Nebraska is the best place for visiting fans: some thoughts

Donate To GopherHole
UpAndUnder43

UpAndUnder43

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
13,788
Reaction score
11,732
Points
113
Sorry for the delay in posting this. Been recovering from a long weekend.

First, the drive isn't THAT bad from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. If you go through Des Moines, stop off and enjoy a bite to eat, a beer or a walk around! Des Moines has a lot to offer. Underrated city (more on underrated cities later!) If you end up going through SW Minnesota, Sioux Falls has a lot to offer. The speed limit is 80 so you can go quickly and Omaha is terrific if you're into craft beer. Omaha=underrated city

Second, and I cannot stress this enough, the people in Lincoln are fantastic hosts. I don't mean the older people, or the younger people, or the stadium employees, or the hospitality workers, I mean EVERY SINGLE PERSON (but one) was kind and welcoming. The one? He yelled some pretty profane things as we walked past him after the game. But no worries, as 20 nearby Nebraska fans yelled AT HIM, apologized to us and offered to buy us a beer for the hassle. Keep in mind he shouted as we walked by. It was not a hassle. At the bar, we were approached by 100s of nebraska fans. College aged kids, people in their 30s and 40s, people in the 60s and 70s...all walks of life. Everyone asked if we were enjoying Lincoln, where we'd been, where we were going next, if we needed help finding anything, etc. It is remarkable.

Third, post-game bar scene is really fun. Busy, college-ish, but with a nice feel. Quality beer selection, good food options, well staffed and if you read my second thought, VERY friendly!

Fourth, the game day experience is a blast. Find a tailgate or go to The Haymarket (5-10 minutes) area and pregame a bit. Look at the sea of red, hear the "GO BIG RED" cheers and plan to walk up quite a few steps on your way to your seats. The stadium is awesome. Large but comfortable. Prices inside are cheap. $3 for a bottle of soda, $3 popcorn, $3? slices of pizza from Valentino's. Grab a Runza (its weird but do it) and enjoy.

Fifth, the ride home is likely going to be tough. Its long. You're hopefully tired from having a great time. But having done it twice, its comforting. Its easy. Its flat. And really, its a Sunday. If you're a Vikings fan, you get the game on the radio before you even cross the MN border so you can listed to that. And ultimately, you'll understand more about college football, being a visitor AND being a host to visiting fans.
 

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Go Gophers!!
 


Lived here in Lincoln for over 30 years and will agree and disagree. I have been to over 30 games here in Lincoln over the years and have been able to form an opinion or 2 about Husker fan. It is all about winning. They are very gracious winners, maybe the best at it. If a team has beaten the Huskers several times in a row, they aren't quite as kind and generous. This game was maybe the worst I have been to for verbal abuse from Husker fan. Not sure why, attended the game with a Husker fan and never said a word to any one else but him. Caught some grief for the lopsided win last year from one fan.
 

So very true. We could use more Gopher fans next time, why not make the drive and see for yourself? You will be amazed. I have noticed it here with Husker fans but it really hits you when you are approached dozens of times by friendly Huskers in Lincoln. It is classy.

We were there Friday through Sunday and never heard any negative comments but then we were expected to lose the game right?? If they lose I could see it going the other way.
 
Last edited:


We were all amazed how friendly the Nebraska fans were. I have been to games all over the country and by far the Nebraska fans top the list. Also, the idea of an 0-6 team still selling out says something else about the fan base; loyal!
 

oldauggie said:
So very true. We could use more Gopher fans next time, why not make the drive and see for yourself? You will be amazed. I have noticed it here with Husker fans but it really hits you when you are approached dozens of times by friendly Huskers in Lincoln. It is classy.

We were there Friday through Sunday and never heard any negative comments but then we were expected to lose the game right?? If they lose I could see it going the other way.
Click to expand...

See, I'd be likely to agree that after they lose it might be different, but when the Gophers beat them in 2015 (Boddy-Calhoun!!) they were the same way before, during and after. Maybe some people aren't that way but in my two experiences, they have been. I've worn maroon and gold at a bunch of road games and have been met with indifference (northwestern) and hostility (most other places) but Nebraska acts as if I am doing them some huge favor by visiting Lincoln.
 

Yep...had many people randomly walk up and ask how things were going and thanked us for visiting. Mentioned this in another thread...not much tailgating in lots close to stadium like at TCF. The handful we walked by were half-full, tops. Looks like most the tailgaters were in the lots by the baseball diamond, which is a pretty hefty walk to the stadium.

Pretty funny how the mood changed with the Nebby fans around us when we made the mini run to start the 3rd Qtr. Sort of "Oh boy, here we go again..."
 

