I'm Finding a New Team to Cheer For

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Landomatic said:
Whenever I complain about anything relating to Nebraska football, I'm told over and over again that "if you don't like it, then you should just find a different team to cheer for" or the always classic, "then you're not a real fan". I've never really understood this mentality. Why can't I voice my concern/displeasure without other fans telling me I'm a bad fan or I should just take my fandom somewhere else? But something occurred to me this year and maybe I get it now. Honestly, if I don't like it, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not going to be able to change it and if I really don't like it that much, then my only real choice is to "take my business elsewhere".

I have found myself less and less on board with the direction of the Nebraska football program lately. I do not like Bo Pelini. I never have. He's nothing like what I've grown up knowing and loving about Nebraska as a state, a school or a football program. He showed this when he was Solich's D-Coordinator and he has continued to show it many, many times since. He's an embarrassment to Nebraska football...both as a coach and as the face of our once proud program. I was tolerant (at best) of him as our coach in the beginning but I just have a hard time getting behind pretty much everything regarding the football program under his tenure. I have found myself in increasing disagreement with so many things like player development, recruiting, coaching hires, playing time, dealings with the media/fan base, personnel choices, and on and on and on, and on and on and on. The guy is a disgrace and everyone outside of Nebraska knows it. Don't believe me? Go read other team's message boards or look at the commentary/coverage from just about every media source out there. He is running this program into the ground even more than Callahan. And at the end of the day it has taken the wind out of my sails as a fan over time.

The problem is, the general mentality of Husker nation is that he wins 9 games so you have to keep him around. I don't entirely disagree with this line of thinking as I think it is hard to justify firing a guy who wins 9 games. But most Nebraska fans have their heads buried in the sand so far that they can't or won't see that this is bigger than winning and losing. They can't get past the 9 win seasons and see the forest for the trees. They are so worried about the possibility of having a losing season that they don't realize the program is getting flushed down the toilet right under their noses. All things point toward much darker days ahead for Nebraska football. But until then, I'm just supposed to live with it until Bo starts losing enough games for people to realize it and he gets fired? Boy, that sounds like a great way to spend my time as a fan.

I've been a Nebraska fan pretty much all of my life. Nebraska is my alma mater and I was lucky enough to have attended school there during 2 of their National Championships and live in Omaha for another. Nebraska gave me 30 plus years of some great football memories and my fandom for NU grew stronger every year throughout their time in Big 8 and then most of the Big 12 and even after I left school and moved away after graduation...through Solich, through Pederson and through Callahan. So the thought of switching teams seemed crazy at first. It's just not in my makeup to even consider something like that. There are a lot of bandwagon fans out there who jump from team to team and never really get behind one program for very long. Well, I'm not one of them. I'm an all or nothing kind of guy so this really seemed like an impossibility at first glance. But the more I thought about it and the more I was told by "real" Nebraska fans that I wasn't a "real fan" for disagreeing with state of the program and "if I didn't like it then I should find another team to cheer for", the more I thought why not? I really have no other choice, right?

So, at the end of this season, for the first time ever as a Nebraska fan, I found myself at a crossroads. Given that I have no control over who Nebraska hires as a coach and he may not be going anywhere anytime soon if he just keeps beating the teams he is supposed to beat, I am left with really only two options. I can either live with my dissatisfaction or I can find a new team to cheer for.

For me, life's too short to just sit back and take it and I'm a college football fan to be happy, not miserable. So I've decided to find another team to support. I get it now. I'm not a real fan despite the thirty plus years and tens of thousands of dollars I've given to the program. That's fine with me. I really don't care anymore and I'd rather not be associated with a program as long as Bo Pelini is the coach. Best of luck to all of you and thanks for providing a nice place to discuss my former team. Good luck with Bo...you'll need it.
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If people were looking for the fair weather fans, here's one. When you are a fan of a team you stick with that team through the good times and the bad. You don't jump ship because you decide you don't like the coach or where the team is at today. You stick it out and wait for it to get better.

