With 7,000 Stories Saturday at NU's Fan Day, Here Are 10 Worth Sharing

Randy York's N-Sider

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Nebraska Football Fan Day is, was and always will be for the most loyal fans in college football, and nearly 7,000 autograph-seeking Huskers had 90 minutes Saturday to work their special plans.

That included a nurse who traveled to Lincoln from Seattle and a Minneapolis food distributor who had Fan Day on his bucket list.

With 7,000 fans are 7,000 stories. Here are 10 worth sharing after roaming around Memorial Stadium:

Elizabeth Bania, Issaquah, Washington

"We timed a trip to visit a nephew and niece in Steinauer (Nebraska) so we could be here for Fan Day. I'm a nurse in Seattle, and we know how much Washington is gearing up for the Nebraska game in September. The last few years, they haven't been drawing the crowds they used to have, but once they realized how many Nebraskans wanted to see the game, they went back to their old policy and are keeping the tickets pretty tight. My husband and I went to the game in 1997, and we were hoping to go again this year, but tickets are even harder to come by. Washington thinks they're on the way back up, and we think this is the year we get back to where we were. It's going to be fun." (Elizabeth is a patient woman. She was in a line that stretched for nearly 200 yards, waiting to get Coach Bo Pelini's autograph).

Rusty Cowles, Minneapolis, Minnesota

"Coming to a Fan Day is one of the items on my bucket list, and it really moved me being here. I watched Nebraska play Alabama in the '70s and became hooked on the Huskers. I take in all of the games I can at watch parties in Minneapolis and try to get back for one game a year. My son is a physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, so this worked out well this time - I could see him, my brother and all of this." (He made his comments with a smile while waiting patiently in Pelini's long line).

Mike Cowles, Omaha, Nebraska

"This stadium means something to me every time I walk in it. The first game I ever saw in here was the Oklahoma game in 1970. I climbed the fence to get in on November 21st - my 16th birthday. I had gotten a new red jacket that day as a present, and I ripped it to shreds climbing that fence. I'll never forget that day. We beat Oklahoma, 28-21. Dan Schneiss blasted right up the middle to set up our last touchdown. Oklahoma started driving down the field, and Jack Mildren threw the ball in the air. We couldn't see the play because it was in the North end zone, and we were sitting in the South end zone. But we could hear the hush of the crowd before everyone went crazy because Jim Anderson intercepted a pass in the end zone to seal the deal. My brother (Rusty) and I were talking about how important that Texas game will be, and how everyone will band together for the Red Out Around the World. We'd both like to be in the stadium, but we think it'll be pretty special in the Husker Pavilion, too. I'll be a nervous wreck, so we're thinking about watching the game outside the stadium on the big screen. We'll be able to hear the roar of the crowd and still watch every play. We've come to a lot of games where we were able to buy tickets outside the stadium. Don't know if we can pull that off this time. It's going to be one tough ticket."

Craig Heskett, York, Nebraska

"I thought I had a pretty good idea today. I bought the offensive and defensive posters at Huskers Authentic, then had all of the offensive coaches sign the offensive poster and all of the defensive coaches sign the defensive poster. Of course, Bo Pelini signed both of them. The way I look at it, I'll have two national championship posters signed by all the coaches who made it happen. Bo's the guy. He's Nebraska all the way. He understands this state - tough-nosed, play hard and do the right thing. I'm optimistic because he's optimistic. He doesn't shy away from the national championship talk. That's what he expects, and what we expect. My brother and I like that kind of intensity. That's why we can't watch big games with other people. We don't want to miss a play. We don't watch the game for the band and cheerleaders. We watch the offensive line and the defensive line to see who's winning the battle up front. That's where you can tell who's going to win. I have a little chihuahua, Max, and he doesn't even like to be around a game that we watch. When Virginia Tech made that long drive last year, we erupted. We screamed so loud that Max immediately went upstairs to hide. We're Husker fans through and through. We were raised on a farm and grew up listening to Lyell Bremser. We loved listening to games while we went pheasant hunting. Sometimes, we'd get so caught up, we just put the guns down, sat down and listened to the radio. There was nothing better. The biggest mistake we ever made was turning the radio off when Missouri scored that late touchdown in 1997. We couldn't listen anymore. We gave up on Nebraska. Fortunately, Tom Osborne, Scott Frost, Matt Davison and others didn't. We learned a big lesson that day."

