was a sense of sadness for the Nebraska fans that the “perfect” part of their season ended. To go unbeaten is such a rare and unlikely thing, especially for a program that’s had to scratch and claw its way to this level of success.
I was walking down to the interview area from press row, a little trip I’ve made perhaps 700,000 times in all the years of covering the Big 12 women’s tournament, and got behind the A&M tuba players. Then I looked ahead to see a cluster of Nebraska fans standing in the hallway.
Now, this is the kind of situation that could cause just a little irritation or verbal unpleasantness … band members of the team that won walking out and going past sad fans whose team lost its first game all season. I thought for a second, “I bet the Huskers folks are feeling a little grumpy now.”
Then, just as quickly, I flashed back to this:
Early in my freshman year at Missouri hundreds of years ago – OK, 1983 – I had my first meeting with some Huskers fans. It was before an MU-Nebraska football game. I was getting something out of my car, which all that school year I had to park far, far, far from my dorm, in a lot up by the football stadium.
That was because of one of those important things you don’t know as a freshman (or at least I didn’t): That you had to go wait in a long line on a certain day to get a “good” parking-lot pass that was actually next to the dorms. Otherwise, you were stuck parking about a 15-minute walk away.
Anyhow, a bunch of Nebraska fans had parked around my car and were tailgating. They were older folks, and they said, “You guys sure have a good team,” which Missouri actually did then (the Tigers went to the Holiday Bowl to conclude that season, before the program entered a long down cycle).
So we started talking, and I found myself telling these people the whole story about why I had to park in this lot so far away from where I lived … and they asked me what I was going to major in, and I said I had no idea … heck, I didn’t even know enough to stand in line on the right day to get a decent parking pass.
And they said, “Oh, but you’ll know next year!” … and they asked me where I was from and was I a big football fan … which gave me the opening to pour out my then-lifelong love of the St. Louis Cardinals no matter how much misery they caused me … and they said, “Oh, so you must be a Cardinals baseball fan, too?” and I said, “Oh, my gosh, let me tell you …”
When I left to walk down to the stadium, one of the women said, “Well, honey, we hope the Huskers win. But if Missouri wins, we’ll be happy for you.” And that pretty much sealed what I’ve thought about Nebraska fans – though I know they can’t all be like that _for the rest of my life.
So … back to the hallway in Municipal Auditorium on Saturday, with the Texas A&M tuba players walking past the group of Nebraska fans after the Aggies had just eliminated the Huskers from the Big 12 tournament. When it comes to college sports, I stopped being a “fan” a long, long time ago. Still, I certainly could imagine how down the Nebraska folks must have felt.
And then I heard them say to the A&M tuba players, “Hey, you guys have the best band! We love listening to you!”
I couldn’t stop smiling all the way down the stairwell, into the media room, and then into the interview room. I thought, “That is SO Nebraska!”
Mechelle
At a Tech/Nebraska football game – the Tech fans pretty much ignored the band at halftime (and the Tech band is VERY good), but the Nebraska fans gave them a standing ovation.
I lived in Nebraska for 3 years and they were the nicest people I’ve ever lived around.
Great story thanks for sharing..
Mechelle
Great story!
I went with the Nebraska Fastbreakers to the March 6 K State Game in Manhattan. As we were leaving, a K State fan made a point of telling us she hoped we did well in the NCAA tournament and complimented our team.
And whenever I’ve been in Oklahoma, I’ve always been treated well by their fans. They’ll even root for us if we’re playing Texas.
Treating people well and being kind really does make sporting events a wonderful experience.
No substitute for Class. The Huskers got it, loss or not. I can’t wait to see their tourney performance!
Awww, I love heartwarming fan stories like that.
Sort of related, we encountered a lot of that as St. John’s fans from UConn fans in Hartford. It went a long way towards restoring my faith in humanity.
Great story. All us fans ought to keep in mind how much damage or good we can do by being decent (or not) to other team’s fans. I have some fond memories of other schools and a few not so fond.
There’s a lot of truth to this being what most Nebraska fans are like, but I see a lot of this attitude from most women’s hoops fans more than other sports regardless of team. At one point (making that same trip Mechelle mentioned from press row to the postgame presser, I’ve made it a few fewer times over the years) the elevator opens and fans of at least 5 different teams pile off…Aggies and Huskers and Sooners and Cowgirls and Cyclones…and they’re all smiling and talking about the tourney.
I’d liked to have seen more people and totally agree with Blair that the coverage locally was lacking, but it was a terrific event and the way the fans get along makes the Big 12 women’s basketball championships one of my favorite events of the year.
But even if most fans of most teams are awfully nice when it comes to our favorite sport, I think the old song does have a point…there is no place like Nebraska.
I was one of the A&M tuba players in Kansas City this past weekend, and I’m pretty sure I was one of the players who the Nebraska fans commented to at the end of the game if I’m remembering of the same thing. It is very heart-warming to have received so many compliments from so many people, especially the Nebraska fans. I’d always heard Nebraska has some of the best fans in the country, and it’s 100% true. We (Hullabaloo) pride ourselves on having a great time while playing fun music. We’ve only been around for 6 years (a lot of people don’t realize we are not part of the Corps of Cadets), and look forward to many more. To all of the Big XII fans, thank you.
Steve: we all loved listening to Hullabaloo, the A&M band. You all made the tournament experience all the more fun for many. Great job! You made me an A&M fan.