Hello, Big Ten, how nice it is to finally have the opportunity to meet you. Let us take some time to introduce ourselves.
We are the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I know you are probably thinking, where is Nebraska? Just look to the west and you will see us. We are the state with 400 miles of corn and the most loyal fans in the country.
Playing football is what we do best in Nebraska. Nebraska has been playing college football since 1890. Yes, our first win was against the Omaha YMCA, but college football has changed drastically in the last century. A rich tradition like Nebraska has to begin somewhere!
Since the game in 1890, Nebraska has won 827 other games. Nebraska is the fourth winningest program in college football history. We know Michigan is No. 1 on that list, but the Wolverines had an 11-year head start over Nebraska. A couple more games against the Omaha YMCA and we could be atop that list!
We would like to thank you for inviting us to your conference. We won’t be like Texas when we invited them to join the Big Eight Conference. Texas came into our conference and acted as if they owned the place. When they started talking about having their own television network, we thought it would be best if we excused ourselves. We are so happy to be part of the Big Ten Conference. We promise we won’t start the Cornhusker Network, forcing your fans to pay to watch us beat your team!
Don’t be surprised if the Cornhuskers come into the Big Ten Conference and start a tradition of winning your championship trophy. Winning championships is nothing new to the Cornhuskers. From 1970 to 1995, Nebraska won 15 Big Eight Titles. During that time, Nebraska won four National Championships and played for three others. Nebraska does play nice with others. We will not brag when we win and we will applaud you if you are able to beat us. All we ask is that you bring your best effort with you to Memorial Stadium, because the Cornhuskers will always bring theirs to your stadium. Also, don’t forget to wipe your feet when coming out of the tunnel!
So, you know a bit about our winning tradition, now to the players who made that tradition possible. Players for the Cornhuskers have won many awards. We have had 93 players who have collected 107 first team All-American honors. Three of those players—Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier and Eric Crouch—went on to win the Heisman trophy.
Our offensive line has been the backbone of our program. We do not recruit lineman at Nebraska, we reload. Our line has been so good in the past that the NCAA named the award for the best center in college football after our center from the early 1980s, Dave Rimington.
Nebraska players have won nine Outland trophies, the award for the best lineman in college football, since 1970. Don’t be surprised if our defensive tackle, Jared Crick, is added to the list of Cornhuskers on the Outland Trophy. If you are not familiar with Mr. Crick, he wears No. 94. Crick will be the player tossing your quarterback around this year.
I know you are probably thinking, “What is with this Blackshirts thing?” The Blackshirts is the nickname for our defense at Nebraska. The tradition was started with coach Bob Devaney in the mid-1960s. Davaney wanted to separate the offense from the defensive players in practice. The defense wore black practice jerseys while the offense wore red. The Blackshirts were born!
You might see a flag with a skull wearing a Nebraska helmet with crossbones flying in your stadium (if the Big Ten doesn’t ban it). Don’t be scared! This is just our way of cheering on our defense.
Speaking of the Nebraska fans…you will have the opportunity to meet many of us during our time in your conference. We are known as the Sea of Red. We tend to show up where ever the Cornhuskers are playing. I know you are probably thinking, “The Sea of Red is not taking over our stadium.” If you are thinking that, you are wrong! Just ask the Notre Dame fans what happened when the Sea of Red turned their stadium into a home game for Nebraska. If I remember right, Touchdown Jesus had a red shirt on that day!
I know many of the Big Ten fans are excited to come to Lincoln to see their team play. Don’t expect to walk up to the ticket booth and purchase tickets. Nebraska has sold out Memorial Stadium a record 311 times. The last time the Cornhuskers did not sell out Memorial Stadium was October 20, 1962.
The Big Ten Conference consists of some legendary stadiums: The Big House, The Horseshoe and Beaver Stadium, to name a few. I know those stadiums hold over 100,000 fans and can be awfully intimidating to the opposing teams. In preparations for our new guest from the Big Ten, Memorial Stadium is receiving a face lift. Soon our stadium will seat close to 100,000 fans as well. The additional seats do not mean you will be getting a ticket. The new seats are accounted for as well!
Cornhusker fans hope you will make the journey to Lincoln to meet us and see our stadium. If you can’t get in, there is plenty of great tailgating right outside the gates!
So Big Ten, are you ready for the Cornhuskers?
It seems like forever since we made the announcement that we would accept your invitation. We are proud to wear the Big Ten patch on Saturday as a member of the conference.
I hope you understand who the Cornhuskers are and what we are about. We are a good football team with the most loyal of fans ready to make the Big Ten a better conference than it was before…if that is possible.
We accept your invitation and we hope you accept the Cornhuskers!
Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild Vancouver Canucks Anaheim Ducks
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