Nebraska Football: Turn it up to 11

I had a weird feeling we might be in for a special night when I got back into Lincoln at 1 pm Saturday. I had just finished playing in a morning golf tournament over an hour away, and after being awake since 4:45 am, I hadn’t even gotten over the bridge to get into town when traffic had completely stopped. The Bob Devaney Sports Center was already filling up with a sold-out crowd for volleyball, but those that didn’t attend were clogging the streets with more effectiveness than my hair does with the shower drain.

I was already beaming with excitement (after my inevitable nap of course) when my wife and I got to the stadium. Husker fans, I could not be prouder of you then I was on Saturday. I got to Memorial Stadium at 5:30 pm, just in time to watch both Notre Dame and Iowa lose on last second field goals on the video boards. The crowd went absolutely nuts, as over 60,000 people were already in the stadium a full hour before kickoff. As the stadium filled to just under 87,000 people, it only got way louder from there.

The saying goes “if it’s too loud then you’re too old”. No one, and I mean no one, gave a damn about how loud it got. I’m pretty sure I saw old people’s teeth falling out from yelling at the game. I haven’t heard Memorial Stadium that loud since Alex Henry kicked a 57-yard field goal to take the lead against Colorado, only to be slightly more delirious once Suh ran over Cody Hawkins on his pick six the next possession. In the end, I’m not sure that Colorado game compared to this one in overall noise.

This is the atmosphere that Nebraska players hope and dream of when they come to play here. A crowd so loud that even your thoughts are barely audible in your head. Will Compton didn’t need to do a hype video for this one, but I’m glad he still did. It just made nearly 87,000 people want to destroy anyone who stood in their way. We went full Spinal Tap, and from now on I want us to always go full Spinal Tap. You want proof it was loud, just ask Travis Hunter.

I know with Northern Iowa coming up, there could be a severe letdown in both atmosphere and game play. The crowd has to be the one to set the tone for the players this Saturday. It has to be balls to the wall all night, just like last week. This is the most fun a lot of newer Husker fans have ever had watching football. This brought back tears of joy to the older generations who reminisced how things used to be. Opponents hated coming here, genuinely feared it, and the noise within the stadium will be the fear factor again. There can be no letdown this week, not from the team, nor from the fans. Matt Rhule will hold the team accountable, but it is up to you as fans to hold yourselves with that same accountability in atmosphere.

When I got home, my wife told me I sounded like an old woman at the casino who smoked 2 packs of menthols for 30 years. My voice was utterly shot halfway through the first quarter, but I didn’t care. I was ready to rupture my vocal cords. I was one of thousands who gave it everything I had yelling. I smiled when my wife told me I sounded like that; it was the best compliment I’ve heard from her after watching sports together for over a decade. I actually had to sign “thank you”. I’m ready to do it again this Saturday, and every home Saturday the rest of the way. Are you? Go Big Red!