UNLimited Sports Magazine Issue No. 3

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Aaron Housenga photo

“America’s Happiest City”

6,000-plus acres of land devoted to 132 parks, 134 miles of trails, nine public pools and five city golf courses.

- Men’s Health, Dec. 2020

archrival_lincoln_branding.pdf

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CO N T E N TS UNLim ited Sp orts M A G A Z I N E - I S S U E 0 3

52 38 A DRIVING FORCE: The man behind the wheel at the Tri-City Storm

42 OMAHA: A city divided - Can youth football bring us together?

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HUSKERS GAME DAY How fans get by without being at games

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Abbie Squier steps up for Nebraska softball

SCHOOL SPIRIT

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Missing from action: Bands, cheerleaders and spirit squads

RACING: A COVID ESCAPE NASCAR changes in 2021 to keep fans entertained

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the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Outdoor Adventure Center on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020.

Lydia Asplin Photo

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Starting Lineup

Lydia Asplin Photos

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Starting Lineup

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U N Li m i t e d S p o rt s FALL 2020

M A N AG I N G E D I TO R William Bauer ADS & DESIGN Brent Bartels Brendon Caskey Matthew Chambers Ryan Dean Chelsey Jones Tanner Smejdir Ethan Whitmire William Stone

F E AT U R E S Jake Bartecki Caelan Debban Jack Driggers Tyler Fangman Francis Forte Cody Frederick Garrett Freund Jaxon Hallmark Brandon Idelman Luke Mullin Taylor Riemersma Nicholas Schreiter Katie Squier Dustyn Stortzum Bryce Zimmerman

Lydia Asplin Photo

P H OTO Lydia Asplin Aaron Housenga James Rowland Peyton Stoike Maddie Washburn

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Editor’s Letter

A

s we come to the end of 2020 and the end of this

understanding and kindness, rather than proving

crazy semester, I need you to know something:

someone wrong. I challenge you to help someone in

The world will move past this global pandemic and

need. Help them not because you can solve all of their

crazy election.

problems but because you care.

We will get through this.

As you browse these pictures and read these stories, I want you to remember how sports can be a place to do

I’ll admit, I’m a skeptic. But I am not a pessimist. There is

this. Sports are a purple place, transcending blue and

a fine line between the two. I do not solely focus on the

red bickering. Sports are a place to empower all. Sports

negatives. Rather, I question authority and arguments

are a place to start a journey, rich or poor. Sports are a

made by just about everyone -- even my mom. After all, I

place to unite, because there is more that unites us than

am a journalist. This is what I do.

divides us. Remember that.

But even being a skeptic, I sometimes struggle to see

I don’t know if that gets said enough in 2020.

the good in this world -- to see the humanity beyond the politics that I disagree with or the personal choices I find

On a less serious note, take advantage of another great

unpleasant. But over my time in college, I’ve learned it’s

take a break by an opinion piece about the changing

not healthy or enjoyable to focus on the negatives. I’ve

world of Major League Baseball or the increasing

learned it’s far more enjoyable to move past differences

amount of homegrown recruits on the Huskers football

and meet in the middle, as I try to find humanity beyond

team, think of those things.

the flawed human and meet people where they are.

With that in mind, please enjoy the final installment of You may be wondering: What on Earth does this have to

the 2020 Fall semester of UNLimited Sports.

do with sports?

The last one before my degree. Here’s round three.

Lydia Asplin Photo

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That’s a good question. And here’s my answer: Sports are as good of place as any to make strides in uniting this broken world we live in.

My challenge to you is to see past a disagreement and

- Will Bauer Class of 2021

have a tough conversation but do it out of empathy,

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Cory Austin at West O Fitness on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020 in Omaha, Neb. Lydia Asplin Photo

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Starting Lineup

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Starting Lineup

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Starting Lineup

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Starting Lineup

Coming Soon: Horse Race Track Casinos

O

ver the summer, over 470,000 signatures were gathered to support casino gambling in the state. On election day, Initiatives 429, 430 and 431 overwhelmingly passed to allow casino gambling at horse tracks across Nebraska.

Lydia Asplin Photo

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More than 65% of Nebraskans voted yes on the initiatives, which will add over 4,000 new jobs to the state, lower property taxes because the gambling money that is made will be heavily taxed, and keep the horse racing industry alive in the state. Head officials at horse tracks are already looking at adding more racing dates at each track so Nebraska can start running races year around, and construction can start after the first of the year. In fact, two western Nebraska

communities that have expressed interest in adding horse tracks and casino facilities, although these towns have not been publicly recognized yet.

With many people excited that money will now be staying in the state, UNLimited Sports’ Dustyn Stortzum reached out to horse racing and gambling fans to get their reaction of what’s to come.

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: WHERE BASEBALL IS HEADING AND HOW TO ADAPT

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was doing what I do on most nights in October: watching playoff baseball. This particular night was Game 2 between the Tampa Bay Rays and the damn New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees were up 1-0 in the series but trailed 5-4 in the top of the 5th inning. They had just scored three runs to bring the game to within one run and handed the ball to Jonathan Loaisiga. As he trotted onto the mound, I made a sarcastic remark to my roommate sitting on the couch with me. “Who the hell is this guy?” I joked. To my surprise, the damn Yankees were bringing in a guy I had never heard of, which is weird because they have one of the scariest bullpens in all of baseball when they are healthy. My roommate laughed and said he had never heard of him either. Loaisiga’s first pitch clocked at 98 mph with some horizontal movement. I repeated to my roommate with a completely different tone: Who the hell is this guy?”

“

Throughout the remainder of the postseason, it felt like every right hander who came out of the bullpen -- regardless of the team -- was throwing in the upper 90s, some of them touching the century mark. I’ve known for years that guys in the league are starting to reach that kind of velocity, but this year it wasn’t just apparent -- it seemed like it was the rule rather than the exception. Back in the glory years of 2010 and 2011 -- when the Texas Rangers were not the worst team in all of baseball -- I remember how comfortable I was when Neftalí Feliz came in to close out a Rangers game.

Back in his prime, Feliz could throw his fastball around 98 mph. His fastball was enough to help him to 40 saves in his rookie year, earning him rookie of the year in the American League. At that point, Feliz seemed to be the exception. But now, it seems like half the pitchers in the major league coming out of the bullpen can throw that hard -- and most of them aren’t even closers. In this year’s World Series alone, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays combined to have 10 guys on their teams who have touched triple digits in their career. Two of these players were even rookies: The Dodgers’ Dustin May

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was up to 101 mph and his teammate, Brusdar Graterol, was up to 102 mph. This World Series also featured two starting pitchers who have the capability to reach the triple digits: Tyler Glasnow of the Rays touched 101 mph, and Walker Bueler of the Dodgers reached 100 mph.

Hell, even lefty Blake Snell of the Rays was up to 99 mph in his dominant Game 6 performance before he was prematurely pulled by Rays’ manager Kevin Cash.

This is just the way that baseball is moving right now. The old school Greg Maddux approach of filling up the zone and painting corners with different speeds and command just isn’t as sexy as it used to be. It seems that everybody on the hill wants to not only beat the guy at the plate but completely blow them away. How are so many major league pitchers throwing the ball with this much velocity all of a sudden? The answer is best put in the words of All-Star pitcher Trevor Bauer. “Lift big, throw hard,” he said. Bauer -recently named the National League Cy Young Award winner for the league’s best pitcher -- pitched for the Cincinnati Reds this past season and is known for his unique approach to throwing the baseball hard. Coming up through the minors and now in the major leagues, Bauer helped pioneer the way that pitchers today train to increase pitching velocity. The old way to make your arm stronger was long toss, throwing as far as you possibly could in practice and then icing your arm after -- just to repeat the process all over again a couple days later. Nowadays, the training for a pitchers arm is drastically different. Now, there are weighted baseballs, weighted plyo balls, shoulder tubes, Jaeger bands, heavy weights and a whole lot of fancy technology. Back in the day, it was normal to see small and flexible pitchers who used their legs to generate power out on the mound in the MLB. Fast forward to today, I see massive specimens like Aroldis Chapman, who stand at 6-foot-4 and weigh 220 pounds, pumping easy 100 mph fastballs in every outing. The thought process that pitchers should avoid lifting to keep their shoulders and elbows healthy has turned into how much weight can we get on this trapbar

and see who can deadlift the most. Throwing isn’t the same either. Now, we have pitchers warming up with elastic bands to strengthen their arms, long wiggly tubes that pitchers jiggle to loosen their shoulder, long toss from foul pole to foul pole and then throwing a weighted baseball as hard as they can. In addition to the different approach to strength training, we now have technology that allows pitchers to perfect the way they throw a baseball. All around the country, teams use super slow motion cameras to see the release of a players’ pitches in comparison to all of your other different pitches. Other machines are used to calculate the velocity, spin rate, spin direction, vertical and horizontal break, pitch path and location of all the pitches that someone throws in bullpens. Athletic performance labs are utilized to show you how players’ skeletons move so they can find the optimal pitching delivery for their own body.

fastball velocities that range from 85 mph all the way up to 98 mph. If you ask me, I would much rather face the guy that was throwing closer to 90 mph than the psycho humming fastballs at 98 mph. Growing up, I remember hearing on TV that when a hitter sees a fastball between 90 to 92 mph, they can see the laces. From 93 to 95 mph the laces really start to speed up on the hitter, while anything faster than 96 mph and up is a blur.

