Nebraska’s ‘card stunt’ does justice to sellout No. 400

Others see it as a source of pride. That side of the coin is also valid.

Everyone could probably agree that Nebraska’s nod to the 400th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium on Friday night was pretty sweet. 

It started with a hype video on the Husker Vision boards. The montage showed just how far the streak, and the sport, have come. It’s been 62 years, after all.

Then, fittingly, it was time for the Sea of Red to get involved. Fans sitting in East Stadium arrived to a two-sided card waiting on their seats.

At the prompt of the PA announcer, folks flipped their cards to reveal a red background and white lettering, spelling out: “400th sellout: 1962-2024.”

OK, well played. But the inverse of the “card stunt” was even better. The flip made for a white background with red lettering, spelling out a common phrase around here: “No Place Like Nebraska.”

That drew a loud roar from the rest of the stadium that felt more like a nod in agreement. There really isn’t anywhere else like this place.

But that’s another column. This one is a salute to the fans. The ones who have endured extreme weather and more than their share of gut punches over the years. The ones that have screamed their lungs out and helped force false-start penalties. 

By the way, Nebraska, historically, plays pretty well on notable streak milestones. The Huskers won sellouts Nos. 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350. 

That means something, right? 

Earlier Friday, HuskerExtra and 93.7 The Ticket hosted their second “Huddle” event of the season at the Apothecary in downtown Lincoln. 

This time, members of Nebraska’s 1994 offensive line — Zach Wiegert and Brenden Stai — took the stage and traded stories, answered fan questions, and, well, reminisced a bit.

Exuberant host Varshawn Jackson, a captain of the 1997 Huskers, asked one question that made my ears perk up. 

“What do you guys think of this year’s team?”

Stai began his answer by saying, “Well, a lot of things.” If you’re a Nebraska fan, you like that Stai’s mind starts there. He’s a national champion and an original Pipeline member. 

“They’re taking care of those little things, which ultimately, leads to championship teams,” Stai continued. “You have a team right now that is collectively caring about each other. And we’re starting to see those things add up.”

Don’t miss the final “Huddle” event of the season. It’s on Nov. 1 — the day before a home game against UCLA — and will feature a few legendary Blackshirts. Find tickets here.

* The “1890” logo painted on the turf returned Friday. It was absent last week after making its debut for the Colorado game. 

* Experiences navigating the typical drive-time traffic on a Friday evening mixed with game traffic were traded like war stories in the press box. 

* Flyover! It feels like it’s been a while since we got the full roar of the jets flying over the stadium as the national anthem concludes. 

* Shout out to the student body, who started packing the section two hours before the game. There’s not really any shade in that area either. They were certainly feeling the heat, which got up to around 90 degrees.

* Illinois brought out its old-school orange helmets. I liked those.