Scott Bedlan, Hastings, Nebraska

"I work in highway construction, and I took my son Derek to his first game ever last year for the 300th consecutive sellout celebration. He was only 3, but he loved the game and still talks about how much fun he had. We were 92 rows up in the Southwest corner, and he was dancing in the aisle every time there was a touchdown. I'm lucky if I get to see one game a year, so we bought a 300th poster from Huskers Authentic and headed to Fan Day. We like the Blackshirts, so we also bought a nice Blackshirt sign, and our No. 1 goal was to get Carl Pelini to sign it."

John Placek, Alliance, Nebraska

"Lynn (his wife) and I had a plan before we got inside the stadium. Our son (10-year-old Zachary) wanted Zac Lee and Bo Pelini's autographs, and he was pleased when he could get all five quarterbacks, plus Coach Pelini. Our daughter (12-year-old Nicole) headed for the linebackers and defensive backs. This was a great experience for all of us."

Samantha Collier, St. Joseph, Missouri

"All three of our kids had posters, and they'll make nice mementos with all of the autographs. Kameron (10) had a Memorial Stadium poster. Drew (7) had one of the planes flying over the stadium, and Matthew (6) liked that beautiful 300th Celebration poster at dusk. It was a fun day because Matt and his cousin (Zac Placek) were interviewed by Channel 10/11 (Lincoln). They were pretty excited about that."

Kevin Ruff, Omaha, Nebraska

"I'm an architect and three years ago, I brought my son (Connor) to Fan Day. He really enjoyed it, even though he was only six. We try to do something different every year for Fan Day. He loves the Blackshirts, so we took his photo at the Blackshirt statue in front of the East Stadium. In the photo, he's pretending to be one of the Blackshirts making the tackle. We took the 8x10 photo, put it in a 10x20 frame and matted it in white, so the Blackshirts could sign around the photo. Jared Crick was Connor's No. 1 target today, by far, because he's a Nebraskan. But he was just as excited to get all of the other autographs."

Kyle Wobig, Lincoln, Nebraska

"I got a great poster at the new Husker Authentic store. It's called 'Voyage to Victory' and has Bo Pelini, Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne in front of a boat and All-Americans like Bob Brown and Bobby Reynolds in the boat, too. It's great to be able to get Coach Pelini's autograph on a poster like that."

Larry and Nancy Chapek, Colon, Nebraska

"Our son Brandon (redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Wahoo Neumann) is on the team. We came today for the same reason almost everyone came here - to meet Coach Pelini and get his autograph."

Respond to Randy and share your thoughts about why Fan Day is meaningful, even if you could not attend the event this year. (Please include your name and residence).

Voices from Husker Nation

Fan Day was an awesome day!! I only got to the quarterback table, but that was my main target so it wasn't too big of a deal that I didn't get to anyone else's table. The quarterbacks were very kind and cheerful as was every other player that I saw. They didn't have any "this is a waste of my time" attitude. They were very patient, and it was just cool to see! When I was done getting my autographs, I just walked around watching the little kids get theirs. I think Fan Day is meaningful for the younger kids because they don't get to meet famous people. It's an exciting experience for them, and I enjoyed watching them. They gave players high-fives and got their pictures taken with them. One little girl, after getting Rex Burkhead's autograph, went around the table and hugged him!! That's the kind of stuff I think is totally worth seeing. I had an awesome day, and I can't wait to take my two nephews next year. Fan Day 2010 was a very happy way to start Nebraska's 2010 Football Season! GO BIG RED!! Susanna Hall, Lincoln, Nebraska