Denver_Gopher said:
We were all amazed how friendly the Nebraska fans were. I have been to games all over the country and by far the Nebraska fans top the list. Also, the idea of an 0-6 team still selling out says something else about the fan base; loyal!
Click to expand...
True but it is the only team in the whole state. MN is what, maybe 2-3 times the population of Nebraska but we have 6 pro sports teams and the Gophers. We also have more of an arts scene that people spend money on.

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 



Lincoln gopher said:
Lived here in Lincoln for over 30 years and will agree and disagree. I have been to over 30 games here in Lincoln over the years and have been able to form an opinion or 2 about Husker fan. It is all about winning. They are very gracious winners, maybe the best at it. If a team has beaten the Huskers several times in a row, they aren't quite as kind and generous. This game was maybe the worst I have been to for verbal abuse from Husker fan. Not sure why, attended the game with a Husker fan and never said a word to any one else but him. Caught some grief for the lopsided win last year from one fan.
Click to expand...

This guy knows Lincoln.

My wife went to grade school, high school and attended UNL. I get down there at least twice each year, and was down there this weekend and had photography credentials to cover the game for www.zonecoverage.com (shameless plug for the site, but please consider becoming a subscriber).

While most things that just about everyone writes about the experience is 100% true, when you get to watch a game with them in their homes, or talking to them during the offseason, there is an air of superiority, and they could teach most Minnesotans a good deal about passive-aggressiveness.

Make no mistake. They are great hosts. I'm not saying they'll stab you in the back, but when you pull back the curtain, you may see a different side.

Now...have Colorado visit Memorial Stadium again, and you'll see a whole different side of Nebraska fans.
 

The drive was pretty tolerable, and Omaha and Lincoln are both better than expectred. The Capitol was pretty impressive as was the Haymarket area pre-game.

The fans were OK, but not as over the top as I had heard, and some seemed a very cranky during the game. I thought the stadium was very good, and the concessions were much better than TCF in terms of price, without beer of course.


The Marching Band was sort of screwed over as they got zero real pre-game time and just a short halftime, much less than the Nebraska Band was typically given at TCF. The pregame parade to the stadium was a nice event though.

I'd go back to Nebraska if we ever have a solid team again; , the only environment I have been to in the Big Ten that was not so great was Michigan State, and it was a miserable, wet cold day there. I even liked Indiana and Illinois.
 

Unregistered User said:
This guy knows Lincoln.

My wife went to grade school, high school and attended UNL. I get down there at least twice each year, and was down there this weekend and had photography credentials to cover the game for www.zonecoverage.com (shameless plug for the site, but please consider becoming a subscriber).

While most things that just about everyone writes about the experience is 100% true, when you get to watch a game with them in their homes, or talking to them during the offseason, there is an air of superiority, and they could teach most Minnesotans a good deal about passive-aggressiveness.

Make no mistake. They are great hosts. I'm not saying they'll stab you in the back, but when you pull back the curtain, you may see a different side.

Now...have Colorado visit Memorial Stadium again, and you'll see a whole different side of Nebraska fans.
Click to expand...

Very cool shameless plug. Zonecoverage is similar to TheAthletic?
 

As an old timer told me in The Watering Hole after the game "It was a lot easier to be nice to visiting fans when we knew were going to beat them to a pulp on the football field"
 



WorkingMyTailOff said:
Zonecoverage is similar to TheAthletic?
Click to expand...

Minnesota sports only (as of now).

And these guys are fans, no BS trying to "keep it real" and going for cheap shots, although they do call it as they see it.

Keep an eye on them. They are just getting started in covering Gopher sports. On the outset, they could only concentrate on professional sports, due to the staff numbers, but are building out. Give them a follow on Twitter or IG, and they have some pretty good podcasts, etc.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
As an old timer told me in The Watering Hole after the game "It was a lot easier to be nice to visiting fans when we knew were going to beat them to a pulp on the football field"
Click to expand...
Now that the real talk has started I recall leaving the restaurant at Haymarket on Saturday night, looked around and thought I was in an episode of "Leave it to Beaver".
Beaver2.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • 4a952149c872e9be703e559340165b71.jpg
    4a952149c872e9be703e559340165b71.jpg
    19.5 KB · Views: 17
Last edited:

I found the stadium to be old and tired. As a matter of fact, it is a terrible facility and needs to be upgraded desperately or torn down and rebuilt. Our seats were in the north end zone three rows from the top, row 97. I could see the Atlantic Ocean from the top row. The corridors are narrow and the bathroom facilities are right out of 1967. I did like that the vendors all seemed to be teenagers and they all seemed to work pretty hard. Couldn't believe they were that high up in the nose bleeds to peddle their goods. All in all, it's just an old stadium that lacks much charm.
 

I'll offer that although getting out of Lincoln is a VERY SLOW process...if you have that old technology called an A-M R-A-D-I-O (for you tech savvy youngsters) in your A-U-T-O-M-O-B-I-L-E (or "car")...then listening to very intense Husker post-game analysis for a few hours...especially after a Gophers win :)...can make it seem like 15 minutes of travel time. Adios Pelini...
 

