I want to start this month by informing you that I grew up in a house divided.

When it comes to the level of “fan”atism toward the Cornhuskers that is. I don’t intend to venture over into Nathan’s territory by any means but this topic was suggested to me by one of the biggest Cornhusker fans I know and I thought it might be something worth exploring from the point of view of someone with only a passive interest in sports. Sorry Nathan, but it’s true.

I say divided because, in our house you were either apprehensively sitting on the edge of the sofa and screaming at the coach’s ridiculously wrong choices, voiced in the same tone and with the same tenacity as following a touchdown, massive yardage gain, or interception on a typical Husker Saturday. Or you were carrying on a completely off-topic conversation in the background trying to ignore the earsplitting, chaotic, fervor of team spirit going on in the living room. There was never any middle ground. Some of us were crazy-excited about football and some of us could have cared less.

Being part of the group that seemingly, could care less, I have to admit that there is something about that Cornhusker spirit or something about us as a people that connects us to the rest of the world by that one identifier. Believe it or not, when I was in Italy and I told Italians which state of the union I was from, they would smile and try to form the word “Cornhusker” in way of a knowing response. There really is no way to deny it, we are what we are. When you’re vacationing and tell people where you are from; they most likely will remember someone else they have met from Nebraska and will ask you if you know them. I love it when I’m in a busy airport like La Guardia and I can always find a red sweatshirt in and amongst all of those people. They will probably be wearing shorts in the winter time….but still…..I think of them as family and might go up to them and say hello, completely confident that they will respond in kind.

Recently, as I understand it, there has been some question as to whether or not our football “team” is performing to the best of their abilities. Whether or not they are “representing” as it were. In my view, it’s most important during these times that we Cornhuskers show our true colors. Though it’s natural to “gently encourage” by constantly debating football issues in the break room at work, in the trucks while waiting at the grain elevator, or by screaming our opinion directly into the car radio on game days in order to send our message to the gods over at UNL as to what their next move should be…in our humble opinions. Our true colors are more than scarlet and cream, there is more to the heart of a true Cornhusker than just football.

Being a Cornhusker means doing the right thing even when it isn’t popular, treating everyone like they are your next door neighbor, keeping your idea of “big city” in perspective, accommodating the speed of the occasional tractor with patience, bragging about the accomplishments of our children to anyone who will listen, living in Omaha and having it imagined as “rural” by our “out-of-state” friends, working hard for a living, and let’s not forget: supporting the home team…no matter what that team might be.

So, to that fan who is so dear to my heart and suggested I go on this little venture, I say thank you. Without your Cornhusker spirit in our house growing up, I wouldn’t have realized how “representing” our Nebraska in a positive light to the the rest of the world has so much to do with that happy-go-lucky Herbie Husker image that people can’t help but smile when they see him or when they think of one of us.