Hoping It Doesn’t Become a Rivalry

The official line which we usually hear around Colorado time has been Nebraska doesn't have a rival. Ask a Husker fan, and they'll want to say Oklahoma. But deep down can we really believe that? Especially when we know how all-consuming their hatred of the Longhorns is. Instead, what happens is that every few years a conference opponent rises to the top of the list of teams we want to beat most. That is, NU experiences a fair amount of frustration at the hands of a certain team, the "fans" of that opponent (which usually were either in hiding or didn't exist before they started beating Nebraska) come out of the woodwork and get mouthy about how much better their team is, then once Nebraska wins two to three games in a row the short-lived rivalry is pretty much forgotten.

In the 1970's and 1980's, it was all about Oklahoma. From 1972-1980 and again from 1984-1987 the Huskers were beaten by the Sooners every year (1978 would have been an exception if not for the Orange Bowl rematch). You'd find people who lived in Lincoln, had no ties to the state of Oklahoma, sporting Sooner gear. God, they were annoying. But by about 1994, people weren't talking about Oklahoma, except to reminisce. In fact, much of the aura of that game was washed away in the rainy Husker victory over Switzer's last team in Norman in 1988.

Beginning in 1989, Colorado had emerged as the team that got under your skin. They became unbearable after their undeserved 1990 national championship season. You started seeing CU hats around Lincoln (worn by some of the same folks you'd swear had been wearing Sooner stuff). The 1992 victory over the Buffaloes by a 52-7 margin was a sweet as they come. But despite some exciting games, a long series of NU victories (1992-2000) cooled things considerably for Husker fans.

It was in 1998 that Kansas State really came onto the radar for Husker fans. After the win in Manhattan, a new team had gotten under the skin of the Husker Nation. Since, I'd left Nebraska in the mid-1990's, I've still to this day never met one. I haven't met a Missouri fan, Oklahoma State fan, Baylor fan, or Texas Tech fan for that matter either. If I saw any KU fans, I'd attribute that to Danny Manning and the 1988 Jayhawk basketball team. But by 2003, I understand the Wildcats had gotten pretty hard to take. Four straight wins later, and the venom for KSU has quieted down considerably.

Which brings us to Missouri. With three wins over Nebraska in the last four games, they are the team that are probably bothering Husker fans most. A win tonight will no doubt be sweet for any NU fan who finds himself in daily proximity of a Tiger fan. But if the Huskers put together three straight wins over Mizzou, chances are much of the emotion will cool. That's certainly what I'll be rooting for. A rainy night's road victory, like the one that sent Switzer packing, would be just what the doctor ordered.