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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1997)
I Mfj Jay Saunders ‘Real’ football deserves chance at fan following v' r'/i Jf.vJ'iI/:-. ;-i«S rslf -ji; ; . Tlie TJpjy^rsity of Nebraska is only averaging 825 real football fans per game this season. Ninety minutes of near-contin uous action, yellow cards, goal keepers and offsides. Most Americans may call this soccer. I like to call it the real football. First of all, if you want to get technical, what you in the sea of red call soccer is the original foot ball. In the mid-19th century in England, a game called football was invented. That game, usually called soccer, is now a worldwide phenomenon. In fact, soccer is the most widely watched sport in the entire world. soccer nas only truly caugnt on here in the United States since the e#5 Ip , world championship unmatched in sports, was played in America in 1994. That spawned a successful professional men’s league, and got some in this country excited about soccer. It’s not just men’s soccer that has had success in the United States; the women’s national team won the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. But NBC didn’t even bother to show the gold medal game. This is not because soccer is unpopular, but because most Americans are ignorant when it comes to this worldwide sport. So many Americans criticize this sport. But are those criticisms really called for? Of course not. Criticism No. 1: “There is not enough scoring in soccer.” Wrong. Americans’ obsession with high-scoring sports is blind ing them to the fact that soccer has just as much scoring as other sports. Take American football, for example. A goal (a.k.a. touch down) in football is worth six points, as opposed to one point in soccer. Now, look back to the Nebraska soccer game against Arkansas this season. The Huskers scored eight goals. That would be 48 points in American football. There are a lot of 1-0 and 2-1 games in soccer, but how many 14 7 football games have you sat through? Criticism No. 2: Soccer has no action.” Soccer players are some of the best athletes in the world. Soccer is a very physical game. It is certain ly more action-packed than base ball, and there are some games where there is more physical play and fighting than in hockey. Husker fans, put your stereo types aside and give the worldwide phenomenon of real football a chance. Saunders is a sophomore broadcasting major and a Daily Nebraskan assignment reporter. - » 1 __ - •- , . ^!VUV] ir::i rjl LAhBHitf^orrvbM/DN THE NEBRASKA OFFENSE has dominated its opponents this season, averaging a aatiea-hest 525.75 yards per game. The Hashers face Bayler atS^m. Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas. Bears’ woes don’t swell NU By David Wilson Senior Reporter Tfiings aren’t getting any easier for Baylor. Third-ranked Nebraska (4-0 over all and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference) will be the third ranked opponent the Bears (1-3 and 0-1) have faced in the first five weeks of their season. The Comhuskers travel to Waco, Texas, to face Baylor at 6 p.m. Saturday. BU coach Dave Roberts said the Bears were playing like one of the wcfrst teams in America after a 35-14 loss to Texas Tech last weekend, but his comment didn’t give Nebraska a huge boost of confidence. The Huskers can’t afford to overlook Baylor, NU senior defensive tackle Jason Peter said. “Maybe it’s just a little plan the coaches have down there to try to have us go into the game real loose, thinking that we’re automatically going to win,” Peter said. “Hopefully, maybe he’s trying to get a spark going down there and maybe get them play ing a little better - trying to get them a little mad. I’d certainly be a little 4i mad'if my coaeh'told us that We were the worst team in America.” The Bears rank ninth in the Big 12 in total offense, averaging 325.5 yards per game. BU quarterback Jeff Watson averages 183 yards of total offense per game but has only scored three touchdowns this season - all through the air. As a team, Baylor is averaging 17 points per game. In their two meetings in the 1990s, the Bears’ offense has not scored against the Huskers. Nebraska downed Baylor 49-0 last season and 13-0 in 1990 - both in Lincoln. The Huskers have never played at Floyd Casey Stadium. Nebraska’s defense is itching for another shutout against Baylor, Peter said. The Blackshirts have not held an opponent scoreless since last season’s matchup with the Bears. “As a defensive unit, we’ve yet to pitch a shutout,” Peter said. “So that’s one of the things that we’d like to do.” Baylor’s defense could also play a big factor in Saturday’s game.» Last week, the Bears held Texas Tech to 62 yards on the ground. But in die season, BU Jias flowed oppo Nebraska, on the other hand, leads the nation in rushing - averag ing 399.8 yards per game - but quar terback Scott Frost said the Huskers had to prepare a little more for the Baylor defense. “Defensively, they’re doing a lot of things,” Frost said. “They’ve had some trouble stopping a few people, but I think they have pretty decent athletes. - “They run everything from a 4-4 to a 5-3 to an Eagle defense to a 4-3. So it isn’t like a Washington where we can prepare for one defense or two defenses. We have to pretty much be ready to run the ball and throw the ball against most every defense that someone can throw at you.” The Husker defense, Peter said, has to be ready too. “Baylor has had some problems lately,” Peter said. “But on any given week they can turn that around. We’re just going to have to make sure it doesn’t happen against us.” r heavily favored By Andrew Strnad StaffReporter It's a classic mismatch. Nebraska has its sights on the Orange Bowl and a possible national championship, while Baylor is undergoing an arduous rebuilding process with a new head coach. The No. 3 Huskers (4-0 over all, 1 -0 in the Big 12 Conference) are heavily favored to beat the Bears (1-3,0-1) in a 6 p.m. start at Please see BAYLOR on 10 OU coach confident of team’s chances vs. NU By Shannon Heffelfinger Assignment Reporter By looking carefully, Oklahoma volleyball coach Miles Pabst thinks he has discovered a few" small cracks in fifth-ranked Nebraska’s armor. Pabst hopes the Sooners (8-7 overall^ 2-2 in the Big 12 Conference) rip those cracks open , at 7 p.m. when the Comhuskers visit the OU Fieldhouse. Nebraska (13-3,4-1) travels to Norman expecting to recover quickly from a five-game loss to No. 22 Colorado suffered Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The loss ended a 23-year conference hdme winning streak. “Nebraska is very good and very strong, but there are areas on that team that we can exploit,” Pabst said. “They have excellent setting and they’re a big team. But for some reason, and I can’t quite put my finger on it, they’re not as4 dominating as they were last year. They showed weaknesses in those five-game losses earlier in die sea son, and I never thought Colorado Please see SOONERS on 11 Conferences clash at Abbott -:-v By Jay Saunders Assignment Reporter A pair of non-conference foes invade die Abbott Sports Complex this weekend J No. 10 Nebraska (10-2) steps out of the Big 12 Conference tonight to face SanDkgo (3-8-1) at 7, indie first meet ing between the two teams. The Huskers also face Kentucky (5-6-1) of the Southeastern Conference for the first time in school history Sunday at 1 pm Nebraska has had success this sea son against the SEC, beating both Arkansas and Vanderbilt. The Huskers also have had a great deal of success at home so far this sea son, especially during the recent eight game homestand. The Huskers have notched six straight wins since the i beginning of the homestand *' All six of those games have been M—tf Cutouts, which ties a Nebraska record. NU goalkeepers have not allowed a goal in the last 577:29 of play. If the Huskers don’t allow a goal in the first 19 minutes against San Diego, they will break a Nebraska record that has stood since 1995. Senior goalkeeper Rebecca Hombacher is fifth in the nation and leads the conference with 0.39 goals against average. “I am happy about not giving up goals and not giving up set plays,” Nebraska coach John Walker said. “We are a much harder and tighter team defensively.” Walker said he stresses that every- - one is responsible for playing defense. He said the Huskers’ defensive strate Please see SOCCER on 10