The funny thing is, it is better now. People keep posting stuff about how we are one of eight teams to be ranked each of the last three seasons, and one of six teams to win nine or more games in the last four seasons. If being in that company isn't good enough for you, then don't let the door hit your butt on the way out. And you won't be missed. You aren't that important to this team or the fan base. You are just one person.

The ideas embodied in the first post are exactly opposite of what the Huskers stand for. It isn't about wins or titles. Those just happened to come along the way. It has always been about making young men better, and playing good football came second.

 
robsker said:
HUSKER FREAK said:
Before I am or would say to Landomatic or whatever, "Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you" I would like to ask what your actual reasoning for why you HATE (VERY BIG WORD IMO) Bo Pelini so bad? I know you stated some displeasure with some of his actions and that he is a disgrace and an embarassment to NU, but never really said why you feel this way. I really don't give a rats a$$ what you do. I don't know you or anything about you so whatever. I just hate when people rant and then give no reason why they are ranting.
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OK --- I'll answer your question for Landomatic by simply quoting from his post --- where he gives the answer to your question directly..

From the OP's original post "I have found myself in increasing disagreement with so many things like player development, recruiting, coaching hires, playing time, dealings with the media/fan base, personnel choices, and on and on and on, and on and on and on."

An aside... a salient point from the OP's post is that others elsewhere --- at least by his (and my) anecdotal assessment of the view others have --- is that overwhelmingly non-Husker fans view Pelini as being an embarrassment. Landomatic conveyed much when he said that some NU fans have their head in the sand and are not seeing what is plain to others --- Pelini is a problem for NU.
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Yeah I guess those may be dirrections of the displeasure but I was getting a little more detailed like in the why do you think this way. Sorry

 
As a fan of various sports teams at various levels of success, I can relate to the comments you are talking about OP. But here is the deal, you can't throw away 30 years of cheering for a team that easily. What other team are you going to fan that is going to mean as much to you from an experience stand point as what Nebraska does? Answer, none.

I am a Dallas Cowboys fan. And I endure Jerry Jones antics all the time, have had different affinity for coaches from Tom Landry at the top all the way down to Barry Switzer at the bottom. There is always something that could get me thinking that I hate the Cowboys. Bill Callahan could have made me stop loving the Huskers. I stayed loyal to NU. And that is good because Bill Callahan is about to test my loyalty again as the O-line coach for the Cowboys.

If you found another team and were happy with that arrangement, well, they might hire a different head coach, one of those guys on the current Nebraska staff that you so dislike.

Bo Pelini might not be perfect, but he is better than a lot of coaches. His rants are not all that bad by national standards. At least he hasn't called out members of the media for such trivial things as ... wearing the wrong hat to practice, see Bobby Patrino..... or been disloyal like Patrino and Nick Saban....or punched somebody in the face like Woody Hayes... or lied to the NCAA like Pete Carroll did before running off to Seattle. Jim Tresell, Barry Switzer, Mark Mangino, Mike Leach, and on, and on, and on.

Bottom line is that any team anywhere has imperfections. What makes you a fan is that you tolerate the imperfections and move forward. The more you do that, the more it's hard to leave the team.

I am sure that, if pressed, you could come up with any number of reasons why you DO LIKE the Huskers. And, given more thought, you LIKE those things more than you dis-like all the stuff you mentioned.

You might wish someone like me good luck in finding the tolerance to deal with Pelini.

I wish you luck in finding a team that will mean as much to you as the Huskers, a squad that inspired that long winded list of complaints.

Trust me, you are not going to find a team that you will care about enough to write something like what you wrote above.

Just take all this in, vent, and move forward. You know you want to back the Huskers. No one can promise you roses, but, with the right breaks and luck, all of which are out of a fan's control, maybe Nebraska will play in the Rose Bowl.

Keep the dream alive.

And, as always, GBR!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
Hey lando... Keep us sad sack husker fans on HB updated on your allegiances new home!! That way we can get on their message board to see what your new teams fans thinks of doNU and their terrible coach! Also my guess is your search for a conflict free team is gonna probably steer you back here because the fact that we care so much about our team and coach is the same reason you won't find the same passion at your newly adopted school. And you will be left with empty misery! Good luck with that!

