James Nicas
Fan support
at MU game
was pathetic
As a lifelong Nebraska fan, and
after almost five years of watching
Comhusker football games in the stu
dent section, I never thought I would
ever have to say this.
But after witnessing the debacle
Saturday afternoon against Missouri,
I have never been more disappointed
as a Husker fan.
It is not the team I am upset about,
it’s the fans - in particular the student
fans. In a nutshell, we are pathetic.
I have been holding my judgment
all season, hoping a close game would
bring out the best in the student sec
tion. However the Missouri game
only furthered my belief that students
have forgotten what it means to cheer
at a game.
At the beginning of the game,
everyone gets excited when the team
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vwiiivj VUl VI IUW IUUUV1 wain.
However that is the loudest students
get before a game. The loudest point
in the game is not supposed to be
before kickoff.
After the Huskers entered the
field, everyone sat on their hands.
Where are the long chants of GOOO
BinG REDDD? Besides a few crazy
students’ attempts, they no longer
exist
Students never give a good chant
of DEFENSE anymore. There was
only one short stint of DEFENSE that
echoed through the concrete on
Memorial Stadium, and it took until
the final drive to have that Why? Are
students afraid of losing their voices?
Speaking of the last drive, that
might have been the lowest point in
student section history. With four sec
onds left and the Blackshirts needing
one final stop, students in section 11
did die unthinkable. They sat down!
Even if it was a time out, that was
a time when we should have been at
our most raucous. A “Go Big Red!”
chant would have been nice. Anything
wmilH havp hppn Ko«or
down.
Maybe it is not our fault. There
may be too many things that distract
us from the game. HuskerVision
breaks up any cheering that might
occur, and students are now preoccu
pied with catching hot dogs from Der
Viener Schlinger.
On Saturday, students were so
preoccupied with getting a hot dog on
the final possession that many were
more concerned about that than the
game.
Saturday night, 4,288 crazed vol
leyball fans were much louder than
anything in Memorial Stadium. The
12th man at Texas A&M put to shame
anything we Hqskers have done.
Students, we have the potential to
be the great fans we once were. It is
time to reclaim our stature as the best
fans in America.
When Texas comes, be loud the
entire game. The team needs and
deserves our support Please, if you
don’t want to cheer, stay home.
James Nicasli a senior market
ing and management major and a
Daily Nebraskan staff writer.
Matt Miller/DN
MELINDA MOHR
(left), Melissa
Wilson, Amie
Finkner, Jeannette
Zimmer, Jaime
Pauli, Stephanie
Stewart (standing)
and the rest of the
women’s cross
country team hope
to improve on their
second-place per
formance last year
at the Big 12
Championships.
This year the
Huskers play host
to the champi
onship Saturday at
Pioneers Park. <
Huskers face tough odds at Championships
ByAdamKunker
Staff writer
The Nebraska men’s and women’s
cross country teams will be running on
familiar ground this weekend as they
play host to the Big 12 Conference
Championship meet Saturday at
Pioneers Park.
However, the men’s squad will have
their hands hill battling for position with
two-time Big 12 champion Colorado.
“Colorado’s probably just going to
run away with it,” said soph&more
Comhusker runner Marcus Witter. “But
we think we can still be running well
with the rest of the pack and come out
on top there.”
Since lead runner Jeroen
Broekzitter was dismissed from the
team last week for disciplinary reasons,
Witter said, he’s seen an improvement in
team morale and attitude going into the
conference meet.
Coach Jay Dirksen said he too has
noticed a closeness among the remain
ing runners.
“All the guys have looked good in
practice, there hasn’t been any letdown
since Jeroen left,” Dirksen said.
Please see INJURY on 10
Revenge no factor in preparation i
V
By Shannon Heffelfinger p
Senior staff writer g
- 1
Few Nebraska football players ^
have answered with more than a couple f
of words when asked about the revenge
factor for Saturday’s game with Texas, a
The sting of swaggering quarter- s;
back James Brown leading Texas to v
503 yards of total offense on just 57 g
plays in the 1996 Big 12 a
Championship game has lessened with
time. is
The memory of the Comhuskers’ f;
letdown that allowed the Longhorns to v
score two touchdowns in the final nine t<
minutes and to steal the inaugural
league title with a 37-27 win has faded, c
And NU Coach Frank Solich is cer
tain the feelings that consumed the
Huskers for months after that defeat
all not resurface tor Saturday s 2:35
.m. contest at Memorial Stadium. The
ame pits Nebraska (7-1 overall and 4
in the Big 12 Conference) and Texas
5-2 and 3-1) against each other for the
rst time since 1996.
