Husker Fans Make Tumble & Rumble a Classic

Purchase and Print Tumble & Rumble Tickets Here

Randy York’s N-Sider

Nebraska Athletics’ legendary fan base can fill a variety of venues … football, basketball, volleyball, baseball. Big Red fans willingly flock and fill for any unique thrill, including track and field, softball and soccer. Such loyalty prompts Nebraska officials to set a higher bar for Friday night’s attendance at the second annual Tumble & Rumble at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. “Our goal is to draw at least 4,000 fans to watch our women’s gymnastics and wrestling teams compete at the same time,” said Matt Tomjack, assistant director of Fan Experience for women’s gymnastics. “That would be a shade over 1,200 more than we had last year. We hope that word has spread about how much fun the first Tumble & Rumble was, and with both teams nationally ranked, we’re expecting to draw the curious fan.”

At the risk of sounding like a carnival barker, I watched last year’s first Tumble & Rumble event with my wife. We left the Devaney Center convinced that 2,746 paying customers were 100 percent satisfied with the experience. “It was amazing,” said Dan Kendig, snapping his fingers to dramatize how both events finished within seconds of each other. “It’s not like fans have to come and be there the whole night. It’s an action-packed hour-and-a-half, and both sports were that close to being done at the same time.”

First 3,000 Fans Receive Free Commemorative Posters

Friday’s joint competitive adventure with Coach Mark Manning's Husker wrestling team begins at 7 p.m. Fans who saw the 2014 original are encouraged to recruit friends and family for the 2015 sequel. The Big Red fan experience will move swiftly with Nebraska matched against No. 26 Purdue in wrestling and the Husker women gymnasts competing against Lindenwood (Mo.) University. Please purchase and print your tickets here. Prices range from $3 for youth and seniors to $5 for adults. Free color commemorative posters of the event will be distributed to the first 3,000 fans coming through the Devaney Center’s doors.

“What a great event to watch as a family,” Kendig said. “Women’s gymnastics is the No. 1 spectator event at every Olympics, outside of the opening and closing ceremonies. When you can go to an event and see up close what these young ladies are doing is just amazing. They work incredibly hard for this tremendous event. People should make it a point to come out, so they can see and understand how competition can be fast and entertaining.”

All-Americans Blanske, DeZiel, Green, Kokesh Return

Nebraska’s women gymnasts finished in the NCAA Super Six last year and are ranked No. 9 nationally this year. Junior Hollie Blanske (pictured above, far left) and senior Jessie DeZiel (second from left) were 2014 first-team All-Americans. Nebraska wrestling also features two returning first-team All-Americans in seniors James Green (third from left) and Robert Kokesh (far right). Kokesh is ranked No. 1 in the 174-pound category, and Green is ranked No. 2 at 157 pounds. Kokesh Tuesday was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week…quite an honor, especially when the Big Ten has the top three ranked teams in the country, and five of the top 12 teams, including Nebraska. This once-a-year opportunity to watch two top-notch national programs compete simultaneously is designed to double the pleasure and affordably double the fun for families, friends and relatives who will see “some of the best student-athletes in the country compete at the same time,” Kendig said.

Top Goal: Eventually Pack the House at the Devaney

Fans attending last year’s Tumble and Rumble were smiling when they left for the parking lot after watching the non-stop action. I remember a young boy telling his parents he couldn’t believe how quickly the entire event went, prompting his sister to say the same thing. “We’re coming back next year, aren’t we?” she asked. Her mother nodded and said “yes” almost at the same time her father assured her brother that they would return to the same event next year. Torrey Ball, assistant director of Fan Experience for wrestling, joins Tomjack in having great expectations for Friday night’s turnout. “Between great pricing and the free ticket that was mailed out in the January edition of the Lincoln Public Schools Newsletter, we hope that this will be our biggest Tumble & Rumble yet,” he said.

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