 
(sigh), Sorry folks, but this is going to be lengthy. Feel free to pass over. It's my opinions and genuine feelings about this whole deal. I was seriously thinking about starting a new thread with this but this current topic deserves it more.

To the OP. Your discontent and disappointment and voicing those concerns perfectly within the boundaries of being a true/loyal fan. I'm sure you did catch some hell. Heck, I was probably one to dish some out, but honestly it does not make you less of a fan. Youre decision to find another team is what takes away the fan label, especially after having so much time invested into this one. It's very dissappointing. With that out of the way, here is a rather in-depth explanation for my wanting to and thinking EVERYONE else on board should stick it out.

In 1997, thins were rolling along. We were doing things the right way. We had the best coach in football, he was from our state all his life. He was taking underskilled (yes they were) Nebraska kids and turning them into beasts. We had the best of everything. Our players were graduating. Bla Bla Bla. It was a very special place. Kids wanted to come here no matter what. Osborne built it by keeping coaches around for a very long time and developing a family atmosphere using continuity and things like the unity council. Nebraska had no business being one of if not the most dominant program in the nation, but it was. It was a special thing. Nebraska was different in some many ways. It was a blue collar type of program and there was an attitude and swagger. It was pretty much inexplainable at times. Those things more than made up for all the shortcomings that this program has to deal with such as location/climate, and lack of homegrown talent. Nebraska football was the anomoly of an ever-changing college football world, dating way back to Devaney. Then in 2003, we lost it. We lost it all. Everything that was special about us and gave us the edge we needed to stay on top was gone. We can go around and around about who's fault it is and all the what if's, but that's not what this is about. And I know it cant be used as an excuse or reason, but it really is. Many say we struggle recruiting because none of todays players remember Nebraska being what it once was and that is so true. That Nebraska is dead. It's gone and in the past. In 2003 however, we hired a defensive coordinator that for just 1 year, who had no previous ties with the state or program, got one hell of a taste of something special and unlike anything else in sports, from fan loyalty to dedication to just flat out being a great place to live. When Bo was hired in 2008, he said it was his dream job, it anyone could tell that comment from him was genuine. With Osborne above him, and as he said in his hiring, he is trying to bring everything back into the fold that once made this place special and to make it a family atmosphere again. The problem is it took Osborne 20 years for this program to develop the special intangibles that made it the freight train it was and when Bo was hired our win now and spoiled fan base was expecting it to happen overnight and it's simply not going to. The Nebraska program has to re-invent itself in a new more competitive world of college football, but we also have to make sure that every aspect that was once a special piece comes along in order for us to have that mystique that gives us the advantage we just cannot do without. I know Bo's demeanor and anger upset many, but if one cannot see that his drastic improvements over 4 years in that area dont mean for a good future, then I dont know what to tell you. I would love for everyone to stand behind the coaches and players all the time but I know it doesnt work that way. We have to have patience with this man. I see him making coaching hires of young guys that he knows and has worked with in an effort to develop this family atmosphere. I believe Bo is building for the long term, and as difficult as these 9 win seasons with facepalming losses are to swallow now, we have to remember everything will be fine. Now if the OP wants to go be a fan of another team, that's your perogative, but I'm afraid youre gonna miss out something special when we climb back to the top, because it's going to happen, and when it does, it's gonna make having to go through the lost decade of the 2000's that much more riteous. I also have the feeling that you'll come calling back to us becasue you'll realize there is just no place like Nebraska.

This couldve been longer, but so many things that came to mind have been discussed so many times over and over.

 
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robsker said:
MLB 51 said:
I live in Oklahoma. No one has ever asked if I am embarrassed about Bo's behavior. But it is Oklahoma.
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Interesting.

