This.
I currently live in Grand Island, Nebraska and am surrounded by Husker Nation. As a Hawkeye fan, it never ceases to amaze me at how Husker Nation treats outsiders, especially those from Iowa. They find it unbelievable that someone could live in Nebraska and not be a fan of their beloved Huskers.
Most Husker fans I know here in Nebraska don't know the difference between Iowa State and the Univ. of Iowa. They say, "Oh, you're a Hawkeye fan? What the heck are you doing in Nebraska? Dude, I'm still ****** you guys pulled that one out against us in 2009..." They don't know how to comprehend that there can be more than one FBS program in a state. They balk at the fact that I have never been to a Husker game in Memorial Stadium, and cringe that I travel 6 hours to Kinnick to watch the Hawkeyes play several times a season. Most of these same fans have only seen their beloved Huskers at Memorial Stadium 2-3 times....ever.
They don't understand that my wife and I both went to the UofIowa, and that we met and fell in love there. They don't understand that most of my adult friends are associated with the UofIowa. They don't understand that the UofIowa is a huge part of our lives. They'll simply never understand that we are Hawkeyes, and that just because we live in Nebraska, we are not going to rescind that and all of a sudden declare our allegiance to Husker Nation.
And still they say, "Oh, just watch one Husker game at Memorial Stadium, and you'll forever be a fan!"
Um, no, I'm a Hawkeye.
While I've never seen people lose their jobs or any kind of physical violence, I have been shunned and my Hawkeye lawn and vehicle decorations have been messed with. Whenever we are invited to a Husker watch party, they don't understand why we have to politely decline the invite so that we can instead watch the Hawkeyes.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate their love for their football team. But my God, don't be so blind to not realize that there are 119 other FBS teams, and even more FCS teams who have their own fans.
In summary, it sucks to be a Hawkeye fan stuck in Nebraska. I only have two more years here, and then we're out.
I will be at the game on Black Friday and hope you other Hawkeye fans that are also going have a great time. This will be my first game at Memorial Stadium, and I can absolutely guarantee that I'll still be a Hawkeye no matter what happens after the game.
First, BaryGarta, I enjoyed reading your post, but I agree with ShockRerun in that 1) I seriously doubt that anyone has been egged and/or fired from their job for not being a Husker fan and 2) that it must have been soooooooooo hard for you to live behind enemy lines. Oh, the horror. # sarcasm
Edit: First, I personally cannot stand the Creighton b-ball (or baseball, or whatever) fans who act like they are Husker football fans, makes me sick, btw. Second, regarding the NW/NU game, a lot of our fans are elderly, and the leave
EVERY game early. The stadium is in a part of town that makes access easy, but it takes a long time to get in and out. If they were leaving with 3 minutes to go, that means that they stayed longer than normal. You will usually see people starting to leave early in the fourth quarter.
Coolsplatz, back to your post, thank you. Thank you so much. Honestly.
Part of it is, we expect that the majority of the people who live in state are natives and fans of the program. Call it ignorance, if you will, but it is what it is. I'm sure that you get some good natured ribbing, but with rare exception, if you act like a decent human being, you will be treated as such. As much as we love our football, that is all it is, football. Most of us have jobs, families, lives, which are more important.
And I will agree on one thing, if you ever go to a game at Memorial Stadium, you may not turn into a Husker fan, but you would enjoy the experience. It's different than most college football atmospheres. Tough to explain, it's just different.
As for the bolded, it explains
perfectly how Husker fans see Iowa and its fans: We don't care.
We have never cared. Up until we joined the Big 10, Iowa is just another team in close proximity that we played a few times in the past. Just like Wyoming, or Colorado St., or Minnesota, or UNI, or any directional Illinois school, or South Dakota St. I spent most of my time on Huskerboard.com, and if you compare, there are about 20 times as many threads on this site dedicated to Nebraska as there are on Huskerboard dedicated to Iowa. I've never understood Iowa's fascination with the Huskers. Honestly.
More than anything, your post and BaryGarta's illustrate just how
incredibly thin skinned Iowa (and Iowa State) fans are regarding Nebraska. I have read the numerous posts on this site where Hawk fans are just beside themselves that
NEBRASKA media outlets dedicate most of their sports programming to Husker football. They become personally offended that we have the audacity to cheer for our team, and to take pride in our program, and it's rich tradition. Really, y'all act like Nebraska is a territory of Iowa, and we should be thankful that you allow us to have a university and a football team, one that should some how pay homage to the great University of Iowa that we are even allowed to exist on our own.
Y'all act like your Husker fan neighbor saying (in good fun), "Can't wait until black friday, we're gonna smash you!" is the same thing as him walking into your house during a family dinner, and he punches your dad in the face, calls your mother a whore, pees in your baby's bottle, and takes your wife back into your bedroom and makes love to her.
If you all are that irrational and thin skinned, I would suggest not coming to Lincoln for the Iowa/Nebraska game. There are going to be a lot of people wearing red, you will hear a lot of "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!, GO BIG RED!!!!!" chants, and you may get some good natured ribbing from Husker fans. If you can keep your composure, not act like an a-hole, and not end up in a mental institution, you are welcome to come to Lincoln, hopefully you will enjoy your time here, even though hopefully (for us) you go home with a loss.
But from what I have seen from many Hawk fans, that just won't be in the cards. You are going to find anything (and if you can't find it, you will just make something up) to be offended by. You act like we are supposed to make concessions to you and stroke your fragile Hawkeye egos, even when you live in our state. The funny thing is, you and the Clone fans are the only ones with that problem.