Big Red pride
Husker fan relishes national championship
I don’t care what the Husker
detractors say. It was a sweet repeat,
and I’m not finished gloating yet. In
the last week I’ve rioted in the
streets of Lincoln and given and
gotten more high-fives than I could
count. I’ve sent championship T
shirts to friends in far comers of the
globe, along with smug letters
demanding to know if their universi
ties have ever won so much as a
game of Twister.
Most of the Husker critics have
officially eaten their words. Yes, we
can thrash opponents both big and
small. And yes, we can play on real
turf.
But some people will insist that
this championship season was
irretrievably marred by scandal —
yeah, you know the one I’m talking
about — and that the football
program is sheltering a bunch of
lawless thugs.
These people will insist that the
message of this season was that
winning is more important than
anything else in Nebraska. And they
go on to suggest that Tom
Osborne’s decision to let Lawrence
Phillips play again condones
violence against women, sending the
wrong message to impressionable
young fans: If you’re good enough
at football, you can get away with
anything.
These ideas tell something about
the sort of people who fabricate this
sort of nonsense, and even more \
about the people who believe it. But
they tell very little about the football
team itself or what happened in
Nebraska during this 1995 champi
onship season.
Phillips did something horribly
wrong after the second game of the
season: He roughed up his former
girlfriend, doing her a fair amount ol
physical damage and probably
diminishing her level of confidence
and trust in male human beings for
life.
Osborne punished Phillips swiftly
and severely by removing him from
the football team. Something very
Jennifer Mapes
“If Nebraska has proved
anything in the last tivo
years, it is that we have
a superior football
TEAM, not just a
showcase for the talents
of a feiv individual
players. ”
important to Phillips was suddenly
off-limits and another dream — that
of winning the Heisman Trophy —
was shelved for good.
Nebraska’s football program, as
defending national champions,
already had the nation’s attention.
So when word of this scandal broke,
the media pounced on the story.
With characteristic delicacy and
restraint, they pronounced Phillips’
career over and Nebraska’s good
reputation a shambles. Most of the
attention centered on Phillips
himself: Would he ever play again?
Was his career ruined?
A few small voices in the
wilderness asked how the victim
was doing. And whether we
shouldn’t be more concerned with
her health and welfare than with the
state of Phillips’ athletic career.
But the controversy raged on.
The media descended on Nebraska,
interrogating as many Nebraska
football victims as they could find.
When Osborne let on that he might
let Phillips play again after all, the
coach was widely accused of
running a win-at-all-costs program
where nothing mattered except the
big wins and national titles.
Through all this, the team pulled
together and stood behind their
coach. And the fans stood behind
their team. And the team continued
to win.
Lawrence Phillips career could
have ended here in Nebraska. But
the young football player with the
violent temper was fortunate to have
a coach who listened to his own
conscience, instead of buckling
under the weight of public opinion.
Despite the protests and wide
spread criticism Osborne allowed
Phillips to play again after a six
game suspension. Rather than
banning a troubled young man from
the one thing that gave his life
meaning and potential, Osborne
gave him another chance.
Lawrence Phillips now has the
opportunity to be a first-round NFL
draft pick. He needed Nebraska
football more than Nebraska
football needed him. And I believe
that if suspending Phillips had
meant the difference between
winning and losing, Tom Osborne
would have done the same thing. '
If Nebraska has proved any
thing in the last two years, it is that
we have a superior football
TEAM, not just a showcase for the
talents of a few individual players.
And in a society where petty
conflict and self-absorption are
highlighted more often than
solidarity and teamwork, that is
something to take pride in.
That’s why I’m proud to say that
I’m from Nebraska, and proud to
have been among the tens of
thousands who backed the Huskers
as they pounded their way to
another championship season.
Mapes Is a senior advertising and his
tory major and a Dally Nebraskan colum
nist
Painful ignorance
Ebola’s deadly threat shouldn’t be ignored
Early in 1995, a disease called
Ebola took the lives of 245 people
in the village of Kikwit, in Western
Zaire. These men, women and
children died as a result of a
horrible and fatal disease, but this is
only part of the tragedy.