“I’ve not heard a player mention it
ad I’ve not thought about it,” Solich
lid. “It has not been a factor in any
ray in how we’ve prepared for this
ame. You try not to dwell in the past
ad two years ago is a long way back.”
Said Husker fullback Joel
lakovicka: “There are a lot of new
ices we’ll be seeing. We can’t go in
'ith a revenge factor. These are two
(tally different teams.”
Both programs have experienced a
ansiderable amount of change. Solich
Please see REVENGE on 10
V
Senior walk-,on gets nod at QB
By David Wilson/ v
Senior staff writer " g
- 1
For the first time in his five- s
year career at Nebraska, walk-on 1
quarterback Monte Christo will get
a chance to start Saturday when the v
Cornhuskers play host to Texas;" j a
/ NtJ - Coach Frank Solich e
announced the decision Thursday ti
as former No. 1 quarterback Bobby 1;
Newcombe missed his fourth con
secutive practice this week. t
Christo played the entire second S
half last Saturday against Missouri, t
replacing Newcombe, who was l
slowed by a posterior cruciate liga- r
ment strain he suffered in NU’s sea- d
son opener.
“It just probably makes sense to
start Monte,” Solich said.
Redshirt freshman Eric Crouch,
^ho has missed the last three
ames with a hip-pointer, is also at
00 percent, Solich said, and will
ee action in the first half against
exas.
“They both performed well this
reek,” Solich said. “There was not
real separation from one to the
ext -Monte has just had an oppor
mity to take game shaps here tete*
f.” V*f >
Christo scored the first two
auchdowns of his career last
aturday, as he helped the Huskers
) a 20-13 victory over the Tigers.
Inder Christo’s direction, NU
ebounded from a 13-6 halftime
eficit.
Please see CHRISTO on 10
Nu s Koziol finds role as defensive specialist
By James Nicas
Staffwriter
One of the first rules of accounting
is that for every debit, there is a credit.
that in volleyball terms, the
amount of time
and energy spent
in preparation
should equal the
it of time
attention
ed on the
u rust glance,
u would appear the
rule wouldn’t
apply to NU defen
sive specialist
get the attention many other players
receive, her serving and back row play
has been key to the Comhuskers’ suc
cess.
“I usually come in at times whett
we are not doing well, and I can come
and bring some life into the team,” said
Koziol. “I can put us back into the
game because we can sometimes get
two or three points off my serve.”
Koziol’s on-the-court presence was
most evident in the Texas A&M match.
Koziol entered in game one with NU
leading 7-5. Six Koziol serves later, die
Buskers led 13-5, which help set die
tone for the rest of die match.
Although Knziolls play isn’t often
seen on the stat sheet, Husker setter
Fiona Nepo said the team recognizes
her contribution.
“Denise is one of our great defen
sive players and one ofxmr great
servers,” Nepo said. “When we’re
down and We need a good serve or just
something different, she comes in and
provides that.”
There was a time when Koziol
would wonder if she would ever play
volleyball. After redshirting in 1995,
Koziol tore the anterior cruciate liga
ment m her left knee in the annual Red
White game. After a year of rehabilita
tion, Koziol was finally able to make
her Husker debut.
Playing both as a defensive special
ist and as an outside hitter last year,
Koziol had a career high 10 kills
against Pacific. However, this year
Koziol has been used primarily as a
defensive specialist
Koziol said although she enjoys
playing at the pet, she knows her role
on the team.
“I’m not the type who’s going to get
real excited. I come in quietly and do
what I’m supposed to do,” Koziol said.
“The team knows they can trust me to
serve, pass, and play good defense.”
This weekend Koziol will try to
help serve up a couple of victories for
No. 3 Nebraska, which is 19-0 overall
and 10-0 in the Big 12 Conference. The
Huskers will travel to Missouri on
Friday night before playing at Iowa
State on Saturday.
Although the attention she receives
may not equal the time she puts in,
Koziol knows there is another rule that
more adequately applies to her effort:
The whole is greater than the sum of its
parts.
“Now that I am in the back row, I
know that is where I am to contribute”
Koziol said. “In practice I am usually
simulating the opponent, but I feel if
we&n’tplfljy hard then the teamwont
be able to prepare well for the oppo
nent”