As a player who has seen pitches north of 96 mph, I can attest to barely seeing the white blur that comes screaming at the catcher’s mitt. As of now, I’m not mad that I don’t have to see that kind of velocity regularly. However, that may be changing, and it’s something I need to be ready for. Just look at all the young MLB talent tossing triple digits: Josh Staumont, Garrett Crochet, Brusdar Graterol, Dustin May, Sixto Sanchez and Nate Pearson. Hell, even a select number of college pitchers are touching 100 mph now. Cole Wilcox, who was a third-round draft pick this year out of Georgia, and Kumar Rocker, who analysts project to be the first overall pick in 2021 out of Vanderbilt, have both been up to triple digits in college.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

But until then, in the wise words of Trevor Bauer: “Lift big, throw hard.”

All of these new approaches to throwing the baseball combined have created a spike in pitch velocity. But what does this change mean for the people on the receiving end of all the heat? MLB hitters now have had to compensate for this uptick in velocity somehow.

When a fastball is traveling as firm as it does in today’s game, it may not be as practical to just foul off the fastball as coaches used to instruct players. Thanks to the mix of overpowering heaters and stronger off speed pitches, the odds of getting three hits in an inning to score a run aren’t as high as they used to be. Because of this, players are forced to sell out and try to make one swing of the bat leave the yard and score runs. As a result, over the past decade, the MLB has seen the value of the home run go through the roof. Players are now striking out more and hitting more home runs as a direct result of the increase in pitcher velocity.

I am not a big league hitter, but as a Division I college baseball student-athlete, I have seen

All of this leads to the question: Have we reached the peak of velocity in the game of baseball and should hitters like me be extensively training to adjust? I wonder if the shifts in philosophy on training and the dramatic betterment of technology led these athletes to the absolute peak human capability?

Or has this just been the first step toward what baseball is potentially becoming? Maybe in 50 years the norm will be 105 mph fastballs, and pitchers who throw 95 mph will just be the lowly outcasts. Who knows, maybe baseball is cyclical and hitters will get so accustomed to hitting the ultra fast fastball,as the game falls back upon the ancient ways of the Maddux style of pitching.

We’ll just have to wait and see. But until then, in the wise words of Trevor Bauer: “Lift big, throw hard” because that’s where the game is headed.

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SOFTBALL, SCHOOL WItH SISTER, MAKE DREAM COME true for squier Words: Brandon Idelman

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rom growing up and cheering on the Huskers as a kid in Lincoln to becoming a Husker -- that’s what you call a Homegrown Husker, exactly what freshman softball player, Abbie Squier is.

“It has always been a dream of mine to play softball for the Huskers,” she said. “Being able to practice and play at Bowlin Stadium is super special to me and means a lot.”

Abbie has always excelled on the field, and while her journey wasn’t always clear, she now gets to showcase her talents for the university she grew up cheering on.

Extra Inning Softball. For her track and field career, she was a state runner-up in 2018 in shotput and then won the state title in 2019 as a senior. Combining both her sports, she was voted Lincoln-Southwest Female Athlete of the year three years in a row.

When an opportunity arrises in your life, you have to make the most of it, and that is exactly what she did.

“The decision to come to Nebraska was a gut feeling for me. It was a dream of mine to play here so when I got the opportunity I was all about it,” Abbie said.

It was never a tough decision for her to stay home here in Lincoln. She decided to play for Rhonda Revelle and the Huskers over Minnesota and South Dakota. That mostly has to do with having it become a dream-cometrue but she also gets to stay home and stay close to her family, especially her sister, Katie, a senior at UNL and UNLimited Sports classmate.

Katie, four years older than Abbie, said she could not be more proud or more excited to see her younger sister put on a Nebraska jersey and fulfill one of her dreams.

“It was really cool to watch her start to get contacted by college coaches,” Katie said. “That’s when I realized how good she actually was. Our parents live like 20 minutes from campus so both of us are huge Husker fans. Since the day she started playing softball, she dreamed of putting on that N and playing at Bowlin Stadium.”

Abbie has always been very dedicated to whatever task is in front of her. Whether she is working in a classroom on homework or getting better at softball, she works harder than anyone. Katie said she has never seen someone more focused on their craft than her younger sister.

“When it comes to school or softball, she always goes all in and does her best to be the best,” Katie said. ‘She would go hit with my dad literally every single night before she graduating high school -- it didn’t matter if it was a holiday or they were at a softball tournament, they would find somewhere to hit just to get those extra reps in.”

Abbie said she is excited to see what her freshman season has in store, even with all the uncertainties. For her and many others, the season cannot come soon enough.

“There are so many unknowns right now about what it’s going to look like but I know this team has something special, and I can’t wait to take the field in the spring,” she said. “My main goal this season to always be ready and never take a day for granted. With COVID-19 still having a huge impact on our lives, there is never a really guaranteed practice or game. I think if we’re able to take advantage of every workout, game and practice, good things will happen for us.”

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A graduate of Lincoln Southwest High School in 2019, Abbie was a multi-sport athlete, playing both softball and track and field and winning state titles in both sports. In addition to her strong athletic prowess, she also excelled in the classroom, lettering in academics. Being a multisport athlete has made her a better athlete and a better person.

“I am so grateful I did (that,)” she said. “It allowed me to develop further as an athlete and a person and meet tons of new people. It also helped my time management skills, which I carried onto using here.”

During her four years at Southwest, Abbie recorded many accolades. She reached the state tournament all four years in softball and won the championship in 2018. On top of that, she finished her career with a batting average of .480 and a slugging percentage of .994, while being recognized by Omaha-World Herald All-State team her junior and senior years. She ended her senior year and hit the recruiting trail ranked the #95 softball recruit by

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Abbie Squier knew she wanted to play at Nebraska for a long time. The opportunity to stay in Lincoln, after thriving at Lincoln Southwest and attend the same school as her sister, was too good to pass up. EMILY BLOBAUM/lincoln Journal Star UNLimited_12.20

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Breaking Preps sports News NEBpreps.com

What We said

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Aaron Housenga: Mike Sautter was one of my favorite speakers that we had in the class this semester. It was interesting to hear about his life story on how he got to work at the Omaha World-Herald and now being at Nebraska Preps. One of the biggest lessons I learned from him is that it’s never too late to find your passion. I was surprised that he wasn’t always in journalism, that it was something that he picked up late and something that he loved later than us college students. I also learned from his story that we have plenty of time to start our careers, but for some odd reason, we feel rushed right when get out of college.

Bryce Zimmerman: I thought Mike’s personal acronym,

P.H.D. (passion, hustle, different), was really unique and something to live by. Lastly, his quote, “Good things happen to good people who work hard,” will stick with me.

James Rowland: Something that struck me from our talk

with Mike was that he got emotional when he talked about being laid off from his job and what that job meant to him going forward. It just shows that once you get a job in the journalism industry, you want it to be your only job. The greatest thing was that he was hired to a new position straight after and now he is enjoying life.

Cody Frederick: I thought it was unbelievable that a

week after getting laid off, he would take time out of his day to come talk to a class at a university he didn’t even go to. It just showed the dedication he has for what he does. Mike also showed us just how important connections and networking is in the sports media world because he was able to get hired three days after getting let go. Students always hear about how important connections are, but I think seeing evidence of that really puts it into perspective.

Tyler Fangman: One takeaway is that he wrote personal thank you notes to everyone he interviewed or encountered. I 100% agree with him that there is nothing like a personal note. My final takeaway 30 UNLimited_12.20

Owner/ Recruiter · ACTION Recruiting, Inc

Mike Sautter

from Mike was a more personal one: The fact he remembered me from one interview in the summer means the absolute world to me. When I am older in this industry, I will be extremely conscious of remembering people to pay it forward.

Matthew Chambers: I think the thing that I learned most

from Sautter was to roll with the punches. It goes to show how competitive sports media is when even Sautter, a man of character and respect in the Nebraska sports media industry, can get cut loose from his job at the drop of a hat. He also hit home how important it is to outwork everybody and frame stories in a way that no one else can do. It is important to find a new angle, like what drives the players or what is a story that no one else is talking about. These things require work and time, and if that is something you are not willing to put in, then you are not right for this line of work.

Lydia Asplin: It was neat to hear from a professional in the industry that is currently going through a transition and career change. Often, when we hear from guest speakers, the life changes and altered career paths have happened in the past. Whereas with Mike, it’s occurring in the present - here and now - just the other week. I think it’s great to be given the opportunity to see the real life effects this has had and emotions it’s brought about for him at this time in his life.

Tanner Smejdir: I learned from Mike to always expect

the unexpected. One day you can have your job and a minute later it may be gone. I also learned to not dwell on the negatives for very long and get right back on your feet. This is exactly what he did, and I thought that was pretty cool.

Luke Mullin: I have tremendous respect for Mike and his positive, hard-working attitude which always conveys through his work. The grit and passion that he brings each day is something I hope to emulate, and I’m glad to see him land on his feet with a new position keeping him within Nebraska high school athletics.

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What We said Cody Frederick: Listening to Jan Plessner was great

because she taught us exactly what employers look for in resumes and cover letters. She showed she cared about us by asking what our career goals were and going around the Zoom meeting. I had never met someone who was willing to go around to everyone and do that, so that was awesome. Jan was also very personable with us by offering to meet with us individually later on and get to know some of her connections in the sports media world.

Lydia ASPLIN: You could truly see her desire to genuinely get to know each student and get us connected in whatever ways possible. It’s not typical for a guest speaker to take the time and ask each of us what our passions and interests are, so that is something that made a lasting impression on me.

BrAndon Idelman: It was cool to hear from a different sport or industry that I never have been interested in. I thought that it was pretty funny that she went against her parents’ rules when it came to bikes and dangerous rides. She was doing something that she loved though and that is what it is all about. She mentioned how we should show off Nebraska and how good our university is, and i cannot agree more.

This is the best University in the world -- a Big Ten Division I program -- we need to be proud of that.

