Nebraska’s ‘Legacy Walk’ captures excitement; Sharpe returns

Not in this house. I still enjoy scrolling social media and seeing athletic departments show off their fanbases from an overhead view.

The Penn State White Outs and Clemson orange come to mind first, oddly.

On Saturday in Lincoln, a Sea of Red gathered for the first rendition of the “Husker Legacy Walk,” which is the roughly the “Unity Walk” in a different location. There was so much red, everywhere, and the top-notch team inside Nebraska Athletics’ video department didn’t miss their shot.

The aerial video from above 14th and Vine Streets encapsulates the energy radiating down below. Excitement. Joy. Energy.

Up there, Dylan Raiola was just another red speck. Down here, he was a superstar before he had ever played a college snap.

I received an email earlier this week. The subject line: “NEW: Dylan Raiola Locker Room Live.”

One click and a $110 jersey bearing the freshman quarterback’s name was staring back. (Crewnecks, T-Shirts, etc., available too).

I wasn’t the only one who received that email. Several fans were donning fresh No. 15 jerseys, celebrating the story of the offseason, which was Nebraska’s major recruiting win in prying Raiola away from national powerhouses like Georgia and Ohio State.

I walked around campus and the stadium more than I usually do on gameday, the weather being perfect and the vibes pleasant. 

There’s nothing like the possibility of a fresh season — especially when you have a five-star quarterback.

At 12:45 p.m., at Gate 2, four student-aged workers in orange event T-shirts braced for action. 

They looked like an offensive line unit as they prepared for a crowd of Nebraska fans eager to enter the stadium.

This season, Nebraska has new Evolv technology, which is basically a really fancy metal detector that aims to dramatically speed up the process of stadium entrance.

The machines themselves are sleek and don’t require folks to stop if they happen to have a couple of coins at the bottom of their jeans pockets.

They call it all “frictionless” technology.

I watched for a few minutes. It went quickly and cleanly — just as it should be.

It really is the little things, like getting into the stadium with no hassle, that can persuade a fan to return next week instead of watching from home.

It was great seeing Greg Sharpe around the press box and hearing his familiar voice on the Husker Radio Network.

Sharpe, who is battling cancer, has long had this day circled on his calendar. When he revealed his diagnosis back in April, he said it was his goal to be in the booth for the Huskers’ season opener.

Four months later, there he was. The Big Ten Network posted a five-minute video that gives insight into Sharpe and his family’s journey.

Definitely worth your time. 

With the kickoff countdown at around 50 minutes, an alarm blared in the press box. An automated voice instructed people to vacate the area due to a report of a fire.

Eventually, the screeching ceded. No word on what transpired there, but it was definitely an awkward quirk in the afternoon.