page 18
daily nebraskan
monday, January 15, 1978
spools
Husker fans return bleary-eyed from 'Miami paradise'
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The Wizard of Oz would have approved.
During a week of sundry activities in a
land alleged to be paradise, the 45th annual
Orange Bowl Classic halftime show left
over 14,000 attending Nebraskans with
glazed and bleary eyes.
It was only fitting. The land of bright
lights and swaying palms tends to leave one
with bleary impressions. The disco halftime
show was the topper to a lifestyle that
jumps out at snowbound Cornhusker from
travel brochures.
Colored lights, smoke, balloons and
flashlights turned the 75,000-seat Orange
Bowl into the country's largest discomania
den. K.C. and the Sunshine Band appeared
like small blips on a screen on the 40-yard
line and wriggled and mimicked their way
through the latest tunes.
The Orange Bowl Classic is not simply
a football game. In fact, few Floridians
consider it as such. Incredulous Cuban res
taurant owners blink at Nebraskans and
repeat to themselves, "1,800 miles to see a
football game." Food is delivered with
"muy loco" glances.
The Orange Bowl Classic is beauty
pageants and tourism, tennis tournaments
and tourism, parades and tourism, and
tourism and tourism. The city of Miami
shifts into high gear around the 26th or
27th of December in anticipation of the
plethora of Oklahoma and Nebraska fans
two of the more notably rabid backers of
college football in the country.
Beaches, restaurants and mostly hotels
overflow with humanity. Most hotel
rooms' prices jump ten dollars during
Orange Bowl week. They will return to
normal for approximately two weeks, until
the Super Bowl invasion begins and the
prices jump again.
It's amazing really that the southern tip
Photographs by Bob Pearson
Story by Jim Kay
of Florida doesn't break off and float into
the Atlantic with all of the extra people on
board.
For the record, the 45th Orange Bowl
football game was won by the University
of Oklahoma 31-24. A third quarter blitz
by the Sooners left the Huskers three
touchdowns behind heading into the final
quarter.
The most notable difference between
the Orange Bowl game and the Husker win
in Lincoln on Nov. 1 1 was fumbles, or lack
of them by the Sooners. OU coughed it up
nine times in the first game, and only once
in Miami.
Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims ran
for 134 yards and two touchdowns while
quarterback Thomas Lott also scored
twice.
Nebraska senior I-back Rick Berns ran
for 99 yards and one touchdown and
junior I.M. Hipp rushed for 66 yards giving
both of those runners over 1,000 yards
rushing this season.
Other Nebraska scores came on a 21
yard pass from quarterback Tom Sorley to
split end Tim Smith, a Billy Todd field
goal, and a 2-yard pass from Sorley to tight
end Junior Miller on the last play of the
game.
Sooner players and fans may have been
the only ones departing the land of surf
and sun with a view of it as paradise.
Miami is not paradise and there is little
reason to believe otherwise. But life does
move at a somewhat unrealistic, almost
Utopian, pace there, especially when living
out of a suitcase.
The reality, and it's a harsh one, is
coming back, bleary -eyed, to this igloo of a
city.
Pass the hot chocolate, Nannook.
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