Great Expectations

You may or may not have noticed as a Husker fan that your program is in good hands. Tom Osborne is at the helm as Athletic Director, and Bo Pelini has returned from the South to save our program and restore Nebraska as a national power again. Just like in the 90's when we won the Big 8 and Big XII on a consistent basis. Dreams of Blackshirts and Sears Trophies dance in the heads of many Husker faithful. Ah, to once again go toe to toe with Oklahoma again. Hopefully every year in the Big XII Championship Game. Right?

Not so fast. I know the buzz across the Cornhusker State is ecstatic, and the positive vibes aren't a bad thing, however these lofty expectations should be tempered a bit. Most realistic fans that I converse with are looking at us going 7-5 or even 8-4 next season at best. Teams like Virginia Tech, Missouri and Oklahoma may be too much for Pelini and company to handle. Sounds reasonable right?

There are a few (and I put that label on them because I would like to think they are the minority) that the Huskers have a shot at numbers like 9-3 and 10-2. While I appreciate people that set high goals for themselves, I'm not a big fan of people placing unrealistic ambitions for things that are out of their control. It's one thing to have faith, it's another to be blinded by it.

Some would be content to rub the two sticks of tradition and history together and hope that it sparks a fire that ignites the Husker program as it was during Devaney and Osborne. There are a few things wrong with this. While it may make for a renewed enthusiasm to tell bedtime stories to your young Husker fans while tucking them into bed, it doesn't automatically restore the balance of power in the Big XII North, let alone the entire conference.

While we were wallowing through the Bill Callahan experiment, teams caught up and passed us by. Annual punching bags Missouri and Kansas each pummeled Nebraska last year by a combined score of 117-45. In case you weren't taking notes because you were too stunned that your worst nightmares have come true, those two games should have shown as an example of a team with no identity and a team that was lost. Despite all the great offensive scheming and recruiting under Callahan, Nebraska had lost it's way. All under the patient guise of the good natured, down-home attitude of the Nebraska people and it's fans. Do you still feel robbed? Or have you moved on?

The presence of Pelini and Osborne alone won't be enough to start anew and rebuild what was lost. To regain what we once had, if it can ever be obtained again, is going to take great effort and perseverance from not only the people within the walls of Memorial Stadium, but the fans that fill it every Saturday. What are you going to do if 2008 yields another 5-7 bowless team? Are you going to leave at halftime? Are you going to boo? Or, are you going to partake in the unthinkable and not buy a ticket? It seems harsh and unrealistic to even speak of the beloved sell-out streak ending, but the present state of affairs warrants the question being posed.

So it all boils down to this I suppose. What do you expect? Where do you realistically see our team? If you still see us presently with the Texas's and USC's of the world, I'm sorry. Of course traditionally with our forth ranked overall record, our nearly four dozen conference championships and five national championships we belong. Right now we are on life support. Right now I'm engaged in a thread on a Nebraska message board that asked the question of "which of Texas's recruits would you most like to have?" I remember when a kid would have been labeled certifiable if he chose Texas over Nebraska. Now we fantasize about which one of their players we covet and wish upon a star we could have.

How far we seem to have fallen. But I have faith that the program, just like the people in the area, have the ability to pick themselves up off the floor and dust themselves off and return to striving for excellence. The only question is how much patience will you have? Are you willing to let Osborne drag his legendary name into the muck that could be created from unmet expectations? How about this, do you even remember when Osborne was under criticism from his own fans because he couldn't beat Oklahoma? Or schools in the South? Just keep in mind over the next few seasons that even legends had their time facing the firing squad. Pelini will be no different.