Very little is known about Ebola.
It first appeared in Africa around
1976. It is classified as a viral
hemorrhagic fever, which causes
severe vomiting, diarrhea, internal
bleeding, fever and in 80 percent of
all cases to date, death. It is highly
infectious. It is not known what
causes this disease.
There is no known cure.
Part of Ebola’s scariness is the
nature of the disease itself. But
some of my disquiet, I find, rests in
the way some people behave when
faced with discussing the unpalat
able reality of the disease. Some of
the discomfort comes from a lack of
information on their part. For others,
the topic of Ebola is like a foreign
language, seemingly outside of their
understanding. Many just don’t want
to talk about it.
Not so long ago, in The Great
Scheme of Things, we can look back
to another instance where human
ignorance of a disease added fuel to
a funeral pyre. Europeans of the
Middle Ages believed, in addition to
not bathing, that cats were evil
agents of the Devil, and should be
killed accordingly. It turns out that
the cats really were good at
keeping the level of rats down. So
what? The rats carried fleas, which
in turn transmitted the Black Plague.
Two-thijds of the population of
Eurasiajyas subsequently wiped out.
Modern-day era. So what about
Ebola? Do not be ignorant and think
for an instant that this thing couldn’t
snowball and migrate here, say, up
Fred Poyner
“Ignorance of disease
gave the original
inhabitants of the New
World the pox, while the
Europeans took back
syphilis. ”
through Mexico. Such a scenario is
the Center for Disease Control’s
worst nightmare.
Ignorance abounds dangerously
in the American mindset, because
we don’t want to acknowledge even
the possibility of Ebola decimating
our own friends and family the way
it has in Zaire.
As individuals, we have to deal
with a multitude of problems that all
demand our attention right this
minute, ranging in scope from the 7
Eleven down the block that got
robbed last night, to the plight of the
Russian economy and how we’re
going to ace tomorrow’s trig test.
We sort these according to our own
sense of importance and values,
ideally on the basis of accurate
information. Alas, this unfortunately
has not been the case for many
issues and many individuals.
Ignorance of the facts hasn’t
worked for preventing or treating
AIDS, or lung cancer, or alcoholism
or mental illnesses in this country.
Ignorance of disease gave the
original inhabitants of the New
World the pox, while the Europeans
took back syphilis. Ignorance was
the First Standard of the Black
Plague in the Middle Ages.
Besides being the result of our
overpacked agendas, ignorance also
masquerades in the form of
overdependence on technology.
Western medicine is taken for
granted, seen as the future savior
that’s going to solve the problem of
Ebola any day now.
New research is already under
way to discover how Ebola spreads,
partially in response to a newly
reported case this past December in
the Ivory Coast. After reading about
this project, I would like to believe
that we are breaking away from the
historical precedent, unlike initial
research efforts in the not so distant
past for another deadly disease of
tropical origin.
Like Ebola, AIDS has demon
strated its ability to transcend all
boundaries, national and other
wise. Like AIDS, Ebola will not
disappear from our lives. And like
AIDS, Ebola will continue on its
own course until a cure is discov
ered.
The price for ignorance or
indifference with regard to a threat
of this magnitude is a painful end, if
not for us, then for our fellow
mankind worldwide. This is,
perhaps, the real tragedy of Kikwit:
that 245 people could die unnoticed
and unrecognized.
Poyner ts a museum studies graduate
student aud a Dally Nebraskan columnist
Huskers’ big victory
deflates Gator fans
The day before the Fiesta
Bowl, I turned on the television.
A guy in a plaid suit appeared,
screaming: “Friends! Buy a
BMW at our mega-tent sale!
Time is running out! You-”
Click.
Then it appeared. Blue letters
on an orange background, saying:
“Congrats Gators on a perfect
season and a National Champion
ship!!!”.