Did those you encountered assess NU football? If so, what was their take? I have not encountered many OU fans and, being that our two programs have such a rich history with one another, it would be interesting what their take is.
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Most of the people I work with are very respectful toward NU as am I toward them. Most are sad about the loss of our rivalry and nobody like's texas. The only people that really ever say anything disrespectful are the young kids the 18 and under crowd.

 
Its funny when people mention other teams mention if we are embarased of bo. What did those teams do that season exactly. Truth of the matter is, if we would of won our bowl game this kind of stuff would of only been kept to the extremists. Is bo extreme on the sidelines, yea. Look at the Iowa program. Kirk Ferenz has no emotion on the sideline and look how many problems that program has had with drugs and other things. It could be worse, it really could. Truth is, no one would be complaning if we were winning BCS games. And thats the worst of all, is that as long as were winning, no one here cares. If you follow the boards religiously. After Nebraska wins bowl games, or big games there is nothing but love and praise. If they lose, its gloom and doom on the world is collapsing. Bo cant coach, nothing is working. Sometimes, really this place is intolerable. I really like being here and most of the posters here are great but when this board goes into psycho mode id just rather be somewhere else. But alot of the posts are like a carwreck. I know its going to be bad but i look anyways.

 
Well there is a difference between showing concern and complaining about how we don't GO 14-0 AND WIN A BOWL GAME EVERY YEAR LIKE GOD (Tom Osborne) DID. (sarcasm) I'm not behind the coaching desk I'm not out there at practice everyday so I can't say what the right answer is. I have my own opinions as does everybody else but there's a reason I'm not on the coaching staff. I don't see Bo Pelini coming in and telling me how to do my job so I'll let him be he's still a young coach and has a lot to learn he's much improved over when he first got here but he still needs to work on things. Will he ever turn the corner I don't know but I'm not going to sit here and complain everyday about everything he does either.

 
I get your post. Read it top to bottom. I have no stones to throw at you.

I wish you all the best and hope that somewhere in the future you will miss your "first love" and return with full devotion.

 
I think being a fan is a love affair with the University, not the coach, not the football team. Supportive of the University, what it stands for and how it is viewed by others is far more important than the football program to a lot of people. This board is made of what a football fan is. We as a group are a little over the top on football, most of us have loved it sense we were small children, some for 2 years, some for 60 years.

I see my wife in the same view as robsker and landomatic. Their love is for the University, my wife has donated money to the Universtiy, not the football program, my guess is she will continue to do that, and I think if Coach Pelini ever goes away she will come back to watching and caring about the football team. WE have had some wonderful times at football games, bowl games with Husker fans. I know I am going to miss going to the games, bowl games (we did not go this year, the first time in ten years I think) wife said she would not go, so we went to the Rose Bowl instead, and had a wonderful time with the Oregon fans and the Wisconsin fans. To some Nebraska is the only team, but college football is the greatest sport there is, you can enjoy it supporting/viewing with other programs.

If I am not mistaken, robsker is a professor at Nebraska, or an affiliate nearby. That in itself should speak volumes.

But I agree with their posts about the thoughts of those outside the state, as I hear it at least once a week. And those fans have a lot of power, when you look at recruiting,

I am sorry to see both leave, as they normally bring a different insight to the board, and I think both truly love Nebraska, and losing that even for a shor time hurts the program. I went away for about 3 months I think, never from the University, but from the football team. I still regret that, but felt I needed the time to see if things were how I envisioned them being or would they be better.

Bo is not a good face of the program, under any sense of the word. He is fine for a football coach, that is not in the public lime light as much as the Nebraska program. My hope is that he will get better at all facets of his job. Understand that people look at him, small children look at him and some idolize him.

I seriously doubt many of you would act like he does around your small children, or teen age children for that matter. I must admit that being on an old jar head, I have acted that way and it did nothing good. I destroyed what Roger Decoster said was the best motocross rider in the world at 12years of age. So I see some of myself in Bo, and in my life it never did a bit of good. I was able to change, I think he will to.

 
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Believe me, there is plenty to critique about this NU team. And I have no doubt Bo realizes this.

Offering your opinion does not make you less of a fan.

 
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