New gameday memories will have to wait for Husker season ticket-holders stuck on the outside | Football

After 53 years of going to games in Lincoln, Gelster says it still brings tears to his eyes before the kickoff of the first game when the marching band plays, “There is No Place Like Nebraska.”

“It brings chills to you the first time they start playing it and you stand up and realize it’s finally here and everybody is around you and cheering and everything like that,” Gelster said. “It’s always pretty exciting that first time the band starts marching down the field.”

That reaction is probably because of all of the memories that come back during the first game, like going to games with his dad when he was in high school. His mom went to games until she was 90.

This year, of course, is going to be very different for Gelster and thousands of Husker season ticket holders because they won’t be able to attend the games, starting with Saturday’s contest against Penn State. Many of those fans only know a life that includes making the trip to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln several times each fall to watch the Huskers.

Steve Moses of Lincoln has been to every Nebraska home game since 1966 — about 355 games — when he was a freshman at UNL. His son Chris hasn’t missed a home game since 1997, including the three seasons he was in the Cornhusker Marching Band.

Due to the global pandemic, Nebraska and other teams in the Big Ten Conference are limiting crowds for football games to the families of the players and coaching staff.

Gelster, a 66-year-old Omaha resident, hasn’t missed a Nebraska home game since 1969, when he was a freshman in high school. He’s not going to count this year as a miss, though.

His dad got tickets when South Stadium was built, in the third row right behind the goal post. He has ticket stubs from when the tickets cost $5.50. He’s still in those original seats.

Soon after one season ends you start looking forward to the next season, Gelster said.

“There is a group of people who sit close to us that we’ve become friends with over the years and you catch up before the first game starts and see how everything has gone the last year, and everything like that,” he said. “I’ll miss that part of it, too. Keeping up with those people that I’ve been sitting by for 25 or 30 years.”

Gelster has purchased one of the cutouts made by the Athletic Department and placed in the seats so he knew he’d be there in spirit. After the last game, he’ll be able to get the cutout to keep.

He plans to watch all the games on TV.

“Every time when they kick an extra point in my end zone, at least I’ll get to see my seat. I guess that’s the good news,” Gelster said.

Tom Lange, a retired teacher and coach from Columbus, is a season ticket holder who hasn’t missed a home game in 36 years.

“Ever since I was in high school I just really enjoyed going to the games, and I just kind of got hooked on it,” Lange said.

Lange may still make the trip to Lincoln on the day of one of the home games.

“It’s definitely going to be strange,” Lange said. “I was talking to a friend of mine and we thought about just driving down and acting like we’re going to go to the game, knowing that we’re not.”

It’s going to be weird seeing a game played in Memorial Stadium and not being there, Lange said.

“It’s just kind of a ritual for me in the fall,” Lange said. “The fall rolls around and we go to home games, and that’s what I enjoy doing. It’s just very enjoyable.”

Tim Peterson and his wife, Chris, from Bennington, got season tickets in 2006 when some new sections were opened in North Stadium. A friend asked if they wanted to go in on tickets together.

“I said, ‘Let me think about it … yes.’ It was that quick,” Peterson said.

As the season got closer to starting this year, Peterson realized how weird it was going to feel not to be at the games.

They’ll still watch the games and eat tailgate food.

“We’ll do what we’ve always done, put our flag out and put our Husker gear on,” Peterson said.

Jim Clark of Papillion hasn’t missed a home game since he purchased season tickets in 1990. His seats were in the top row of North Stadium until the expansion. He used to describe those seats as a poor man’s skybox.

A fan with seats in front of Clark had a tarp that they hung on the fence at the top of the stadium to block the wind for the cold-weather games.

“Thirty years ago I would always pray that those older than me would be back for another year, tell stories about their family, kids and grandchildren. With pictures,” Clark said.

He’ll miss the friends you make after years of sitting near each other.

“For a few hours on gameday we all become family,” Clark said. “No one cared who you voted for or what color was your skin. We became family. I guess that is what I will be really missing on Saturday.”