Can You Feel It? These Lucky Kids Say Definitely

Randy York N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

When Lawrence Chatters suggested that Nebraska begin its annual countdown to the season-opener, the Husker Athletics' Diversity and Inclusion coordinator came up with a unique experience for kids who are blind or visually impaired.

To their utmost surprise, Chatters envisioned and helped execute a double dose of Husker Power late Wednesday morning and early Wednesday afternoon.

First, nearly two dozen students who are blind or visually impaired made their way toward the field via the red carpet as the music for the legendary Husker Tunnel Walk blasted in the stadium. Then they enjoyed the fun and the freedom to dance on the Tom Osborne Field turf to a familiar song that will forever play inside their huge hearts and creative minds.

As the Tunnel Walk Sound Roared, These Kids Found an Exciting Path Ahead

Husker fans everywhere know the triumphant sound/triple-stacked questions the Jackson 5 ask before each Nebraska football home-game kickoff and every Husker basketball home-game tipoff – Can You Feel It? Can You Feel It? Can You Feel It?

Wednesday’s triple-barreled answer? Yes, Yes and Yes, and no one knew that better than Chatters, who has spent his entire life as visually impaired himself.

“There are select people across our country who have never seen what a Husker touchdown looks like, but that doesn’t mean they don’t feel the pride when it happens,” Chatters said.

Lawrence Chatters: Some Experience the World in the Only Way That They Can

“There are people who experience the world in a different way,” Chatters added. “Some depend on the senses that we truly hold dear, but others have not been given those senses, so they experience it in the only way they can.”

Chatters grew up in Bellevue, Neb., knowing that Nebraska’s rich football tradition has influenced him and others through the years. “Can You Feel It is a wonderful song,” he said, “and every time it comes on over the P.A., the Jackson 5’s tag line answers that question very positively. Across Husker Nation, you can feel it and you do feel it, whether you’re playing or not!”

For Chatters, it’s ultra-important to give people hope and not let society write off those who are disadvantaged. “Even when you can’t imagine it, you have to give them the chance to show the abilities they have,” he said.

Guests Toured Devaney Sports Center Before Experiencing Memorial Stadium

Audrey Graves, the principal at the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired, embraces Chatters’ thought process. So does Sally Giittinger, the administrator for the same center that launched its summertime session for kids across the state.

Graves and Giitinger said the vast majority of Wednesday’s participants have attended the Nebraska Center in Nebraska City since they were babies, taking advantage of parent training, teacher training and braille training.

The Tunnel Walk sound motivated the participants, who now have a unique perspective that goes side to side, end zone to end zone and a concept for how big Memorial Stadium is.

Students could fathom how high (6-foot-1½) Husker Big Ten Outdoor Champion Reka Czuth (right) can jump.

17-Year-Old Thrilled to Be in Same Room with Sharpe, The Voice of the Huskers

Brandon Peters, 17, is a Lincoln native who was thrilled to hear Greg Sharpe, the voice of the Huskers, answer questions on Memorial Stadium’s third-floor after the group visited Husker basketball, track and field, volleyball and gymnastics facilities inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center before busing to Nebraska’s historic home field.

“I’ve listened to Greg Sharpe call football and baseball games on the IMG Network for years,” Peters said. “I was amazed to hold a helmet today in my hands. When you have all that cushion, I can’t understand why there are so many concussions.”

Freedom Akinmoladun Has a Knack to Inspire Hearts and Motivate Young Minds

Maura Loberg, 15, is a Wayne, Neb., native who described the Tunnel Walk and Can You Feel It as exciting. “I’ve attended a couple games, but it wasn’t anything like this today,” she said. “Today, we got the opportunity to explore everything that’s on the field. My mom and dad listen to Greg Sharpe all the time, so I do, too.”

Sharpe answered questions from a well-informed audience. “I know people listen to me on the radio who have never seen a game except through the words I use to describe it,” Sharpe said. “I try to be as descriptive as possible. I consider that a very important part of my job.”

Sharpe introduced Freedom Akinmoladun (pictured above), the final speaker of the day. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound sophomore defensive end from Grandview, Mo., was a celebrity and a likeable hit, even for those who could hear him, but not see him. Check out the photo above, and you'll understand how Freedom has a knack to inspire hearts and motivate minds, who will cheer him on, especially after he took the time to let them all know why they're important.

Send a comment to ryork@huskers.com (Please include city, state)

Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider

N-Sider Archives

Voices from Husker Nation

Good stuff on Chatters’ story. As a wheelchair user, people experiencing a disability can become marginalized in the fast-paced tech avenue. So it’s super to see the Athletic Department expanding the scope of its outreach efforts. Thanks for writing a story that statewide print and broadcast media should be picking up and sharing. Keith Kucera, Lincoln, Nebraska (returned home six years ago from Lobo Land in New Mexico)

I think this story is wonderful. It’s so typically Nebraskan! The Huskers are and always will be the best! Brenda Reed, southern desert near Palm Springs, Calif.