A 2020 ode to Big Red

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From the Sidelines

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  • Dave Bradley
    Dave Bradley
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The year 2020 was quite a time,
and one best left far behind,
it suffered in its health, its politics,
and just being kind.
But sports is the one constant,
the one diversion to help get us through,
to help take our minds off everything else,
to take away the 8-5 blue.
In Lincoln, Husker Nation paused,
no practices, no spring game, nothing really,
fans grinding their jaws.
Then the Big Ten,
completely in their norm,
started to gather, started to speak,
staying true to their form.
Football is on, no wait, football is off,
we’ll just watch others play and scoff.
But as is their nature,
the conference relented,
you shall have games,
but Husker stadium will lack fans and Runza scented.
So onto Ohio at the end of October,
the Buckeyes not flinching one bit,
despite a very quiet stadium,
oh the Huskers are in a pinch.
A Badger that never showed,
disappointment galore,
this COVID thing for sure,
will some day be tonic folklore.
Another loss, this time against the purple,
in the land of Lincoln true,
no offensive touchdowns for Big Red,
made it hard for fans to chew.
An initial home game mid-November,
an impressive victory over Penn State,
who cares if they were winless,
how ‘bout those Blackshirts when it got late.
This was a strange season,
unlike any in the past,
yet one thing remained constant,
special teams were less than a blast.
What followed then was certainly a bummer,
with losses to Illinois and Iowa,
certainly fans felt things couldn’t get much dumber.
A win over the Boilermakers was certainly a start,
But Purdue will always be Purdue,
thus it was certainly no work of art.
Then PJ came to Lincoln,
along with his ego,
a man full of energy,
a guy who gets excited shopping at Home Depot.
And a loss is a loss so sad but true,
Austin’s T.D. catch,
his first as a Cornhusker,
nothing short of red, white and blue.
So to finish things off,
in an extra crossover game,
a trip to New Jersey,
boy this seems lame.
Trailing 14-6 at the intermission,
our quarterback fumbling into the night,
this isn’t even Nebraska,
boy why can’t we get this thing right?
But then, holy cow, some second half points,
the offensive line taking charge,
hey this is actually kind of fun,
feels like a total recharge.
Recruiting season anew,
signing day ending on a high,
featuring a speedy tight end from Iowa,
one day could be my favorite guy.
So as January comes to a long cold end,
a month when Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman became a shining star,
at least Nebraska volleyball is back,
unfortunately watching it from afar.
DAVE BRADLEY can be reached at advertising@hamilton.net