Huskers chastised for simply wanting to play football
Let me see if I understand this. If a college football program doesn't play for a national championship, for say 20 years, it forfeits its right to speak up for its athletes.
The university president, athletic director, and coaches are all mandated to bow their heads, softly scrape the balls of their feet on the ground in front of them with their hands in their pockets, and say to conference representatives, 'aw shucks, we won't play if you don't want us to.'
Well, according to some members of the national media, that indeed is the case for Nebraska.
University president Ted Carter, athletic director Bill Moos and head coach Scott Frost all expressed disappointment in the B1G's decision to forgo playing football this fall. They then expressed an interest in doing everything they could to play some sort of schedule.
And for that, the Big Red should be kicked out of the B1G? Hmmmmmmm! I guess Nebraska should just thank its lucky stars that the B1G brought them into the fold. Ahem. Yes, another gem by a national media personality.
Had it been Ohio State or Michigan that spoke up, would we be hearing the same clamoring from those same members of the national media? Evidently not because the Buckeyes made it very clear that they were still considering all of their options. And what have we heard about it? Nothing but crickets.
National disrespect towards Husker Nation appears to be the law of the land these days. It has been since legendary coach Tom Osborne walked away following the 1997 national championship season. Its what happens when power programs start to slip. Some media members and fans smell blood and prepare for the feeding frenzy.
Nebraska has been called irrelevant because of its championship dry spell. Heck, some say Nebraska was never that good, to begin with. After all, they just ran the football. They were one-dimensional. For being irrelevant, Nebraska sure does pop up in a lot of conversations.
Let me set the record straight. The only standard Nebraska has not lived up to since coach Osborne's retirement – is it's own. Most football programs would be jumping up and down with glee if they had Nebraska's record over the last 22 years.
Big Red has posted 14 seasons with at least nine wins during the last two-plus decades. They've also earned 17 bowl bids, played in three conference championship games, and strapped it up for a national title battle. Nebraska is 180-103-0 (.636) since Frank Solich took over in 1998.
The Huskers have posted the 24th best FBS winning percentage during the post-Tom Osborne era – a stretch in which the Huskers have been said to be, 'really bad.'
Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Michigan, along with every other Division I football program, have struggled through their own downtimes. If this is Nebraska's subpar stretch, Husker fans should consider themselves fortunate. I, for one, will take it while waiting for more Big Red domination around the corner.
Hang tight Husker Nation and get behind your program. Good times are coming again. Nebraska owes no one an apology for simply sticking up for athletes that come into Big Red Country and do everything the right way.
They owe no apologies for simply wanting to play football.