ten billion butterfly sneezes

At 8PM EDT tonight on ABC, the Nebraska Cornhuskers face off against the #1 ranked USC Trojans, in a night game from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln NE.

I had the good fortune to be in the stands for the first night game in Lincoln, 20+ years ago. The opponent that night was Florida State; the Big Red prevailed. I was impressed by the fortress-like qualities of Memorial Stadium; steel, concrete, tough; probably built in the WPA days, or some timeframe close to that. Look elsewhere for stadia with theater seating. Look elsewhere for watercress and mung bean sandwiches, chablis, and other trappings. This is a bratwurst, sausage, and beer place.¹

The Nebraska fans are loyal, and aren’t above not-too-friendly ribbing of the opponent. That’s proper. They are also hospitable, friendly, and even though they might hate to admit it, they realize at some level that football is just a game.

I could make several posts about that weekend so many years ago. And maybe I shall. For now, I’ll say only two things:

1. We were assured that the lighted “N” on the outside of Memorial Stadium stands for “knowledge”.
2. I could live well and prosper in a community like Lincoln Nebraska.

For tonight: Go Big Red!

-k-

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