SuperGrover
Real Name: Corey Baker
Hometown: Jefferson City, MO.
Current Residence: Kansas City, MO.
Age: 24
E-mail: [email protected]
Favorite Husker Memories (no particular order)
> 4th Quarter 1994 Orange Bowl vs. Miami
> Listening to Steve Spurrier's interview after the 1995 Fiesta Bowl
> 4th Quarter 2000 Fiesta Bowl vs. Tennessee
> Seeing the headline indicating the shared National Championship on ESPN.com after the 1998 Orange Bowl
Football experience: Unfortunately, only through Sophomore year in high school. I got mononucleosis the summer before my soph year and lost 20 lbs. I decided to sit out the football year to concentrate on my best sport-baseball. I never again played competitive football and I regret it to this day. However, I have always loved all sports and consider myself to be a knowledgable football fan (especially considering the lack of playing experience I have).
The best indicator of the importance of Husker football in my life would be the experience of the 1987 OU-NU game. I was 12 years old in 1987. I remember looking forward to the OU game all year because THIS was the year we would finally get them. Everything in the season had been gerat to that point and Nebraska rolled into the OU game ranked in the top 3 in the country. (Can't remember the exact ranking)
ESPN had an extensive pre-game of the game on Friday night and even replayed the "Game of the Century" that evening. Thsi was the first chance for me to see the '71 game, and I was up until 2:00a.m. watching every second.
As I went to bed, I had visions of a Husker celeberation dancing in my head. I woke up early the next day and was almost sure of a Husker victory. Usually, I'm very subdued and pessimistic, but in 1987, I was positive we were going to win. I went over to my Grandmother's for the day and settled down around noon for a day of college football.
I have no idea who the early game was that day- it was inconsequential. At halftime they played an interview with Bosworth during which he had said that he did not expect Nebraska to score against OU. I was getting restless.
Finally, the game was on and I sat down in my favorite chair. The game started great with NU jumping out to an early lead. Things stabalized but as the 4th quarter approached, NU was ahead by a comfortable margin. My dad got home from work and I described every little detail about the first 75% of the contest. My father was a die-hard Missouri fan but was rooting for NU that day (he hated Barry Switzer). I was on cloud nine at that moment, convinced that an NU victory was only a few moments away. Then, the 4th quarter happened. The Sooners came storming back and tied the game up with under two minutes to go. I was devestated. I figured an OU-NU tie at Lincoln would essentiall by a Sooner victory and subsequent Orange Bowl berth. Unfortunately, I would never get to see the tie. Keith Jackson made a remarkable catch along the sidelines with under 45 seconds remaining and Oklahoma kicked the game-winning field goal a few plays later.
I sat there stunned as my father and cousin argued about the coaching in the last part of the game. Stone-faced, I went to the restroom to try and regain my composure. I washed my face and looked deeply into the mirror. Suddenly, I began crying, weeping harder then I had since my parents divorced in 1982. I remember bawling in that bathroom for 15 minutes. Eventually, I regained my cool, but that loss stuck with me for a long time (probably the 1994 Orange Bowl).
IT was that fall day in 1987, that I realized I had fournd a copanion for life (NU football).