Luke Mullin: Her advice about acquiring skills to

help get in the door is something I hope to take on board, and her recommendations about LinkedIn reminded me just how powerful a tool that website can be to gain work. Lastly, her comments about how important networking is scared me a little bit, because that’s an area I struggle in and need to improve, but when recruiters say it’s necessary, I understand how important it can be.

Garrett Freund : One key takeaway that was different that I learned from her was moving the needle in your resume. Instead of just putting your duties, state how many stories you wrote or items you sold to make you stand out over the other applicants.

Jan Plessner

Tyler Fangman: The biggest takeaway I got from her is not worrying if your dream job does not come right away. I know that will be a long winding road when it comes to sports journalism and landing a job. The other big takeaway is to make sure your resume shows how you accomplished tasks, not just that you finished them. Numbers are essential, so for example, how many viewers my story got instead of just saying I wrote a story. Another takeaway is to make sure your LinkedIn is up to date with a professional photo, preferably a smiling one. The last takeaway I got was that if you are available and willing to move for a company, make sure they know that.

Brent Bartels: Wow. There was so much Jan told us about bettering ourselves, bettering our resumes, and trying to help set us up for our careers. Before this capstone class, I had a lot of experience and work I could show potential job employers, but I don’t think it was organized well. Jan and Shepp helped me fix those problems on my resume and my website. I believe they really helped me take my work and my experiences to the next level.

Jake Bartecki: Plessner’s talk had me ready to pull out my laptop and tweak my resume the moment class ended. She had a ton of great points that make your resume stand out that seem super obvious, but it’s just stuff I would have never thought of. I also really liked how she opened it up to us at the end, not just to ask questions, but to have us tell her what we want to do, and what our passion is. It made us all more engaged. tanner smejdir: I think this conversation came at a great time for us. She gave very insightful tips. I learned that having white space in my resume is good and that I don’t need to mush everything. I also learned to make sure to add keywords specific so I can pop up in searches.

Matthew Chambers: Plessner was by far the most interactive speaker we have had so far, and she gave great advice throughout the hour we got with her. The tips she gave for resumes were some that I had never heard before.

Kearney, Nebraska:

A Storm is coming Words: Francis Forte Visuals: Aaron Housenga and Maddie Washburn

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Haller, affectionately known as “Bobbo,” is not technically a member of the staff, but he is treated like a member of the team.

N

hockey. Coaches and players seem to

said. “I love to drive. I always have. I love

cycle through the system on their journey

hockey, and I enjoy being around the team. I

to other leagues, teams relocate and program

wouldn’t trade the time I’ve had with this team for

ownership changes hands much more frequently

anything.”

than in professional sports leagues.

he said. “When we win championships, I get rings

times, but no one ever questions it. My job is to

just like everybody else. I get set up with all of the

keep the 35 kids and six staff members behind me

team gear. The team buys season tickets for my

safe. It’s my responsibility to get them where they

wife and I. I’m treated like a part of the staff. They

need to go safely and get them home.”

States Hockey League based out of Kearney,

he found out Kearney was getting a program, he

Nebraska, is no exception. Four owners have

knew wanted to get involved. As a lifelong bus

stood at the helm of Kearney’s USHL program

driver, he jumped at the chance to drive for the

and eight coaching staffs have all come and

team.

donned the Storm’s purple, black and silver.

As the driving force behind the Storm, Haller is

sport. Haller’s knowledge of the game of hockey

entrusted with keeping the team and staff safe on

is rivaled by few, and his love for the program has

the road. The team trusts him, and he takes his

never wavered since the team’s first season.

“When I found out we were getting a team here, I knew I wanted to haul them,” he said. “I knew the guy who had the contract for the team, I worked

Bob Haller, the team’s bus driver, has outlasted

for him. I told him I wanted to haul that team, and

them all.

I’ve been hauling them ever since.”

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from the program to his attitude and love of the

Brent Bartels Design | Huskers.com photos

daughter Lori introduced him to the sport. When

2000m along with the hundreds of players who

He attributes the level of respect he receives

Haller found hockey later in life when his

The Tri-City Storm, a program in the United

gone since the Storm’s inaugural season in

off the road if conditions are rough,” he said. “I’ve only had to pull the plug maybe half a dozen

on the outside.”

“I love every single step of this journey,” Haller

“I have complete say in whether we have to pull

“I haven’t purchased a winter coat in 20 years,”

consider me part of the staff rather than someone

othing is permanent in the world of junior

responsibility seriously.

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“I think I’m treated as a part of the staff because I truly care about the game,” he said. “I truly care about the kids, too. I’m 50 to 60 years older than them, but we get along great. It’s a great relationship.”

The relationships are what drives Haller, 78, forward.

He enjoys his time with the players, and he’ll still hear from them long after they leave Kearney.

Throughout the Storm’s history, Haller has seen the best and worst of times: an abysmal 11-win season, playoff defeats and other heartbreaking moments. All of those moments made it even more sweet when the Storm won its first Clark Cup, the USHL’s playoff championship, in 2016.

“It was electric. That’s how I would describe the atmosphere,” he said. “After all the years, seeing

Bob “Bobbo” Haller, Tri-City Storm bus driver, at Viaero Center on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, in Kearney, Nebraska.

the team get it done was incredible. I got to stand on the ice during the celebration and with the team in the locker room. Celebrating with the kids and coaches after that win, drinking champagne out of the Cup, it’s something I’ll never forget.”

Through each change in leadership, Haller says his relationship with the team has always remained strong.

“I always worry about how I’ll be viewed anytime a change happens,” he said. “But every single coach that has come through here has told me that I am a part of the team. That means a lot to me.”

Haller loves every aspect of his time with the Storm. He loves the connections he’s made with the people and the experiences he’s had with the program. He has no plans to end his journey anytime soon. “Being considered part of the team for so long is special to me,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. As long as I feel safe doing it, I want to continue to do it.”

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Words: Cody Frederick Visuals: Peyton Stoike

H

ome of the longest consecutive sellout streak in college football history, Nebraska fans have continued to support their football team in Lincoln, Nebraska, even when the road has been rocky.

The passion from fans toward the program is starting to pay dividends as in-state players are increasingly staying close to home.

“Everybody in Nebraska is die-hard fans, and that’s something I’ve paid attention to growing up,” said AJ Collins Jr., a preferred walk-on defensive back for Nebraska football’s 2021 recruiting class.“When you’re going to school and people you’ve never talked to before are wearing that “N” on their chest, they might not know I just committed or anything, but it still feels good that you have a lot of people in your corner.”

The football team’s leader, Coach Scott Frost, has said several times over his three-year tenure that

he wants to expand the amount of local athletes that come to his program. It appears he has been hard at work doing just that.

Nebraska has seven scholarship football players committed to the 2021 class who are either from Nebraska or live within 20 miles of the state’s border. Frost had eight of the in-state area scholarship players in his three previous classes. The 2021 class, led by Thomas Fidone of Council Bluffs, Iowa, the second-ranked tight end in the country, is the most local scholarship players committed to a class in some time. But the scholarship players aren’t the only ones staying local to play for the Huskers, as Nebraska already has commitments from five in-state walk-ons in the 2021 class, too.

Frost himself is a Nebraska native, growing up in Wood River, Nebraska, near the center of the state.

Heinrich Haarberg, who hails from Kearney, a 20-minute drive from Wood River, is the first in-state scholarship quarterback to commit to Nebraska since Frost himself. Frost, Haarberg said, played

the biggest hand in getting the lengthy 6-foot-5-inch quarterback to stay in-state.

“Him being from Wood River, he kind of understands what it’s like to come from here and be a quarterback,” Haarberg said.

Most of the 2021 class announced their commitment on Twitter with the hashtag #homegrown. Teddy Prochazka of Elkhorn South started the homegrown movement when he became the first 2021 player to commit in September 2019. While there is nothing wrong with having your top players from out of state, Haarberg said, playing for Nebraska usually means a little more to the guys from Nebraska.

“There’s not a lot of guys that get to represent their state like we do, so going out and thinking about how many people are watching that you’ve grown up around, every person that you’ve passed by in Walmart is probably watching you right now,” he said. “You want to represent and show that Nebraska can produce elite level players.”

James Carnie -- a 2021 tight end commit from Roca,

Heinrich Haarberg, a senior at Kearney Catholic, chose Nebraska because he resonated with Coach Scott Frost’s homegrown upbringing and vision for the future. His father, Rod, played fullback for the Huskers in the 90s.

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“A lot of schools came in after they offered that were very tempting,” he said. “I could have chosen to stay in it for a little while longer and seen if they offered, but in the end, I knew where I wanted to go. I really just had my mind set that Nebraska was the spot for me.”

While Collins Jr. didn’t receive a scholarship offer from Nebraska, one of his best friends did: AJ Rollins, the tight end and fellow Creighton Prep Bluejay.

For Collins Jr., knowing his longtime friend chose Nebraska was all he needed to hear. Nebraska was the only school in mind.

Heinrich Haarberg received several offers from programs like Boston College and CLemson but felt Nebraska was the best fit and made his decision relatively quickly, taking only one other official visit during recruiting.

Nebraska, who played at Norris High School -- said Frost has done a great job of keeping in-state players home this year, which Carnie believes is essential for the development of the program.

“I mean you look at Garrett Nelson, and that kid is from Scottsbluff,” he said. “It’s on the other side of the state, and his passion for the sport of football and for Nebraska football is insane. It just means a lot more to us.”

Nebraska has taken three local tight ends in the 2021 class: Fidone, Carnie and AJ Rollins from Creighton Prep in Omaha. While most of the time schools don’t take three tight ends in a class, Carnie said it could help with the perception about Nebraska’s tight ends compared to nearby schools like Iowa, which is known for producing NFL caliber tight ends -- George Kittle, Dallas Clark, TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant, who were both in the 2016 recruiting class.

