Patriotic Card Section Part of Pregame Salute

On Saturday, Sept. 11, when the Cornhusker Marching band plays the national anthem before the Nebraska vs. Southern Miss football game in Lincoln, Memorial Stadium will turn into a beautiful patriotic display of red, white and blue.  In honor of the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on America, the University of Nebraska will incorporate several patriotic features into Saturday's pregame and game-day presentations.

The Athletic Department, along with sponsors America First of Omaha and Interact Incorporated of Lincoln, have commissioned Fanimation to color the stadium with fan-held cards.  Fanimation is the same company  who organized the stadium card shows for the Super Bowl and the Rose Bowl last year.  Every fan will have a role in the display and will find a card attached to their seat upon arrival.  Fans will hold up one side of the cards as the national anthem begins, then will flip the card over so the solid color is facing the field as the band plays "the rockets red glare."  Cards will be lowered after the anthem ends.  Instructions are printed on the cards, or can be found on Huskers.com.

In addition, color guards from local fire and police units will be present and the band will perform patriotic music as part of its halftime show.

Other special events taking place this Saturday include...

u  The inductees into the 2004 Nebraska Chapter of the College Football Hall of Fame (with special merit awards to Charlie McBride and Ken Morrison) will be honored at a banquet on Friday and saluted in pregame ceremonies on Saturday.  The 13 inductees include nine from the University of Nebraska, including Ed Husmann (mistakenly left out of the 2004 football media guide), Jon Bostick, Calvin Jones, Keith Jones, Mike Knox, Jim Pillen, Jeff Smith, Brenden Stai and Ed Stewart.  The new Hall of Fame inductees from the state college ranks include: Ihling "Brick" Carskadon (Kearney), Wendell Maupin (Hastings), Milford "Dub" Miller (Chadron State) and Sam Singleton (Wayne State).  For more information on the inductees, please see Huskers.com. 

u  Also during pregame festivities, Dave Rimington will be saluted for his induction into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame.

u  The Cornhusker Marching Band will celebrate its 125th anniversary this Saturday.  The Alumni Band will also be on hand to help celebrate.

u  The "Great Fan" of the day is Roger Lohr, who is celebrating his birthday, and the "Great Player" is Hall of Famer Forrest Behm, currently of Corning, N.Y.  Behm was an All-American in 1940, lettering in 1938, 1939 and 1940. He is one of 12 players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, being so honored in 1988.

A native of Lincoln and a graduate of the University of Nebraska, Lohr has been a season ticket holder for 40 years.  As a child, Lohr attended games sitting in the “Knothole” section. Lohr’s oldest son has attended every game with him since he was 10 years old. Now living in Minnesota, Lohr continues his loyal support by attending home games and hanging the “Minnesotans for Nebraska” banner in the north end zone.

u  During pregame, the athletic department will also be honoring 13 current and former Huskers who competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens this summer.  

u The Husker volleyball team will sign autographs for fans at the Husker Nation Pavilion and the guest band for the day is B.O.B.  The Pavilion opens three hours prior to the game.  This week's game will be shown regionally to more than one-third of the country on ABC and will kick off at 11:10 a.m.

u The College Football Hall of Fame traveling display will be at the West Stadium Fan Zone on Stadium drive this week.  The display is a unique collection of college football items.

Just a reminder, the team will arrive on the East side of the stadium two hours and 30 minutes before gametime (approximately 8:30 a.m.) and would love to be greeted by fans as they take "The Walk."  Note the change in the estimated arrival time.