We'll All Stick Together

Since I moved away from Nebraska in 2004, the one major item I’ve noticed in fans of other Big 12 schools is the divisiveness. In the state of Nebraska, most Husker fans feel pretty much the same way about the state of affairs in the Nebraska Athletic Department. In Kansas City, you’ve got Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri fans all in one pressure cooker. On the other side of the state, you’ve got Missouri versus Illinois going on. And don’t get me started on Texas and Oklahoma… Last year was extremely difficult in that so many people had such varying opinions on what should be done and the level of optimism the future holds for Husker football. We finally got a taste of what so many other areas have been feeling all along.

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Bitter. That taste was bitterness to the end. It’s the sort of thing you forget how bad it is until it hits you for the first time in a while. The great uniter, Dr. Tom, came in like a grandfather gently telling the siblings not to fight. People outside the family wonder how it is that a few of his words settle everything down so quickly. To the ones who’ve lived through some or all of it, his championing of our school is on our minds every time we see a clip or hear a quote. To the ones too young to remember, the legends constantly builds inside the mind.

Bo Pelini has the same uniting tone in his rhetoric about the game. But most of all, his story feels right. The pedigree, while impressive, is not why so many have jumped on board. It’s not that he’s nearly the polar opposite of the previous regime, but rather, it’s the way he wields his whistle like the position was divinely appointed to him. Confidence in knowing that what his players are doing right now will ultimately be the reason that they win their games in the fall. It’s faith that says in about four months, it will all be clear.

To all the realists out their saying temper your emotions, I feel your pain. I, too, believe only mild improvement should be possible from one season to the next. But I can only explain with a few words why I expect the same positive 2008 as many bloggers, fans, pundits, players, etc. have declared: In Bo We Trust.