“Tight end U, as they say, but now with me, Thomas and AJ, I don’t know about that,” Carnie said.

Some would say that playing for your home state university means more pressure, but Kobe Bretz, a 2021 defensive back commit from Omaha Westside, believes it’s the opposite.

“I don’t really think it’s a lot of pressure just because a

lot of the fans are really appreciating that we grew up being Husker fans, and now we’re going to the school we’ve always wanted to,” he said. “I feel like they’ll just be proud of us because we’re trying to keep that brotherhood going.”

Another reason Nebraska is different from other Division I universities is the team’s bond and camaraderie Haarberg said. From having fishing and dunking competitions over the summer to spending a night out on the town in the Capitol City, Haarberg and the other 2021 commits don’t try to pressure another player into committing but rather show them what their life would be like if they did.

“It’s not a fake relationship where you compliment them all the time and tell them how good they are and how they should come to Nebraska,” Haarberg said.

“It’s just building that relationship like, ‘Come hang out with us for the next four years and play with us.’”

Carnie has been to every home Nebraska football game since he was 3 years old,which stems from his grandpa’s love of the Huskers. His grandpa went to every home football game from the 1950s until he passed away four years ago.

“I remember being little and sitting in the stands with him saying, ‘I want to play out there’” Carnie said. “I was hoping he could watch me and unfortunately he

passed away, but I know he’s watching down on me now, and I know he’s excited.”

“Once I got the offer from Nebraska, I wanted to keep that bond and connection with him as a brother, so I might as well,” Collins Jr. said. “It’s right down the road. I’ve had a lot of coaches that I’ve played under that played for Nebraska, so it was kind of a nobrainer to join the brotherhood.

There hasn’t been a difference from being a walk-on compared to a scholarship player yet, Collins Jr. said, Carnie had plenty of options to play football elsewhere because he grew up playing with Bretz and Fidone with 24 Division I offers, but with on a 7-on-7 team, so the team his passion for Huskers football, just feels like it normally would and Nebraska being his “dream “A lot of schools came in growing up. school,” he said it would have after they offered that were been hard to turn Frost and Another reason playing at very tempting,” he said. “I company down.

Nebraska has its advantages Unlike Carnie, Haarberg spent the majority of his life growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, and wasn’t always set on coming to play for the Huskers either, even though his dad, Rod Haarberg, was a fullback for the Huskers in the 90s.

“My dad didn’t force the Huskers on me,” Haarberg said. “We would watch them sometimes, but he’s taken me to 32 different stadiums growing up, so I’ve seen a lot of the Power 5 programs.”

could have chosen to stay in it for a little while longer and seen if they offered, but in the end, I knew where I wanted to go. I really just had my mind set that Nebraska was the spot for me.”

— Haarberg on not wavering from his commitment to Nebraska when other schools started checking in

Haarberg has also fielded scholarship offers from several of them, too. Vanderbilt and Boston College offered scholarships. He took a visit to Northwestern.

Auburn called after Nebraska had already offered him.

So, too, did Clemson, the team in and out of National Championship games the last five years.

over competitors is being close to home, Collins Jr. said.

“One thing I forgot to mention is making my family happy,” Collins said. “That means a lot to me because if my family wanted to come to the game, they could just shoot 45 minutes down the road and seeing the smile on their faces means a lot to me.”

For many in-state players like Carnie, playing football at Nebraska fulfills a lifelong dream.

“I’m just super blessed to be in this position,” he said. “You think about how many kids play flag football across the state, and how many kids grow up dreaming of being a Husker. I’m still blown away from it. I’ve been committed for two or three weeks, and it still makes the hair on my arm stand up all the time.”

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OMAHA, NEBRASKA: Solving Omaha’s racial Divide may not be obvious, but youth athletics could be a step in the right direction For the decadeslong conundrum Words: Luke Mullin Visuals: Peyton Stoike

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t first glance, the intersection of 72nd and Dodge streets in Omaha, Nebraska is like any typical intersection. Surrounding the nine lines of traffic sits a Target on one corner, a public library across the street and a Raising Cane’s to top it all off. It’s a centrally connecting intersection, and it’s among the five busiest in the whole city.

However, 72nd and Dodge reveals a deeper secret about Omaha.

The intersection hosted most of the city’s Black Lives Matter protests in late May, and the location was no accident. Beyond the fried chicken and the bus stops, 72nd and Dodge drives a racial wedge right down the middle of the city.

According to the US Census, Omaha is 77.8% white, 13.9% Hispanic and 12.3% African-American, but those numbers are not evenly distributed throughout the city. The vast majority of African-Americans live north of Dodge Street, stretching from roughly 108th to 16th streets and the Missouri River.

The Hispanic population is located south of Dodge Street, and it continues into the southern-most areas of Omaha, with few living west of 72nd Street. The white population, which may have lived further east just a generation or two ago, now resides in the western areas of the city.

The newer suburbs of Gretna, Papillion-La Vista and Elkhorn have expanded at considerable rates over the last 50 years to accommodate this shift, and the result is a city divided along the lines of race.

And now, as children grow up in this environment, the question arises whether activities such as youth sports bridge this social gap, or if youth sports only serve to reinforce the trends already happening within the city. The answer is hardly clear.

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those things contribute to a disadvantage for our program.”

The sun slowly dips below the horizon, and a low hum from a generator becomes audible as portable light towers kick into action.

sponsorships. However, he’s more comfortable on the practice field with his play sheet in hand, ready to line up his fifth-graders for another down.

There are no permanent lights at Power Park in far North Omaha, but there’s plenty of electricity to go around. The Omaha Junior Vikes practice in an industrial setting with a power grid just beyond the north edge of the park, and a factory looms between the practice space and the Missouri River to the Northeast.

Push first started coaching youth football over 10 years ago for his son’s team, but he’s stuck with it as the youth football landscape in Omaha has changed. While multiple leagues were once scattered around the city, declining participation led to the creation of the Metro Youth Football League (MYFL) in 2012.

The Jr. Vikes have been practicing for almost an hour, but there’s still work to do.

Months of drills and the fall weather have turned the field’s grass yellow, and patches of dirt fill in the barren pieces that are missing. Green and brown streaks fill the players’ once white pants, and the coaches applaud a well-executed option play.

It’s the final week of practice for the Jr. Vikes, and it’s been another good season in the eyes of Nick Push. He has a leadership position on the Jr. Vikes’ two-man board and oversees some of the organization’s logistics such as payments, enrollment and

Now, each MYFL team is a feeder program for a local high school. The Jr. Vikes are understandably connected with the Omaha North High School, while the Jr. Warriors are associated with Omaha Westside High School and so on.

Jim Sichmeller, who runs the Jr. Warriors program, said he believes the MYFL has made a positive impact on Omaha’s football community through continuity and development within individual programs. Now, most kids play with the same people throughout elementary and middle school and perhaps even into high school if they continue playing. The program has produced multiple Division I

recruits such as current Huskers Chris Hickman and Nick Henrich and additional teams have joined since 2012.

However, the school-based program may have unintended consequences. As the teams draw from specific geographic pools, differences in economic stability can cause issues.

At Omaha North, 69% of students are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program, and the median income for households in the high school’s zip code is $27,000. That’s compared to Omaha Westside where 34% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunches, and the median income is $56,000.

About 85% of Push’s team come from single-parent households, and that makes attendance difficult, he said.

“Maybe their vehicle broke down, and they can’t get them there that night, or maybe they have to work and can’t bring their child,” he said. “I’ve got constant struggles to get kids there, and there are factors like good nutrition and getting to bed at night, and all

To offset the financial difficulties that some Jr. Vikes families endure, the cost for a season is $120, which is on the lower end compared to other MYFL teams. Still, many players require scholarships and assistance. The economic reality of running an organization with thin margins creates the need for fundraising and for community help to support the team.

Moreover, the Jr. Vikes’ home of Power Park is leased for $1 per year from Omaha Public Power District, the factory that sits adjacent to the park, for a term of 100 years, stretching back to 1969. The team receives sponsorships from local businesses and runs yearly fundraisers like firework stands to help lower costs. They have been able to cut expenses on equipment, thanks to help from other teams, too.

While other teams might be able to afford brandnew equipment, the Jr. Vikes rely on used and

discounted equipment. The Millard football program recently sold them two- to three-year-old equipment at a steep discount, and others have donated nearly new equipment, helping the Jr. Vikes stay on the field.

Their jerseys, however, have seen better days, and Push said it’s a stark contrast to teams like Papillion, which customizes jerseys each season for individual players and even has special pinknumbered uniforms for breast cancer awareness month in October.

“Compared to them, we might look like the Bad News Bears at times because our equipment doesn’t look perfect,” Push said. “We talk about those things. We try to address those things and encourage the kids that they’ll have to overcome a lot to compete with these programs the way we do. We try to build up instead of tear down on those issues, and I think it works and makes a difference over time.”

The Jr. Warriors’ financial situation could not be

more different than the Jr. Vikes. Prices hover around $200, while fundraising and assistance from local businesses haven’t been necessary in the past.

Fundraising may be likely in the future to help the program elevate its already existent scholarship program, which helps lower-income families afford to play football, Sichmeller said.

“Football and sports in general are a great unifying factor,” Push said. “My kids are white and many of their friends are not because of the athletic teams they’ve been on as they grew up.

They’ve been able to have a diverse friend-base because they’re interacting with those kids and building relationships as teammates.”

The Jr. Warriors have paid special attention to concussions in youth football, and the program’s chief expense is preventative equipment. To Sichmeller, spending money on the best shoulder pads and helmets possible is worth it to protect the well-being of his players.

