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The Huskers, Holiday Bowl, and Where We All Went Wrong
I’ve got a confession to make, Husker fans: I didn’t care about the Holiday Bowl.
From the day it was announced Nebraska would be playing in San Diego (again) against Washington (again), I stopped caring. What was there to care about? The Huskers had shut out Arizona in the Holiday Bowl just a year ago and the Huskers had also beat the Huskies by 35 points in September. The Holiday Bowl seemed like a joke and a punishment, from my perspective.
I wasn’t the only one. From what I heard, San Diego was stale. The energy that filled the atmosphere of the Big 12 Championship just wasn’t there. In fact, the energy that’s usually anywhere Nebraska fans are was, well, missing. And apparently the stadium was more purple than red. I even noticed that Lincoln, Nebraska was unusually quiet. It was almost eery.
By game time, I had become slightly worried. Not worried enough to actually think we’d lose, mind you, but worried enough to take notice. I hoped the support would pick up, and was confident it would, once the game got rolling.
When the end of the game finally came, I was embarrassed. And let me clarify, I’m not talking about the team, but more myself (the team’s effort is an entirely different story). I hadn’t cared one bit leading up to the Holiday Bowl, and that was disappointing. I’ve always been so proud to be a Husker, and I still am, but I felt I had let Husker Nation down. And I don’t think I’m the only one who felt this way.
But it’s a new year, Husker fans. Come next season, Nebraska will be playing in an entirely different conference. New year, new team, new conference. Let’s just make a pact Huskers, that no matter the game, we care 100%. Because there really is no place like Nebraska, and I never want anyone to question that again.
Go Big Red.
