The New Husker Normal

I debated how best respond to a request by a buddy to talk some smack at Husker fans after their loss to Iowa State this last weekend. After thinking about it I decided that the best way to handle this would be to allow Husker fans the time to fully absorb the loss so that they would be prepared for the olive branch I am about to extend. I’m here to help you, Husker Fan. Let me give you some advice…

I’m not sure how many of you read periodicals on economics (OK, I’m sure not a single one of you does), so allow me to introduce you to a new concept that is being explored in a post-financial melt-down era. It’s something that has become known as The New Normal. In a nutshell, the New Normal is a realization that the collective consciousness of the American consumer has changed in light of the new credit realities. And because of this, they have changed their consumption habits to more adequately handle credit and savings balance and risk management issues. The effect of this collective change is that many economists do not expect there to be a traditional recovery from this recession. We have simply established a new normal, if you will.

So, how does this have anything to do with being a Husker fan? Well, I think it’s time you came to grips with the New Husker Normal as well. Things have changed in Husker Nation and if you keep behaving like it’s 1997 then you’re going to set yourself up for crushing disappointment after crushing disappointment. Just as economists have had to revise their economic outlooks, it is time for you to revise your football outlooks. It is really crucial to your sanity to make this adjustment. It is for your own good.

As the fan of a team that is not among the elite powerhouse programs, I feel I can offer you some insightful advice that will help you in your adjustment. I offer this advice purely from the goodness of my heart, one second-tier football program to another. Consider it a Missouri River Peace Offering. These truths maybe painful for you to handle today, but believe me- if you accept them you set yourself up for a much happier football experience going forward.

1. You are no longer one of the nation’s football elite schools. “Yes we are!” you say. “We are Nebraska. We have a storied and long tradition. It is impossible for us to not be an elite school.” Well, let me submit two other examples of schools that have fallen from grace. And those examples were your two biggest out of conference rivals during your glory years. When you look at them in a mirror you can see Herbie Husker staring right back at you. I submit to you Miami and Florida State.

a. It was inconceivable in 2003 that Miami would become an also-ran, but they have. They had won four consecutive Big East championships and a national championship in 2001. They won an NCAA record 34 consecutive games from 2000 to 2002. Now look at them. No conference titles in six years. They miss a bowl game in 2007 and play in the MPC Computers Bowl in 2006 and the Emerald Bowl (where they lose) last year. If Miami can become irrelevant, so can Nebraska. In fact, as irrelevant as you probably think they are, they have had more success more recently than Nebraska.

b. Florida State won two national championships in the 90’s. They have won conference championships five times since 2000. Now look at them. 2004 = 3 losses. 2005 = 5 losses. 2006 = 6 loses. 2007 = 6 loses. 2008 = 4 loses. 2009 = 4 and 3 so far. Florida State is a laughing stock in a laughing stock of a conference. But wasn’t it just yesterday Nebraska was chasing Charlie Ward? No, Husker Fan. That was 16 years ago. Yes, read that again. It has been 16 years.

c. Do I even need to bring up Notre Dame?

You didn’t think it could happen to you, but it has. Nebraska, you are Miami and Florida State. All of the things you think about those two schools the rest of the nation thinks about you. It’s time you came to grips with that.

2. Your coaches are no longer Gods. They are human, and as such are fallible. Your coaching staff is subject to the same degree of scrutiny and second-guessing that nearly every other coach in the nation has. You will be frustrated with play calls. You will be frustrated with recruiting. You will be frustrated with personnel choices. And you no longer can rest easy in the comfort of knowing that the coaching staff obviously knows more than you do and that you should just defer to their obviously superior judgments. Your coaching staff has done less to earn respect than at least half of the other coaches in your conference. From now on, you are going to be alternatively frustrated and delighted with your coaches. Get used to the roller coaster.

3. Your margin for error when you play a game is much, much smaller than it used to be. On any given Saturday you could lose to a horrid Iowa State team even after they have their best two players miss the game with injuries. Everyone now believes they can beat you, and more often than ever, they will.

4. You’re going to have to earn your rankings and if you lose you’re going to fall out of the polls. Get used to not being ranked. Your New Normal is that things are going well if you’re in the top 20. Expect to be among the “others getting votes” at the beginning of the season.

5. There is no more “reloading” at the end of a year. Your good years are going to be when your best players are juniors and seniors. When your best players are young and the older guys suck, be happy you’re playing in Shreveport after the regular season. And if you don’t make it to a BCS game when you have that window of opportunity, be prepared to not get back there for a while. Zach Lee is the best you’ve got at QB. There are going to be years like that. Learn to deal with it without having the entire state scream for a backup that is even less ready.

6. Having a defensive guy as head coach can be infuriatingly frustrating. When the offense sucks all your head coach can do about it is stare at the team and pout at press conferences.

7. Your new rivals are the teams that you used to stomp on a regular basis. Texas and Oklahoma consider you irrelevant, just as you used to consider Missouri and Kansas irrelevant. Get used to it. Missouri and Kansas are your new peer group. Embrace their attempts at declaring you rivals, because by every measure but your own, you are rivals.

So, in conclusion, I would like to officially welcome you to the ranks of the teams you once considered beneath you. I recommend that you embrace this new station in life; pretending that you’re something you’re not is just delaying the inevitable. You have nice new regional rivals to play with. Enjoy the closeness of the Missouri and Kansas rivalries. Enjoy the conversations with Iowa fans about which team is better this year. Those debates can be fun. We’ve been having good natured conversations with Wisconsin fans for years. Take your coaching staff down off the pedestals on which you have placed them. They’re fair game for criticism, and whining about the coaching staff while still supporting the team is a fun skill to attempt to master.

Trust me. When you embrace who you truly are, life can be so much better. When you fail to make a bowl game, filling out those bowl pick sheets at the end of the year isn’t quite so hard. And when you do achieve that one magical season like Iowa is this year, it feels so damn good to rub it in the faces of those teams that you’ve heard call you an also-ran for years and years.

It’s time for you to embrace the New Husker Normal. It’s really for your own good.