As a head coach, Push has seen how work on the football field can motivate his players off the field.

“Our mission is to take care of the kids,” he said. “We want to make sure that they’re experiencing something that they’re going to remember for the rest of their lives.”

On the contrary, the Jr. Vikes don’t have the deep of pockets to ensure the newest and safest equipment -- a disadvantage in protecting 10-year-olds from injury.

Differences in economic situations also align with racial differences between the two programs. Omaha North’s district is 46% African-American and 29.9% white as a whole, and Push estimates 75% of his fifth-grade team is African-American.

Meanwhile, Westside High School is 10% African-American and 72% white, with Sichmeller estimating 20 to 25% of Jr. Warrior players as non-white. He believes that figure is up from 5 to 10% 15 years ago.

Beyond the social, geographic and economic differences between youth football programs, there’s one principle which unites them all: a belief that youth football has a positive impact on the players’ lives.

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My kids are white and many of their friends are not because of the athletic teams they’ve been on.”

- Nick Push

When kids misbehave at home, he can address that by having them run extra laps and apologize to their parent. And when the issues extend to school, Push has set up a table next to the field so players can get their homework done before they can practice with the team.

He believes the lessons of personal accountability and hard work learned in these moments will stick with the players far longer than the X’s and O’s will.

“We’ll get it done this way and let them keep some motivation instead of taking it away so they have no tools to get their work done,” he said. “Those are positives that I see, and that’s why I believe in youth sports so much because I really believe it helps kids.”

Wins and losses aren’t what matter most, Sichmeller echoed. Instead, it’s about the lessons youth coaches can provide for players to apply in stressful situations down the road.

“I personally firmly believe that kids today go through more difficult times than I did when I was a kid,” he said. “...As a football coach, you’re not just teaching them the fundamentals of an athletic game, you also have to teach them what to do when they’re back home in the neighborhood. We try to pride ourselves on teaching the fundamentals of the game, but we also UNLimited_12.20

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believe the life lessons are going to reap big benefits when they get older.” *** Sept. 28, 1919 is one of the darkest days in Omaha history. The events that occurred roughly 100 years ago not only transformed the city at the time, but its effects can still be seen in the layout of the city today.

Will Brown, a 41-year-old Black man who had been accused of raping a white woman, awaited trial in the city courthouse, while Omaha’s sizable white population whipped into a frenzy when they heard the news. The city’s crime boss, Tom Dennison, stoked the fumes via local media, and soon enough a crowd of thousands gathered around the courthouse.

Omaha Mayor Edward P. Smith, an advocate for racial reform at the time, tried to stand up to the mob and was nearly hung for it. The city’s rioters, instead, stormed the courthouse and seized Brown.

“The mob snatched him from the courthouse and hung him from a telephone pole on 18th and Harney streets,” according to an account assembled by University of Iowa Assistant Professor Ashley Howard, Ph.D.. “They riddled him with bullets, and using a car, dragged him to 17th and Dodge streets. Then, in classic early 20th century style, the group burned his body and posed for a picture as smoke rose from Brown’s corpse.”

The mob tried to move their violence into the African-American Near North Side neighborhood, but armed Black civilians stood in their way.

Within a day, the United States Army entered the city with heavy artillery and formed a perimeter around North Omaha per the orders of Major General Leonard Wood, according to North Omaha historian Adam Fletcher Sasse, founder of North Omaha History.

“He (Wood) took out a map and drew a line around it, and he said, ‘You tell Black people to stay inside of this area, and we can protect them.

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If they leave this area, we can’t guarantee their safety.’ And that was the establishment of the red line in Omaha,” Fletcher Sasse said. “You want to talk about disenfranchising people and disheartening people? What else would it take besides having the heavy artillery and military around, and they say you have to stay home or you might get killed.”

This was one of the first events that contributed to Omaha’s racially divided composition today. In the aftermath of Brown’s lynching, Fletcher Sasse said white families overwhelmingly moved away from North Omaha, transforming those areas into African-American enclaves.

because a lot of Black kids didn’t hang out in that area. A lot of those areas weren’t open for us then,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit community now, you go through Benson on a Saturday night and it’s poppin’ ... it’s changed for the better.”

Thanks to the divided nature of Omaha’s population in the past century, youth sports in North Omaha have faced challenges. The Near

North Side YMCA opened in 1951 and the Gene Eppley Boys Club followed in the early 1960s to provide low-cost athletic opportunities in North Omaha. The Boys Club and the YMCA quickly became hotbeds for generational athletic talent as they produced Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Bob Boozer, Gale Sayers and Johnny Rodgers.

At the same time, Black players sought

A second demographic shift occurred in the 1930s after the founding of the Home Owners Lending Corporation (HOLC), a New Deal-era program that gave loans to homeowners. This group, according to Fletcher Sasse, consisted of real estate agents, house insurance agents, bank lenders and landlords who conspired to only give out favorable loans to non-Black neighborhoods where profit was certain.

“They made a map, and they literally drew a red line around the Near North Side neighborhood from Lake to 30th, from 30th to Cuming, from Cuming to 16th, from 16th up to Lake, and they said this is the worst area in Omaha, don’t lend money here,” he said. “In the middle of the Great Depression, they were segregating Omaha further.”

At the same time, the Hispanic population in south Omaha was steadily growing as mainly Mexican immigrants began working jobs in the rail yards packing plants and stockyards. Meanwhile, the white population moved westward, piling into neighborhoods like Benson, Dundee, Underwood and Fairacres along the way.

Growing up in Omaha, Terrence Mackey, head football coach at Omaha Benson, a high school of 33.6% African-American, 16.5% white, 20% Hispanic and 22% Asian, said he knows how much the area has changed over time.

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opportunities previously kept from them. A thriving youth basketball system had been taking place in church basements for years, but without the talented Near North Side YMCA teams until the 1950s.

Individual neighborhood churches, such as Pearl Memorial United Methodist Church, formed teams to face other churches. However, these games were largely divided by race. The majority Black Technical High School would form its varsity team with players from these church leagues, and so, too, would Omaha North and Omaha Central -- except those schools formed majority white teams.

“Black players started joining and developing their own teams, so the infrastructure that white people had developed to play basketball fell apart when Black young men were coming into that infrastructure,” Fletcher Sasse said. “It was a whole segregated system that they were imposing and enforcing, and the real problem became white flight because the white people left the neighborhood so fast and destroyed the entire infrastructure for youth basketball in the neighborhood.” *** Thousands of miles away in southeast Asia, Tony Espejo pictured the familiar sights of his home neighborhood at 19th and Q streets.

He thought of his neighborhood’s wideopen streets, local church and his favorite restaurants, and he longed for the comfort of home. Fresh off four years with the US Marine Corps, he couldn’t wait to get back to his hometown of Omaha.

Never the type to stand idly by, Espejo wanted to make an impact on his community. He became a police officer in 2000 and joined south Omaha’s gang unit, which focused in 2004 on limiting gang activity and removing firearms from the community. For about a year, he served as a gang officer “breaking down doors and taking bad guys to jail,” but Espejo realized this approach wasn’t addressing the problem at the source.

He went to Florida for a gang symposium and met with Bob Muzikowski, a Chicago-area youth baseball coach who created a thriving baseball league within the city, and Espejo knew what he needed to do in Omaha.

“It just blew my mind, and I could see what these kids need, and I could see what kept me out of trouble, and it was athletics,” he said.

The second his plane landed in Omaha, Espejo got to work. He sought out the athletic organizations that helped him as a youth, and to his surprise, most of them no longer existed.

Because Espejo played baseball at a young age, he intended to start a baseball league. But as he drove around south Omaha, he realized a different sport was the key to these kids: soccer.

He got to work teaching himself the rules of the game and formed Police Athletics for Community Engagement (PACE).

Espejo went to parks in south Omaha and approached the kids with a simple proposition: He would take care of the coaches and the fields, while the kids formulated the teams with their friends. The kids could choose the team name and their jersey numbers.

But when his homecoming became reality, he hardly recognized his neighborhood from four years ago.

“When I came back, I was staying at my parent’s house at 19th and Q, and there was graffiti in the alley where I used to play baseball, there was graffiti down 24th Street and there were shootings and killings and all kinds of crazy crap going on,” he said.

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The games would also be easily accessible in south Omaha, so kids could walk or bike.

“It was neat when I was walking away, they huddled up and were organizing themselves,” he said. “It was even neater when I came back next Wednesday. At the exact time I was going to be there, they ran to me. They knew who I was and what I was doing, and they needed 20 jerseys.”

PACE began with just six teams in its first year, but word quickly spread about the free-to-play, community-oriented league. Soon, 20 teams registered for the league, then 30, then 50 and so on. Last year, PACE had nearly 100 soccer teams in addition to flag football and baseball programs.

All of the programs are co-ed and free to play, thanks to donations from local businesses and foundations. Espejo has seen the positive effects of the program first-hand.

“Right after the game, the kids go back to the south-side terrace, the projects up here and the coaches who coached them that night go back to the projects to protect them, and you just watch the barriers fall over,” he said.

For some of PACE’s soccer players, maybe

they seek out the league as a fun-oriented, less competitive arena to practice athletics. But for other soccer players, PACE may be the only option they have because the costs of Omaha’s soccer clubs are too high for their family.

Robert Amdor, president and executive director of Nebraska Futbol Club (NFC) for over 20 years, has witnessed a shift toward geographic soccer clubs in Omaha. While the city’s soccer landscape was more open 10 years ago, Amdor identified specific regions that clubs serve now: Sporting Omaha, the dominant club in west and Northwest Omaha, the Papillion soccer club in the south-central region and the Gretna Elite Academy in the southwest part of the city to Gretna.

That leaves NFC to cover the eastern part of town, a role that Amdor takes seriously.

