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Vol. VII. No. 46.
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, LINCOLN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, J907.
Price JO Cents.
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Pradtically all of tho leading teams
in tho West showed a marked Im
provement In tho development of tho
. forward pass over laBt year. That tho
play Is a great Improvement ovor thP
old-stylo mass play goes without say
ing. Thoro was nothing in tho old
slylo gamo to induco a light, agilo
man to como ou for a team, for ho
know that weight had tho call ovor
agility. Now it Is different. A light
man has an equal chanco of making
y. good with tho heavyweight, whoso
"-vchances aro somewhat diminished' un"
less ho is extraordinarily fast for his
weight.
Tho forward pass has brought about
this reformation and has proven con
clusively a groat Improvement to tho
gamo. When It is dovolbped and its
possibilities clearly defined, thero Is
little question but that It will como
to stay and benefit tho gamo in gen
oral. At present a wall of disfavor
comes from tho east in regard to tho
During the two yoarsthat I havo
been connected with football at Ne
braska, I have heard a great deal of
"Nebraska spirit," and havo actually
soon somo manifestation of it. Thoro
is ovidonco that it oxists In tho stu
dent body when assembled at a rally,
but it doesn't show when tho gato re-
ceipts aro counted or when tho squad
turns out for preliminary practico. A
closo observation of tho attendance
at games this fall shows that tho per
cent of students present varies be
tween -five and twonty-flvo, 1. o be
tween ton and twenty por cent of tho
paid admissions. In other words,
from eighty to ninety por cent of tho
practical support of tho loam Is duo
to tho "Nebraska spirit" of tho citi
zens of Lincoln. I do not mean to
"belittle the moral support given tho
team by tho students, but moral sup
port to bo Toally offectlvo must bo ac
companied by tho presentation at tho
gato of a ticket for which cold cash
has beon"paId. If tho team could eat
yells and bum songB tho moral sup
port would bo all right, but thoy can't
and tho money support Is a necessity.
Tho coaches, manager, hotel mon,
etc., all want money for their services,
and unfortunately will not bo satisfied
with anything olso." Football, .as. you
nil know, is an expensive gamo under
nny conditions, and like most every-,
thing olso, tho bettor it" is tho greater
tho coat.
Tho cost of admissions may havo
had something to do with tho failure
of students to attend tho gamos. I
admit that the prices aBkod were
high, but they woro based on past ox
porienco with "Nebraska spirit," and
fear of a deficit The flVo to twenty
por cont who attend games will do so
at any price; so, to meet oxpensos,
wo raised tho price. If somo one
would only find a way to stir up the
tho financial part will havo to be cut
latent "Nebraska, spirit" that must be
in every student and make him get out
anil try for the team or Join tho root
ers all our athletic 'problems would be
solved;
FORWARD PASS
By WALTER
forward pass simply because they
have not worked enough on it and
what crudo plays they had woro
frustrated by opponents early in tho
season and compelled them to fall
back upon old stylo play and frown
Upon the forward pass.
Its possibilities in tho east wore
demonstrated by tho Indians, who de
feated Pennsylvania, Harvard and
Syracuse through, the clover work of
pulling off this play successfully.
True, Princeton defeated tho rod
skins on a fleldanklo deep In mud
and where It wasMittorly impossible
to, get the best results from theso
plays. V
In building a defense tostop tho
forward passes thoro is not "enough
stress laid dn body-checking tho man
who is to rccolvo tho ball. It is a
great deal moro essential on a long
pass to have tho ball hit tho ground
instead of attempting to catch it or
In anyway obstruct its progress, as
it is taken back to tho point whero it
was passed and then a penalty of
fifteen yards is Inflicted from that
NEBRASKA
SPIRIT
By JNO. G. WOR.KIZER, Captain 22nd
Infantry, U.-S. A.
Of course, there Is a way out of tho
financial part of this difficulty. Tho
alumni might form an athletic asso
ciation with annual dues of two dol
lars' or a fee of twonty-flvo dollars for
life membership tho dues to bo used
for necessary expenses and tho foes
to go into a fund, of which tho inter
est only would be used. Students and
members could then be admitted freo.
Other Institutions havo tried this with
success.
Tho Indications aro that Nebraska.
Is not quite ready for such a scheme.
Witness. I had occasion recently .to
test tho loyalty of alumni In thpk mat
ter of subscriptions. Three hundred
and fifty dollars were needed. I spent
twenty-eight dollars for stamps and
received sixteen dollars from four
alumni. Another illustration. The
necessity for an athletic field has boon
apparent for many years. A few
years ago a present member of tho
Athletic Board, despairing' of general
action through "Nebraska ' spirit,"
started out alone to raise tho money.
After weeks of hard work, Inspired
by a prompt and enthusiastic subscrip
tion of twonty-flvo dollars from tho
editor of a local paper, ho finally gave
up tho attempt. The money is still
on hand In "an envelope In tho troas
uror's safe, labeled ''Athletic Field
Fund." How many students or alumni
were aware of such a fund?
