To me the Nebraska way was about not caring what the outside said (like when people tried to say NU's system was too old fashioned to beat Florida teams and that TO would never get over the hump). It was also about loyalty and integrity even when the decision was unpopular on its face. It was about really living up to the adage "in the deed, the glory." Pretty much, it was the application of stoicism to running a program and cheering for a program.
Personally, I think the "Nebraska Way" died in 2003 and I don't think the program or its fan base will really ever be the same after that.
Thats what you want to believe it means. And you can bet your a$$, that had Osborne never won titles, there wouldntve been all this "back to Nebraska way" stuff. And had Callahan or Bo won some sort of championship, it wouldve been restored in the blink of an eye. Winning. That's all it is. Just winning. We like to think as a fanbase we've won in some unique way. Like we took a harder road than most. Running game. Walk-ons, etc. When it's probably the exact opposite. We used those things cuz they were the best fit for us to make winning easiest. Running a program and cheering for a program is not stoic or special. it goes on everywhere. in every sport. You win, you get to keep going. you lose, youre out and we go in another direction. i think we're a bit blinded by the fact that we had the same coach for 25 years with consistent results, and think everything was alway hunky dory, and use that to legitimize this fictional Nebraska Way. When in fact, it wasnt always hunky dory, and on more than one occasion, that so called Nebraska Way almost died long before the Nebraska Way actually became what it is now perceived to be. If Osborne loses the Liberty bowl and gets fired, leaves for Colorado, or steps aside after 1990, and Nebraska doesnt win to nearly the tick that they did, then there is no Nebraska Way.