“We still have probably half of our membership that lives west of 72nd, but there are very few clubs that go east of 72nd to find players,” he said. “...We have a large Hispanic portion, probably a third to 40% of our team is Hispanic, and our focus now is on trying to help produce the best, most competitive teams we can and also

help the community in south Omaha.”

The cost to play at NFC ranges from $650 for U10 players up to a maximum of $1,400 for the program’s high schoolers. The club is able to keep prices low and provide considerable financial assistance, Amdor said, because NFC’s coaches are willing to accept lower pay to coach the program’s high-level teams.

That isn’t the case at the city’s flagship soccer club, Sporting Omaha, which has a minor league affiliation with MLS team Sporting Kansas City.

With players ranging from 3 to 19 years old, Sporting Omaha is the largest, most widely known club in the state and its costs reflect that.

The U9-U10 academy costs $910, and most of the club’s programs hover above $1,000, with the most expensive being the U14-U18/19 Premier Girls program at $1,800. Those costs are an economic reality for an organization trying to provide the best coaching possible, and Sporting Omaha has distributed over $25,000 in assistance to 34 players for the 2020-21 season in partial or full scholarships.

“As with all nonprofit and youth organizations that offer services, it’s not enough. We always hope that we can do more,” said interim executive director Sven Jasinski. “...We try to be mindful that this is not an endless spiral where every year we push the price higher.”

And despite Sporting Omaha’s geographic orientation, the club still conducts community outreach programs that aim to engage the entire city. The club also established the “STOPIT” campaign in 2019 that seeks to eliminate any forms of racism, prejudice or discrimination from the world of youth soccer.

courtesy photo

The P.A.C.E. program was started in 2005 by the Omaha Latino Peace Officers Association with the Police Athletic League and area volunteers.

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“Even though we may be seen as a west Omaha club, we still try to offer our services to everybody,” Jasinski said. “We’re also planted within society and society sometimes throws you challenges, and we as a club also had instances that were not respectful, so when those things occur, we as a club stand up and fight against that.”

While there may be differences between NFC and Sporting Omaha, they are united by some of the same principles. Both clubs acknowledge the on-field success is great, but what matters most is what players get out of the program, and how prepared they are to take on future world challenges that are more demanding than scoring a goal or blocking a pass.

“It’s not just (about) developing a soccer player,” Jasinski said. ‘I think within Sporting Omaha, it’s also about creating young women and men that play soccer but also during the stay with our club and beyond, they are also navigating life quite well.

It’s important, Amdor said, to help the youth understand they have to set goals.

“Then we help them try to achieve them,” he said.

“Otherwise you just fall into a routine of having a lineup and playing soccer and they don’t even understand what the end goal is. Is it all about winning or it supposed to be about trying to make yourself a better person? I hope it’s the latter.” *** Before he became a state senator, Tony Vargas was a typical high school athlete. He played football, basketball and track in high school, and he credits sports for teaching him lessons like teamwork and perseverance that help him today working in politics.

Originally from New York, Sen. Vargas lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta before moving to Omaha. He’d seen divided and segregated cities before, but he was still struck by how pronounced the divisions are in Omaha.

“We need to make sure that no matter where you are in the city, that a kid can go to school, graduate and have an amazing set of opportunities with a degree that lets them go to college, or work or serve in the military and have a lot of different options, but we’re just not there yet,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s still (divided) along the lines of race and ethnicity, and that part is something I’ve been trying to work on for the UNLimited_12.20

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last four years in the senate.”

While working as a teacher in New York, Sen. Vargas coached youth basketball and his principles of community activism led him to coach with PACE since moving to Omaha. The program is popular among Omaha’s community leaders — Mackey coaches PACE teams, too — but there’s only so much a free program can do to provide a positive youth sports experience.

“My hope is that programs will continue to level the playing field,” Vargas said. “I know the entities like PACE are doing it, but it’s not to the club level, and we do need to do something about that, because I don’t want to create further inequities down the line for the most talented youth.”

Now 101 years after the lynching of Will Brown, people like Sen. Vargas and organizations like PACE are working to transform Omaha’s complicated racial legacy. Regardless of economic growth or sprawling suburbs, the city remains largely divided by the racial lines of the past, a fact some Omahans may not know about or may choose to ignore.

“There are lots of folks who maintain that Omaha is special or different, because we don’t practice racism, but in reality, racism is as alive today as it’s ever been,” Fletcher Sasse said.

Without an obvious solution to how the Midwest city can overcome decades of racial division and inequality, those who believe in a better future for Omaha are doing what they can: investing in the next generation, with the hopes to educate and inspire. Those believers take the form of neighbors, friends, mentors and of course youth coaches, passing down life lessons that young Omahans will never forget.

“It’s a mission for us to work in the North Omaha area and try to raise up the area,” Push said. “We want to be a part of the solution in North Omaha and not a part of the problem where everyone who has the means to move out, moves out.”

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THE RAILYARD: A HUSKERs GAME DAY EXPERIENCE Despite the covid-19 pandemic, fans still find ways to watch their Huskers play on Saturday Words: Nick Schreiter and Taylor Riemersma Visuals: James Rowland

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t’s 10:45 a.m. on a beautiful, 60-degree, bright and sunny start to the day in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. It feels like a September afternoon as a breeze blows. Huskers begin to pack the socially-distanced picnic tables excited to watch their team play after a week off. The aroma of the many restaurants in the Historic Haymarket fills the air leaving me with hunger pains. The bumpy, uncomfortable picnic table makes me wish I was sitting in the bleachers of the beloved Memorial Stadium eating a Runza. It’s just 15 minutes until the Huskers take the field in Evanston, Illinois, to play against the Northwestern Wildcats. That should be

enough time to grab something to eat, but I can’t forget my mask.

“I was a little worried sitting there watching the game,” said University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumna Peyton Lundstrom. “If no one else was wearing a mask, I thought I would take mine off, too.”

Before we went to our first game in The Railyard, a UNL email warned of Lancaster County’s significant spread of COVID-19 -- the COVID Risk Meter moved into the “very high” red status.

Settling in, two strangers asked to sit with us, and we obliged. This was one of three groups that would come and ask the same. Not wanting to be rude, we allowed each one take their turn at our table. There were some weird looks from across The Railyard as we sat there with our masks still on.

Husker red was in every direction with fans ready to party. As each one came in, got their wristband (some wore multiples for different bars) and sat down ready to cheer. Game days are supposed to be for yelling “Go Big Red!” But the crowd was relatively quiet.

More fans found their seats and remained there, unless they were grabbing another drink or heading to the latrines. There was an even mix of college students joined by those who seemed middle-aged.

Not too many older individuals were to be found, which wasn’t too much of a surprise.

Nice weather allowed people to come out en masse, and it seemed whenever there was a group of four, three would be wearing a mask and one would stick out from the crowd without

“I was a little worried sitting there watching the game. If no one else was wearing a mask, I thought I would take mine off, too.”

- Peyton

Lundstrom, UNL alumna

anything to cover their face.

Masks were quick peeled off once fans found their seats.

Besides the Huskers game on The Railyard’s big screen, the state volleyball tournament was happening next door at the Pinnacle Bank Arena, and a lot of fans crowded between the two areas.

For Lundstrom, many months had passed since she had been to an event with this many people in such a small vicinity.

With COVID-19 cases spiking in Lincoln, she said she would continue to watch the rest of the Huskers season from the safety of her home.

At The Railyard, as many as eight to 10 people crammed around each properly distanced picnic table, especially as the game went on and the weather warmed up.

There was no sign of a cleaning staff to wipe off the tables before the game started or even after.

As we walked around, fans came and went with bar drinks and pizza from Mellow Mushroom.

Lines formed in multiple directions around the bars, which seemed like the only place where people wore masks.

During the game, Huskers fans didn’t have much to cheer about.

The biggest reactions came from a couple of touchdowns or interceptions. Sitting around all of these Husker-loving fans felt like we traveled back in time to 2019, before we even knew what COVID-19 was.

A much better time that we may have once taken for granted.

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Although we kept our masks on almost the entire time, besides when we were drinking or trying to converse over the loud music during halftime, somewhere in the back of our heads, we knew there was a chance of us contracting COVID-19.

This was the biggest crowd we’ve been around in a while with the majority of our classes being online.

Without being able to go to sporting events or concerts since early March, this experience was the next-best-thing.

In this situation, safety is up to the individuals who come to The Railyard. Wearing a mask is a choice upon entering -- it’s not enforced --- something that could change in the coming weeks. Bringing your own hand sanitizer wouldn’t be a bad idea next time, considering we don’t know how often those tables were being wiped.

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Overall, the experience didn’t feel all that different from years prior. Besides occasionally wearing masks, The Railyard was packed and people were having a lot of fun, even if the Huskers were losing.

You wouldn’t be able to tell that from the smiling happy crowd watching their team play. The game day experience was back and accompanied by gorgeous fall weather, which made for a refreshing Saturday afternoon.

Huskers Game Day:

With that, it was fun attending The Railyard for this game, though this is not something we’d recommend for everyone to do. The elderly, people with underlying conditions and those who fear areas where there are a lot of people not wearing masks should stay far away from The Railyard on a game day, especially now that Lincoln’s COVID meter is in the red zone (no pun intended.) The safest place to watch Huskers games is from your couch.

Words: Caelan Debban Visuals: James Rowland

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Anything but Ordinary

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he leaves crunch under my feet as I walk through the University of NebraskaLincoln campus. The temperature in the air is

dropping and the wind flowing is heightening. As I glance up, the east side of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium stares back at me. It’s quiet. Completely empty.

It’s Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. There should be a subtle calm before the “Sea of Red” storms through the gates of this morning’s game vs.

Penn State. But instead, nothing. There aren’t any food trucks, news reporters, tailgaters or students running around preparing for an exciting matchup. It’s anything but ordinary here in Lincoln.

For a city that thrives on its love for football, not being able to pass through the gates made for the dubbed, “Greatest Fans in College Football” is devastating. Fans young and old yearn to see the red balloons fly each Saturday. Instead of seeing tens of thousands of them released into the air, Husker fans are lucky to even see 40.

“I was watching the game, and I saw an opening through the tunnel in the stadium,” lifelong Nebraska season ticket holder Ed May said.

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“And when the camera flashed by, there was somebody standing there with probably a bundle of 40 balloons in their hand. They were waiting for Nebraska to score so that they could launch a few balloons, but it’s just not the same.”

May’s account of the empty stadium is like many other Huskers fans: It’s just not the same -- especially for someone whose family has held season tickets since the 1960s.

To be fair, though, Nebraska is still playing football, albeit a very delayed season. It’s been difficult for fans to endure the changes of the schedule.

The Big Ten canceled all sports, including football on August 11, seemingly ending all hopes for a football season. Some fans across the Big Ten conference were upset with the decision. However, those fans’ sorrows were relinquished when the Big Ten presidents voted to bring back the football season, after players, coaches, parents and university leaders from both Nebraska and Ohio State made a push.

Some thought the attempt was a gracious opportunity for student-athletes to get back on the field where they belong. Others? Not so much.

“Some of the media personnel took that opportunity to really bash Scott Frost and the University of Nebraska, and I didn’t think that it was fair or right,” May said. “It seems like it’s all about ratings at that point.”

Regardless of what the media thought, the Big Ten reinstated football in the conference for a start time of October 24 -- a start that has had its ups and downs.

Nebraska began the season with a blowout loss to their “Save Big Ten Football” counterpart, Ohio State. The next week, the rivalry game between Wisconsin was canceled due to a large number of COVID cases on the Badger team and a tight loss to Northwestern the following week.

of the Huskers football team, fans are just happy to watch some football, even if they can’t attend Memorial Stadium in person.

“The fact that we have football just on TV is kind of a blessing for us to have,” said UNL freshman Connor Clark. “Just because of all of the things that we have restricted or taken away, I like to look on the bright side and just know that even having football is a good thing.”

Clark came to Nebraska in the fall of 2020 to study sports media and communication. COVID-19 caused an early end to his senior year of high school early and now the virus is keeping him and many others out of the beloved Nebraska stadium.

“It’s obviously not ideal, not being able to go to Memorial Stadium,” he said.

“But I’ve met a lot of people here who have gone to the games and have had great experiences. They always say how great the games are and how there is nothing like it. When that opportunity finally does roll around, I’ll be excited for it, but for now, at least we have football in some way, shape or form.”

As a graduating senior at UNL, however, it’s tough for me to leave without feeling the chills trail down my spine when the Huskers begin the famous tunnel walk, or to sway with the motion of the stadium when the Blackshirts get a sack or to see one last win of my college career.

But I don’t want to dwell on the sadness of it all. Thousands of students like me are in the same boat across the country, with several of them being my friends and classmates. We had a great three years of college and sports before this, so none of us can complain.

“If you’re gonna worry or be upset about things,” May tells me. “Don’t get upset about things you can’t control. You can’t control this. Just do the best you can and when things straighten out, we’ll get back to normal.”

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Despite the hardship and early struggle

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After an eventful year across all levels of motorsports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what will 2021 bring?

The pandemic’s effect on auto racing led to a long list of firsts this NASCAR season and at local tracks in Nebraska like Eagle Raceway and I-80 Speedway.

Words and visuals: Bryce Zimmerman and Jake Bartecki

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arlier this year, if you were to tell Roger Hadan, owner of Eagle Raceway, and Joe Kasiski, part-owner of I-80 Speedway, what would come leading up to their track’s 2020 season, both likely would have been at a loss of words.

The loss also came in financial form via local sponsor revenues and mostly attendance.

Taking seven or eight weeks out of the season, right off the bat, made things tough, Hadan said.

“We get about 15 weekends of racing in a good year, factoring in rainouts and things like that,” Hadan said. “Most people don’t realize this, but since we work in the summer, there’s only 20 potential weekends for us at most each year.”

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At I-80 Speedway, with a focus on keeping fans and drivers safe, Kasiski said the business needed to reopen after losing nearly half of its season.

“We also didn’t get to do fireworks this season, one of the great traditions here at I-80 Speedway.

I couldn’t fill my grandstands, so there were no fireworks,” Kasiski said.

The delay, too, left local drivers like Tommy Etherton, a Denton, Nebraska, native and former I-80 Speedway Rookie of the Year, without anywhere to compete for a while.

“Our local tracks started a few months late due to having to come up with plans with their respective counties to have the best safety protocols in place to keep everyone safe,” Etherton said.

Even once Eagle Raceway began its season, the track located just 10 miles east of Lincoln, Nebraska, was still operating at a financial loss because of a 25% capacity mandate from the Sarpy-Cass County Health Department.

“The first week of the season, we were able to have 1,800 people at the track. That includes the fans, the drivers, and the pit crews,” Hadan said. “At that dollar amount, we were still losing money.”

Fortunately for both tracks, strong crowds finished out the rest of their seasons on a positive note.

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“Fans at our track were excellent this season,” Kasiski said. “They did a good job at spreading themselves apart in the grandstands and maintaining distance, and I feel like it can be a model for other tracks, too.”

2021 looks to be a monumental year for NASCAR with a newly revamped Cup Series schedule, the addition of new race teams like Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing and the return of Kyle Larson following his suspension and reinstatement by NASCAR earlier this season for using a racial slur during an online iRacing event in April.

The 2021 schedule includes a return to Nashville Superspeedway, where NASCAR last raced in 2011, and a total of six road courses, double its usual number.

Also locked in are multiple never-beforeseen tracks on the Cup Series schedule: Circuit of the Americas, Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

Bob Pockrass, a NASCAR reporter for FOX Sports, said he thinks the new venues will increase interest among fans, and racing at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas is the “best move.”

“Austin, Texas, is a thriving market and the track has international awareness since Formula 1 races there,” Pockrass said.

Notably, the schedule lists a dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway in March -something that local Nebraska dirt racing fans can appreciate. The last time the Cup Series raced on dirt was at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1970, and featured NASCAR legend, Richard Petty, winning that race.

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might need improvement) to make that happen,” he said.

But avid Nebraska NASCAR fan, Chase Thompson, was disappointed in the lack of short tracks like Iowa and the Nashville Fairgrounds being added to the Cup Series schedule, but thinks that more road courses are good for NASCAR. “Overall, I think the schedule was a miss, but it has good intentions,” he said. “They hit it out of the park by going to Circuit of the Americas, which is arguably the top racing facility in the country.”

season. This meant that drivers would travel to the track the day of the race and go home immediately after, which did not allow time for practice or qualifying.

Iwuji talked about what it was like racing without any practice or qualifying this season.

“It’s definitely tough going to tracks that you’ve never been to before,” he said. “At first, I thought jumping into a car without any practice or qualifying was going to be a lot harder than it really was. It still is nerve racking, but it actually really wasn’t that bad.”

Freddie Kraft, who spots for Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace, mentioned that although he is happy to see a more diverse schedule for 2021, he would like to see more short tracks added in the coming years.

He continued: “I would say at most tracks, the pace of the race would start a little bit slower before it kind of picked up. Nobody was throwing the car into turn one going 100%. I think most people took their time at first and after four or five laps, everybody was up to speed.”

Luckily for people like Thompson and Kraft, NASCAR plans to add a new short track in 2022 following the renovations at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Surprisingly, Anthony Alfredo, a young, 21-yearold NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, said he looks forward to racing more often without practice or qualifying next season.

For Jesse Iwuji, NASCAR Xfinity and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series driver, the added changes are all good.

“I enjoy the challenge of having so much uncertainty heading into a race and just sending it into turn one without a clue of how the car will handle or what the competitors around you will do,” Alfredo said.

“Having six road courses is cool, and they are all great road courses. I personally cannot wait to race at Circuit of the Americas,” Iwuji said.

The new schedule also revealed the news that drivers racing in 2021 will continue to not have practice or qualifying before most races, except for major events and new tracks, including the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, the Phoenix championship race, Circuit of the Americas, Road America, Nashville, the Indianapolis Road Course and the Bristol dirt race.

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Alfredo also said the biggest challenge of no practice or qualifying is not having the ability to make major adjustments to the car before the race.

“You can’t make big swings on adjustments on a pit stop like you could during practice. So, however you unloaded off the hauler at the track is pretty much what you were going to be stuck with for the race since you could only make minor changes on pit stops,” he said.

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the sport during NASCAR’s push for diversity and support of the Black Lives Matter movement this year.

“Wallace is a great driver,” Iwuji said, “And I think with him jumping into the good equipment they are going to have, he is going to have a good shot at making a lot of good runs.

While Iwuji is optimistic that Wallace and his team will have success next season, he knows they will certainly have growing pains.

“But I know they will go out there and compete and get some good finishes next year,” he said.

The 2021 season also marks the return of Larson, who was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR on April 12 when he uttered a racial slur during a virtual iRacing event. After completing sensitivity training, Larson was reinstated by NASCAR on October 19.

As a Black man, Iwuji predicts a mixed reaction about Larson’s return.

“There’s a lot of fans who love him,” Iwuji said, “So a lot of fans will be happy about his return.

But there’s obviously people out there who will still be upset about what he did.”

Still, Iwuji said he believes Larson is doing everything he can to show that he has changed.

“He has done a lot of community outreach in the African-American community to show his true personality and who he really is,” he said.

From local fans’ perspective, Brenden Avery, a Black NASCAR fan from Omaha, Nebraska, said he is skeptical of Larson.

“It still does not mean he’s a good person. Maybe deep down he is a racist. But he knows what can and cannot be done now,” Avery said.

Thompson said he believes that Larson will be welcomed back into NASCAR with open arms since he owned up to his mistake and suffered the consequences of it.

“I believe he deserves a complete second chance,” Thompson said. “He just made a mistake and I believe the entire NASCAR community acknowledges that and will welcome him back.”

In fact, Thompson said he has high expectations for Larson’s 2021 season.

“My early favorite for the championship next season is Larson,” he said. “He is the most talented race car driver in the United States, if not the world right now. He is going to an organization (Hendrick Motorsports) that knows how to get it done and has the equipment to do it.”

On the local front, Eagle Raceway released a tentative 2021 schedule that aims to open for practice on Saturday, April 10. The track’s first event, the Ice Breaker Challenge - which is one of Eagle’s annual race events, is set to take place the following weekend on April 16-17. I-80 Speedway currently has not released its schedule for the 2021 season.

As far as how the 2021 season will look for fans at NASCAR tracks, Pockrass said he thinks a limited number of fans will be allowed into races, at least early in the season, depending on the venue.

Reflecting on the 2020 NASCAR season 2020 has been a crazy year -- not just for the NASCAR season.

“This is most likely the craziest season I’ve ever witnessed as a fan and may be the wildest one we ever see,” said William Richard, an avid NASCAR fan in his 20s from South Carolina. “The path to get where we are now has been crazy.”

With the addition of mid-week races, a new road course at Daytona and no fans in attendance, Richard said NASCAR fans have been on a roller coaster ride this year.

“We should all be thankful (NASCAR) even got cleared to go,” he said.

These mid-week races, which produced record-

low television ratings, according to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, showed how NASCAR adapted to still complete all 36 races even after losing over two months of the season. Iwuji said there were a lot of surprises this season and things no one saw coming.

no fans, no supporters, no anything was pretty eye opening to what the world was dealing with,” Richard said. “Instead of fans screaming, yelling, cheering and booing, all we saw was silence. This absolutely put the pandemic into perspective.”

“Kyle Busch just got his first win of the season, which was pretty crazy to see,” Iwuji said. “To see somebody with all that talent and equipment struggle this much was crazy to me.”

NASCAR reporter, Davey Segal, pointed to the industry’s solidarity behind Wallace before the spring race at Talladega when Wallace’s fellow drivers pushed him to the front of the grid.

For Richard, one of the most memorable moments was Kevin Harvick celebrating after winning at Darlington Raceway, the first race following the break.

“Seeing Harvick seemingly look around to see

“I had never seen a group of athletes come together to support a colleague in that way,” he said. “The show of support from drivers towards Wallace that week is a moment that still gives me chills to this day.”

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iRacing’s rise in popularity At the beginning of NASCAR’s two month break, NASCAR televised a weekly virtual race on iRacing, an ultra-realistic computer simulator that allows real-world racing skills to translate to a virtual track.

Drivers competed in virtual races on live TV at the track they were originally supposed to race at in real life. This inspired many race fans to try out the game themselves. As of April, over 160,000 people worldwide are subscribed to iRacing.

Between January and April of 2020, over 50,000 people joined iRacing.

One longtime subscriber is NASCAR driver Jesse Iwuji, who has been a subscriber for nearly six years. Iwuji says that iRacing helped him prepare for real-life races at new tracks.

“Being able to get on iRacing the week before the race to train and get a lot of laps in makes it feel like I’ve been to that track many many times before when I show up for the race. I’m really happy with the way iRacing has grown this year,” Iwuji said.

In December, Iwuji said he plans to start a new e-racing association that will award $10,000 at its first tournament. Visit eragaming.gg for more information about the tournament.

Attending a NASCAR race during a pandemic Words: Jake Bartecki

There’s nothing as unique as attending a NASCAR race. The smell of burnt rubber and gas fumes blending together in the air. The roar of the engines. The feeling you get when you walk through the gates and seeing the track as a mammoth-sized racing canyon. Not to mention the experience those in the crowd can bring to the table. All other sports, take notes, because NASCAR and Kansas Speedway know how to host an event during a pandemic.

When the sport returned to action at Darlington Raceway in May, after a few month break due to the pandemic, it took two months (or eight races) for any fans to be allowed into an event in any capacity.

A few weeks ago, I got to experience a NASCAR race in-person, midpandemic. On October 18, the Hollywood Casino 400 became the eleventh race to allow fans since the season resumed. I’ve been to many NASCAR races across the country in my lifetime; this is one I will never forget.

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At 20% capacity (sold out), the grandstands and parking lots were noticeably empty. Upon entry, mandatory temperature checks were taken, and the track handed out free masks and bottles of hand sanitizer.

In addition, no one was allowed in or near pit lane or the garage area, unless affiliated with a race team. While empty parking lots, a sparse pit lane and required screening were new and surprising, the racing and race day vibes felt no different at all.

The main drivers who sell merchandise had their apparel trucks lined up and full of gear for fans to purchase. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott each had individual apparel haulers, while race teams Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childeress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske all had their drivers’ apparel together.

Once the race begins, the feeling of a pandemic melts away. Your only focus is enjoying the race, socially-distanced from other fans. If every sport, ideally those played outdoors, took notes from NASCAR and Kansas Speedway, sports could most definitely hold fans in some capacity. From the mandatory mask policy, screening upon entry, socially-distanced seats and free hand sanitizer, Kansas Speedway found the magic formula for hosting an event and making it enjoyable in the middle of a pandemic.

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make special masks that have slits in them to play our instruments, as well as we have to practice outside.”

With winter sports slowly commencing and pandemic cases surging in Nebraska and much of the Midwest, there’s uncertainty regarding safety with sports mostly played indoors. It is a new challenge to make sure the players and staff can be safe and well enough to play, let alone making sure bands and spirit squads are around. Creighton has already decided there will be no fans in the stands for the men’s and women’s basketball season.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that we can’t go,” Buetow said. “I think, right now, they’re waiting for the conference to state the rules on whether there will be spirit squads allowed at games. So, we’re hopeful. But right now, it’s looking like we’re not going to be able to.”

Where’s The Spirit Squad?

Words: Tyler Fangman Many things have been missing from college sports this year. Stadiums lie barren and mute amid the pandemic, while others sit at a decreased capacity, with groups of fans distant from another. But there is something else missing from collegiate stadiums that make college sports what they are: The bands and cheerleaders.

Especially at college sporting events, fight songs unite the entirety of home crowds simultaneously clapping along. Cheerleaders and dance teams energize the masses with their chants and their eloquent halftime performances.

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College sports in Nebraska are just not the same when no fans are clapping to the beat of “Hail Varsity,” “UNO Fight” or “The White and The Blue.”

“We didn’t find out what was going to happen with football to the last minute, and then they changed it twice,” said Tony Falcone, band director of the Cornhusker Marching Band at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “So, we lost our rehearsal venue. We lost our band camp. We lost half of our rehearsing time. Then, we come to find out the Big Ten says, ‘OK, we’re gonna play this schedule.’ And then they said, ‘No, we’re not gonna play at all.’ And then they said, ‘Well, we’re gonna play, but there’s no band or cheer.”

The Cornhusker Marching Band has been pulled in every direction -- much like the rest of UNL’s athletic department when it comes to decisions made by the Big Ten Conference.

The Cornhusker Marching Band, Falcone said, had to get creative about how to practice and perform even though they will not be allowed in the football stadium this fall.

The band had to learn four songs, in addition to the pregame music, for a recorded video performance that the athletic department would broadcast during home football games.

After editing is complete, Falcone hopes the bands can share the performance on social media, he said.

The Cornhusker Marching Band is not the only band program in the Cornhusker state forced to adapt during the 2020 season.

“We had to go through a lot -- like we did look at a lot of research that was done and look at what the concert band at Creighton was doing,” said Katelyn Buetow, president of Creighton University’s pep band. “We had to

The Big Ten released its schedule for men’s basketball on November 18, and the women’s schedule on November 23. The men’s teams will still play the regular 20game conference schedule, just like a regular season, in addition to no more than seven non-conference games for the upcoming season. The women will also play a 20-game conference schedule.

The Big Ten will use the same safety protocols it has been operating for the football season to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The University of Nebraska Omaha has a schedule for its Summit League play where the Mavericks will play other schools on backto-back days in the same location. For the rest of the 2020, UNO decided there will not be fans in attendance.

Despite the UNO dance team not being able to perform at any games this year or the rest of the 2020 season, they have been able to practice with the necessary precautions and even perform at the Millard North High School Showcase.

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“That whole routine had to be socially distanced, which was an endeavor because it’s like, you’re fighting your artistic vision of what you want to do with what you’re permitted to do,” said Mo Marmesh, University of Nebraska Omaha dance team coach.

Even though the pandemic has changed many of the basic norms of everyday life for the UNO, it has actually made one aspect of the sport much easier: Recruiting.

“They have these different like combines and recruiting clinics from different companies and stuff around the country,” Marmesh said. “And I never go because it’s an expense.”

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This year, since everything has been virtual, Marmesh can go to these clinics and cast a wider net with out-of-state recruiting. She saw a pool of 600 dancers and had around 25 list UNO in their top five, she said. But those new recruits and current dancers will have to wait until at least the 2021 season to show off their dance skills.

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“It’s super frustrating, especially because this is definitely the strongest team since I have been there,” Marmesh said. “So, it’s like I have this amazing pool of talent. I want to show them off in so many ways, and the world is just like: ‘Pump the brakes.’”

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