Every .drill day I see at least fifty
H. ECKERSALL
point, which sots tho ball back at loast
thirty "yards. Coaches will in tirao
instruct thoir mon on this point and
tho forward pass will toavo to bo moro
scientifically developed and not thrown
in a haphazard way, trusting to luck
for n favorable result.
Tho rules committee may make
somo changes in tho play but it is
hoped they will not expand it to such
an extent that it will ovontually drift
into a baakbt-ball gamo. This is tho
thing that is feared by old football
mon, who do not want to boo tho gamo
lcso any of tho characteristics which
have mado it tho foremost gamo of
tho colleges.
Instoad of changing tho rules of tho
forward pass tho committee would do
well to legislate with a greater de
cree of discrepancy tho rules govern
ing tho onsldo kick. This play is
every bit as essential as the forward
pass nqd with moro reasonable re
strictions greater development dt
tho play wbuld surely tako place. If
the ball woroNput onslde tho moment
it crosses tho scrimmage lino it
men who could play football and
don't. Thero is nothing to prevent
them except lack of "Nebraska spirit."
Thoy have tho physique and tho neces
sary credits, and havo been offered
tho time. A couple of years ago there
was a long-legged ,sklnny, awkward,
overgrown boy named Fowler In tho
(Battalion. Ho 'was, from the Nebras
ka point of view, everything but foot
ball material. Ho wont East to an
Institution much criticised for Its
snobbery and was compelled by the
spirit of that institution to get on
some togs and seo what he could do
for It. Ho Is now not only football
material, but prospective' "All Amer
ican" material. He could havo gradu
ated from Nebraska forty times and
never found out that he could play
football. Many of you students could
play good football if you would If
jxm had tho true ''Nebraska spirit."
You can get the spirit by -watching
the fpotball squad or any other squad
that Is representing the University.
They havo it. They are giving the
beBt thoy have for tho good of tho
student body and the University.
From the foregoing it may appear
that financial success is tho aim of
football. True football, or sport of
any klndls at its 'best when there Is
absolutely no question of finances. In
fact, if the game Is to continue at all
out. Faculties tolerate It, and will
continue to do so until they become
would rank In Importance as high
as tho forward pass. "
Not nearly as many 0 to 0 gamos
have beon played this 'year as laBt
In the samo longth of timo. Last
season thoro woro twonty-flvo scoro
loss battles up to tho mlddlo of No
vember; this season thoro havo boon
but ton. Tho conclusion Is that a
second soason of tho now rules has
gone much further toward solving
scoring mothods. Last year all tho
talk was as to how ground could bo
gained. Not much was heard about
tho defense for tho roviBod gamo,
but this year coaches havo boon sit
ting up nights planning a dofonso for
offonslvo plays mado possible by tho
codo adopted last year. A dofonso
for open tactics has beon as promi
nent In tho soason's dovolopmonts as
tho problem of finding an attack was
last., year. It is just as hard to stop
a team equipped with ground-gaining
plays as It was before, and the gamoB
themselves havo gained bocauso tho
whole scope of play in fact Is moro
Bproad'out and varied.
so exasperated ovor tho questions
brought up by present mothods that
they will ' organize and abolish it. I
can imagine tho joy with which most
members of tho Swarthmoro faculty
received tho nows that thoy wore to
got a million dollars for abolishing
Intercollegiate football, and tho de
jection with which, thoy refused tho
gift, They had to recuse because of
tho Isolated position inwhich accep
tance would have placed thousand tho
consequent certainty of tho desertion
of tho student body. Lot tho faculties
onco get- togettior and tho -gamo is
doomed unlesp college spirit by vol
untary contributions makOB it inde
pendent of gate receipts.
As far as Nebraska students aro
concerned, football Is ovor for this
year. The season has been a glorious
one. The spirit only has beon medi
ocre. Try and got It In its full
strength. If you weigh ovor a hun
dred pounds, go into semi-training at
once. Get your credits In shape dur
ing the coming psmestor, and next
fall be on hand when Eagor first is
sues suits and then stay with the
game until the coach drives you off
tho field. If ho does do so, try for
your class team, and failing that, como
to me and I'll put you In tho Hospital
Corps and lot you show your spirit in
caring for tho woupded.
Boost any athletic field project that
comes along. If Its tho wrong one, It
will fail and then you can join a now
one. If "Nebraska spirit" Is what 1
think it is, the next few months will
show good progress towards getting
a field! If no progress Is made, you
don't deserve it, and in three, years
"hop-scotch" will be your game.
Whero will next season's games be
played?
Again Winner.
Nebraska won tho Western Inter
collegiate cross-country run at Chi
cago Saturday morning. , By winning
this, race, wliich Js the third Nebraska
has been victorious in, the Cornhusk
ers secured the cross-country cup.
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