That was my 3rd trip to Lincoln (2012, 2016, 2018) and I enjoyed every minute of it.

By FAR my favorite road trip in the Big Ten. The stadium and atmosphere is awesome. Lincoln's bar scene, downtown/haymarket, and girls :clap: are very underrated. The drive is totally manageable as others have said. Had probably 6-8 beers bought for me by Husker fans.

As much as I'm a fan of the Black Friday games, it's kind of a bummer that's the next time we play in Lincoln since it'll make it tough to make the 2020 game.
 

I have never been a fan of Nebraska being in the Big Ten. I thought it was a mistake when they were added, and I still feel they do not belong, first and foremost academically, but really they were brought in for one sport and one sport alone, football. That has been a colossal failure and embarrassment. I really hope Frost turns them around, as much as it pains me to say that, because that obviously hurts the Gophers chances if it comes true. But purely from an investment standpoint by the Big Ten, and sending all those BTN/ESPN/FOX $$$ down to Lincoln .... G-D I hope they do *something* in the CFP in the next 10 years. Sheesh.


That said, I would do the trip to Lincoln. I haven't gone on many trips, which is too bad of course. I'd rather do Iowa City and Madison first. Have no interest in visiting Champaign or West Lafayette (or Bloomington, IN if/when Indiana is kicked over to the West). If Iowa St is ever added, or even if they're not, I'd definitely do Ames.
 

Gophers_4life said:
I have never been a fan of Nebraska being in the Big Ten. I thought it was a mistake when they were added, and I still feel they do not belong, first and foremost academically, but really they were brought in for one sport and one sport alone, football. That has been a colossal failure and embarrassment. I really hope Frost turns them around, as much as it pains me to say that, because that obviously hurts the Gophers chances if it comes true. But purely from an investment standpoint by the Big Ten, and sending all those BTN/ESPN/FOX $$$ down to Lincoln .... G-D I hope they do *something* in the CFP in the next 10 years. Sheesh.


That said, I would do the trip to Lincoln. I haven't gone on many trips, which is too bad of course. I'd rather do Iowa City and Madison first. Have no interest in visiting Champaign or West Lafayette (or Bloomington, IN if/when Indiana is kicked over to the West). If Iowa St is ever added, or even if they're not, I'd definitely do Ames.
Click to expand...

What school has the most Academic All-Americans?
 

I'll agree that Nebraska fans are generally great and I like Lincoln as a small city. My best friend's family are long time season ticket holders/alums which led to me sitting in great seats on Saturday. But boy did I get to sit next to some Nebraska rubes. The two guys next to me were constantly screaming at Frost to 'run up the score because that's what Fleck did to us last year', complained that the refs screwed them out of several more TDs, and that every time there was a Gopher injury, it was Fleck was telling his players to do it on purpose.

I was also astonished at the number of people taking pictures of the scoreboard after the game to commemorate Frost's first win. They truly think he is the savior. It's amazing how the mighty have fallen. Just 21 years ago they were coming off of their 3rd claimed National Championship in 4 years. Since then they fired a coach that went 58-19 over 6 years in Solich, and a coach in Pelini that won at least 9 games in all 7 years he was the coach and played in 3 conference championship games. Now they couldn't have been more thrilled to get to 1-6 with a win over the Gophers.
 


Unregistered User said:
Now...have Colorado visit Memorial Stadium again, and you'll see a whole different side of Nebraska fans.
Click to expand...

The above comment is spot on. The match up determines a great deal of fan interaction. The best place to be a visiting fan is in the stadium of a non-rival opponent, with a home fan base that doesn't fear your team, or respect your team, except in a condescending sort of way of how your program might be better than a lot of people think.
 

I’ve heard that the “N” on the helmet stands for Nowledge.
 


I spent the first decade of my life in Nebraska. It's a great place to be 8 or 80, and about the most boring place I can think of to be anything else. I've heard nothing but positive things about Nebraska fans but my suspicion is that they are so stunned to have visitors that everyone brings out the good china and is on their best behavior.

There's a reason the new tourist slogan is "Nebraska: It's Not for Everyone"
 

fmlizard said:
I spent the first decade of my life in Nebraska. It's a great place to be 8 or 80, and about the most boring place I can think of to be anything else. I've heard nothing but positive things about Nebraska fans but my suspicion is that they are so stunned to have visitors that everyone brings out the good china and is on their best behavior.

There's a reason the new tourist slogan is "Nebraska: It's Not for Everyone"
Click to expand...

Can't imagine it's really much different than any of the great plains states, from North Dakota down to Oklahoma. You don't live there unless you unfortunately have a job requiring you to be there, or you were from there.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom