Western Kentucky Game
Commentary by David Max - 9/7/10
This year marks the 47th season since my father bought season tickets when the south end zone was built in 1964. I started it early in the week with a visit to Rowland Heights Elementary School in the Los Angeles basin. As a member of the Californians for Nebraska I was invited to be a guest speaker to talk to their third grade class about the benefits of going to school at the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska football program. I had the opportunity to speak to about 100 third graders (the class that adopted Nebraska and two other classes) about the attributes of Nebraska and the four campuses that comprise the University of Nebraska system. The class that adopted Nebraska as their school showed up in Nebraska red t-shirts. It was a real pleasure to share my experiences with these impressionable students. You never know when the next star athlete or the next academic all-american is going to decide to attend school at Nebraska because of their experience at this level. CFN gives several scholarships a year to students from California that chose to attend school in Nebraska. What a great way to start the season.
The next morning I was flying back to Nebraska to get ready for the opener of the 2010 season. The last chapter in the Big 12 era for Nebraska football has started. It is somewhat of a bittersweet time of reflection back to the old days of the Big 8 Conference and the anticipation of the upcoming move to the Big 10 even though neither conference seems to be able to add right now.
It is quite a different beginning than the 2009 season. The main difference being the offense carrying the load instead of the defense at least for the first game which has been well chronicalized on the game page. It is a well known fact that Bo was not pleased with the results from the defensive side of the team. I am confident that will improve before we get into the Big 12 schedule. I was impressed with the speed of the defense. The mistakes of playing out of position will improve with time. The offensive star of the game was obviously Taylor Martinez. My nephew, Gregg Max, sat in on of our seats and made the comment that Taylor has the speed and moves of Eric Crouch and a better arm. The quarterback position has to be our deepest position with all three quarterbacks playing well.
I attended the game with a good friend that I have known for several years from Las Vegas, Scott Morrow, who attended his first Husker game in Lincoln at the tender age of 49. I figure if we can all recruit one new Husker fan a year we will double in no time. After this experience Scott is a new Husker fan for life. He grew up a short distance from Mike Rozier so it's about time he joined the team.
Our first HuskerMax tailgate of the season was a huge success thanks to the support of sponsors like RNBC Distrubuting, Bicardi, Schroeder's Smoked Foods, DirecTV and individuals like Ron French and Skunkman on our BBS who provided the best sweetcorn even though he was unable to attend. We had 350 people that attended to enjoy the food, beverage and DirecTV service. An additional plus was the addition of our own port-a-potties. If you would like the attend future tailgates it is imperative that your RSVP in advance. A photo gallery of the tailgate is located here.
The first game of the season is also the time when you have the opportunity to renew acquintances with other Husker fans that you consider part of the family. Most of the people that also bought season tickets with us in 1964 are still there. Arleen Heibel is back for another year in the handicapped seating because the ramp is too steep. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go down at the end of the fourth quarter with her daughter, Jolene, and say hello. She still has her eternal optimism about the Huskers and her ever present smile. She has made a lot of new friends with the student section right behind her.
Looking forward to the rest of the season and an improving defense as we continue on the journey of our last Big 12 season. See you next week as Idaho visits. After their strong win last week they cannot be overlooked as we head to the Pac 10 matchup with Washington.
Feedback can be sent to this email. Selected responses will be posted.
GO BIG RED!!!
Feedback Responses:
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David,
I would like to personally thank you for your hospitality at your tailgate party
on Saturday. My sons, Kenny and Tyler, had a blast. All of us will have memories
that will last the rest of our lives. The boys are supporting HUSKERMAX.COM
by displaying your sticker on their cell phones and using the drink sleeves
for their sodas. Meeting Johnny the Jet was one of their weekend highlights.
Cameron Meredith's mom even took time out of her day to ask the boys about themselves
and told them the best spot to go for autographs. We also really enjoyed the
food.
I have to say the people of Nebraska, and especially the Husker fans, made our
weekend great. The boys got their picture in the Lincoln Journal Star on Saturday,
met Tommy Frazier and Matt Davison on Friday, had a blast at the game and got
many of the players autographs afterward. It is easy to see why our Uncle Bill
Moran is a huge fan of the Huskers. After this weekend we appreciate why he
loves coming to Lincoln so much.
While we were waiting to see the players walk to the stadium on Saturday the
boys were behind a few students. One of the students stepped aside and told
my sons to move up front so they can see the players and get some good pictures.
That act of kindness represents all of the people we met this weekend. We had
a great time and the boys are hoping to visit again someday.
One again, we send a sincere THANK YOU all the way from Pottsville, PA. Enjoy
your Yuengling on Bills next visit!
Best Regards,
Ken, Kenny and Tyler Rossi
Uncle Bill Moran "Yuengling" is in the white hat.
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