Letter from the editor: A bright future, a fond farewell | Local

After more than three decades, Husker football columnist Steven M. Sipple – better known as Sip – has decided to move on from the Journal Star and HuskerExtra.

His byline may disappear, but his column catchphrase – one used literally hundreds of times – will live on, at least for today. It’s a fitting way to say farewell and to frame the future.

So here are some “things I know, and things I think I know.”

Over thousands of columns and stories and hundreds of podcasts, Sipple kept Husker fans informed. Love him or hate him (way more of the former, of course) he was prolific, always with something to say.

While he always had great inside information, he never quite mastered that “inside voice,” especially talking on the phone (that’s why he always had a private office) or tossing a football around the newsroom with his fellow staffers. By the way, the new Journal Star offices are great, but they aren’t so good for deep routes.

Sip would say he had a face for radio, and he did plenty of that, but he held his own on video, too, first with the 2-Minute Drill and later The Sip ‘n Sam Showdown video podcast on HuskerExtra. He had great camera presence, though when it came to his on-camera wardrobe, he’d probably agree he had a strong Oscar Madison vibe.

Paperwork wasn’t among his talents. I think he’s still got expense receipts out from the 2003 Alamo Bowl, but I can confirm, after a decade of approving the expenses he did eventually turn in, he is a man of simple tastes that run toward concession stands and convenience stores over surf and turf.

I know, though, that while he’ll be missed by many (maybe not the finance department), he’s just one in a long line of Journal Star journalists who have kept Husker fans enthusiastic, engaged and, occasionally, enraged for more than a century.

One of the earliest Nebraska football stories I could find in our archives – and they were the Bugeaters back then – is from Nov. 25, 1892.

The story, in its entirety, says: “The State university team held its own with Iowa at Omaha yesterday. The game resulted in a tie. Like everything else connected with the university of Nebraska, the football team is looking up, and great things may be expected of it in the future. And it may be remarked in passing, that football has done as much to arose (sic) outside interest in the university than anything connected with the institution.”

That was it. Far from the giant multimedia and multipage-print effort Journal Star and HuskerExtra readers have come to expect. Not even a preview story about what a great week of practices they’d had or hand-wringing about their 2-2-1 record and finishing second (behind Kansas!?) in the Western Interstate University Football Association standings (Big Ten definitely fits better into a headline). But even 130 years ago, Husker fans were optimists.

So are we, and we’re eager to bring you more.

Husker football coverage is as much a team effort as Husker football. And we’ve got a veteran lineup, depth at every position and the chance now to fill some holes with new talent.

HuskerExtra subscribers know The Sip ‘n Sam Showdown brought together top folks from the Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald to talk sports. The Journal Star’s Chris Basnett will be Sam’s next Showdown buddy, but look for other guests in the future as World-Herald sports editor Sam McKewon searches for a worthy and argumentative adversary.

And the Journal Star’s 2-Minute Drill and Life in the Red podcasts will continue to keep folks informed with familiar voices.

We’ll mine our rich historical archive to share memorable moments and stats and storylines from years past. And we’ll use our ever-growing box of tools to focus on recruiting and where the program is headed.

The Huskers make history in August, traveling to Ireland to play Northwestern – in their second most “away” away game ever (first would be 1992 vs. Kansas State in Tokyo).

The team is embarking on what may be a pivotal season for coach Scott Frost, and the Journal Star and HuskerExtra will have more predictably strong coverage and, predictably, some surprises, too.

So whether you count on the Journal Star for the best local Husker coverage, or you appreciate the added breadth and depth available through our HuskerExtra premium subscription, you can keep counting on us for information, innovation and breaking news.

It might not be quite as exciting as those first few strains of The Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius” before the Tunnel Walk, but it feels like we’re on the cusp of more big things.