Odd, I could’ve sworn that the
Fiesta Bowl hadn’t been played
yet. Had there been a bus acci
dent I didn’t know about?
Click..
Another commercial. A guy
with his face painted orange arid
blue was standing in front of a
store.
“From all of us at Fred’s
Sporting Store, Go Gators! Shuck
the Huskers!”
He then pulled out an ear of
corn and proceeded to rip the
husk off it.
I shook my head. This couldn’t
be happening. I pinched myself to
wake up from the nightmare of
Florida freaks in plaid suits and
face paint.
Damn.
It only hurt and Mr. Face Paint
was still scaring off customers by
shucking an ear of com in front of
his store.
You see, I was experiencing
what no Husker fan wants to
experience. On game day, I was
in Gainesville, Florida—home
of the Gators.
Granted, I didn’t want to spend
“quality bonding time” with my
biggest rivals. I grew up in
Gainesville, and my parents still
lived there.
Preceding the game was a non
stop blitz of cockiness from Gator
fans.
A victory parade was orga
nized by the city a week before
the game. Radio DJs, TV com
mercials, local news shows and
the local newspaper thrashed
Nebraska and bragged about the
“devastating” passing attack of
Florida.
Then I was in my living room,
enduring a pregame party with a
dozen Gators.
1 put up with insults to our
mascot. To our colors. To the
band.
I drew the line at the cheer
leaders. Contrary to one Gator
fan’s view, they were not “too
ugly to put on camera” (Ladies,
you were lovely. By the way, my
number is...)
I was sick of it. I was sick of
the cockiness and bragging. Most
of all, I WAS SICK OF SEEING
STEVE SPURRIER BARKING
ON THE COVER OF SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED!
The game finally began. Yes,
somewhere between 2,000
Tostitos commercials and Chris
Elliot’s sagging career, there was
a Fiesta Bowl.
It went Florida’s way at first.
When Danny Wuerffel threw for
a touchdown, a Gator fan stood
up and declared: “That’s game!
Nebraska’s never seen a passing
attack like Danny Wuerffel!”.
Things quickly changed.
Danny Wuerffel’s “pass attack”
became nothing more than a
“sack”. Seven times Danny went
Kasey Kerber
i
“Looking back at how
Gators acted before
and after the game, it
shows just how sports
can bring out the best
and worst of people. ”
down and the camera showed him
on the sideline with a cup of
Gatorade (best titled Gator-aid)
and his “did-it-wilh-a
weedwacker” haircut.
By halftime the game was out
of reach.
When the third quarter rolled
around, hopes of a Florida rally
died quicker than their National
Champion T-shirt sales.
During the final quarter,
Nebraska’s score became a
basketball score. Nebraska
actually did score more points
than the No. 2 or No. 5 ranked
NCAA women’s basketball teams
did that same night.
At the game’s conclusion, I got
revenge for the Gator cockiness
and took to the streets. I sang the
Nebraska fight song, chanted the
final score and shouted “choke”
sixty-two times.
I also discovered the
Gainesville natives need better
aim with firearms.
The football team was wel
comed home at the county
fairgrounds. The team was
despondent and Spurrier told a
few cheering fans that “if you
don’t want to hear what I have to
say, I’ll let the seniors speak.” He
then walked off.
The best would be the hard work
that goes into getting a team to
the National Championship.
The worst is an overabundance
of pride in the team; leading to
cockiness, egotism, and bitterness
when they lose.
Let’s face it — the Fiesta
Bowl was a blowout, another
example of why Chris Elliot will
never progress past “Cabin Boy”
and a thousand camera shots of
Steve Spurrier burying his face in
his hands.
It was not a reason to bring out
the worst in a city.
Chances are, I’ll be in
Gainesville when Nebraska plays
for its third consecutive National
Championship. I’d like to think
that Florida fans will have learned
their lesson by then.
If not, Mr. Orange-and-Blue
Face-Paint better watch out,
because my aim with firearms is
far more developed than his.
Kerber is a freshman news-editorial
major and a Dally Nebraskan columnist
