River Rivalry: The Corn Bowl (officially the Heroes Game). Our new annual Thanksgiving Friday game against Iowa. It resulted in about the same 20-7 victory as every Friday game I can remember in the last 25 years I have been watching the Huskers finish out their season with a lackadaisical win the Friday after Thanksgiving. Only difference? Our opponent is now in black and yellow instead of black and gold.
Friday’s football tradition is as much a part of my family’s pastime together as the Thanksgiving meal itself. I haven’t missed the Friday home game since I was a small child, and I was thrilled when Nebraska decided to take up the new rivalry against Legends division conference opponent Iowa through the next two years. Based on the turnout today, I am pretty confident this new rivalry is here to stay.
The seniors’ last home game of the year was an easy victory in the Huskers and Hawkeyes 42nd meeting since first playing in 1891 to a crowd of 2,500 in Omaha. Nebraska now leads the series with 27 wins, 13 losses, and 3 ties.
One of my best friends from high school, Joe, arrived at my parents’ house at 6:45 AM for a 7:00 AM departure to Lincoln. These early games are rough! I packed my mittens and my hat, and we made it early enough to beat the traffic and nab a garage parking spot. We met my family at The Champions Club for our morning tailgate, and the wind picked up as the game drew near. At 50 degrees on November 25, though, I could not complain with a tiny wind chill.
Our seats were at the near top of the North end zone, and we made the climb in plenty of time for the band’s pregame, the “Can You Feel It” song, the Husker rap, and my favorite, the Tunnel Walk. Our view was awesome that high up, but the countdown was bittersweet as it is the last regular game of the season and of my 2011 journey. I decided to enjoy every moment and started cheering loud as Maher kicked off and our Blackshirts started toward a near Blackout on Black Friday.
As the 21 Seniors were announced before the game, I could not help but think that we will be starting over on Defense again next year when our Blackshirts rock, Lavonte David, and buddies Alfonso Dennard, Austin Cassidy, and Lance Thorell leave Memorial Stadium for good. Jared Crick, although sidelined most of the season with an injury, was a major influence for the Shirts this season as well. Key players on Offense including Mike Caputo (son of a former high school DECA Advisor and friend), Tyler Legate and Brandon Kinnie will leave a hole in our offense as well. We have some gaps to fill before next season for sure.
The Huskers got their groove back…for the most part. “They had a never say die attitude,” said Bo. Thank goodness. Two interceptions in our favor, ten points up at the half, and nearly the entire game holding Iowa’s offense without a score, we commanded the field today. Unfortunately, the penalties racked up again, some of them unfounded, and those on Iowa’s scoring drive resulting in too many freebie attempts for the Hawkeyes on the 1 yard line. Beck’s offense looked a bit frantic, but that has been true all season. Even Maher was a bit off; looks like last week’s shakeup at Michigan was still affecting his kickoffs on at least two attempts. Normally our most consistent player, his rocky performance reminded Husker Nation that this team is still young and still getting comfortable, even in the last game of the season.
The one consistent today was Burkhead. That guy gives his whole heart every time. On one carry, he kicked and scrambled over a defender to pick up just a couple more yards; the crowd roared. It is that kind of hustle that makes the difference in a game like today. Reminded me of Roy Helu, now one of the toughest RBs in the NFL (and my “value pick” on my Fantasy team for good reason). Burkhead’s final play taking a knee sealed the record at 38 carries for the most carries in a single game by a Husker player in history. What a classy move and a great credit to how hard he has worked this season.
Another tradition found a home in today’s game: the gavel pass between Mortar Board chapters. As a former Nebraska Mortar Board member, I remember our gavel pass on the field at the Missouri game. I was pleased to see that this tradition will continue with our new conference division rival. The Innocents Society from Nebraska found a new tradition against Iowa’s senior honorary in the Corn Bowl Trophy exchange.
As Joe and I exited the stadium, we caught a glimpse of red jerseys carrying out the new Heroes trophy, a beautiful tribute to our newest rival game. It will be interesting to see how this new rivalry develops over the years based on how competitive the two teams remain. Rivalries are built on history, though, so it remains to be seen whether the Heroes game will be a born rivalry like the Nebraska-Oklahoma one in the days of the Big 8 or a made one like the Nebraska-Colorado one in the days of the Big 12. Hoping for the former so that the trophy and the new traditions carry the same amount of weight that the post-Thanksgiving game has for so many Huskers like me over the years.
The win was critical to secure our 9-3 season and put us in line for a BCS bowl bid. Now the countdown begins for the bowl decisions on Sunday, and I am anxious to book my tickets to wherever we end up. Capital One in Orlando? Outback in Tampa? My bet's on Tampa against either Georgia or South Carolina, two incredible teams. Looking forward to an exciting end to my journey wherever we end up.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
To commemorate my season following the Huskers, I made my most over-the top, incredible Christmas card EVER this year.
Knowing that my weekends were limited this season, my wellness coach advised me to utilize my long Thanksgiving weekend in Nebraska to recruit some help to complete my card vision: a tree commemorating the best moments of my season in the form of ornaments and a poem reflecting on each week. So, I packed up all of my supplies and shipped them off from FedEx after my workout knowing that the shipments would likely cause me to miss my flight, but I was so committed to completing the project that I would not have missed the opportunity to knock them out over a weekend.
As soon as the Iowa Game was over, I grabbed my boxes and set up shop at Grandma’s house. Mom, Aunt Bonnie and I went to work. The hours flew by as we punched, tied and glued nonstop the entire weekend. Magic happened, and we finished the 100 cards just before I headed to my parents house to get ready for the show. Incredible. I packed up the cards and stopped by FedEx to ship them back home for addressing. The cards were my best! Having handmade cards for years, none have topped the creativity and effort I put into my Husker cards.
My masterpiece was highlighted by my clever poem, inspiration from my mom and the “12 Days of Christmas”. I adapted them to the “12 Games of Huskers” and matched the rhyming, syllable length, and sequence of the original song. See the original poem, below:
The Twelve Games of Huskers
On the first game of Huskers, Scrappy the Moc gave to me
our first Big Ten victory.
On the second game of Huskers, Fresno State gave to me
two ranks I loved.
On the third game of Huskers, Washington gave to me
3 home wins.
On the fourth game of Huskers, Wyoming gave to me
warm-up for the curds.
On the fifth game of Huskers, Wisconsin gave to me
a loss that stings.
On the sixth game of Huskers, the Buckeyes gave to me
3 quarters praying.
On the seventh game of Huskers, Minnesota gave to me
sideline tape for trimming.
On the eighth game of Huskers, the Spartans gave to me
Legends division king.
On the ninth game of Huskers, Northwestern gave to me
a Wildcat depantsing.
On the tenth game of Huskers, Penn State’s fans gave to me
fans who were weeping.
On the eleventh game of Huskers, Michigan gave to me
different tears for wiping.
On the twelfth game of Huskers, the Hawkeyes gave to me
Heroes trophy coming.
Wishing you a season of as much fun and memories
as the Huskers brought me this year! Go Big Red!
Love, Kristen
On Sunday night, I am thrilled to make a guest appearance on the KMTV Action 3’s 10:30 PM Sunday night “Sports Sound-Off” with Sports Director Travis Morgan. Make sure to tune in!!!
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