UNLimited Sports Magazine - Vol. 2, Issue No. 1

The Tip-off

CO N T E N TS UNLim ited Sp orts M A G A Z I N E - V O L . 0 2 I S S U E 0 1

28 38 ATHLETIC BANDS: Fan attendance varies at Nebraska universities across the state and so does athletic bands

50 HUSKERS GOLF: Nebraska’s Kate Smith doesn’t want to say she had a good 2020, but she made the most of it.

The Husker Legacy Statue on the east side of Memorial Stadium is

ESPORTS AT NEBRASKA “A college of journalism is the perfect home for esports,” said incoming sports media professor, Brian Petrotta.

32 SPORTS MEDIA: Nebraska press corps finds ways to stand out amid the pandemic

44 NO PAIN, NO GAIN: Gabby Baratta spent her whole life swimming in pain

56 THE HIDDEN SPORT OF SUPERCROSS: How Nebraska students are working to bring awareness to America’s sport

surrounded by snow on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Tim Verghese Photo

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Morgan Shines and Christy Lee visit Le Smash in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 to help Shines through a recent breakup.

Ben Skow Media

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Christy Lee Lets out her frustration destroying VHS Tapes and bottles on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 at Le Smash in Omaha, Nebraska.

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The Tip-off U N Limited S ports SPRING 2021 M A N AG I N G E D I TO R Tim Hofmann J O U R N A L I STS Jacob Benson Brock Birkholtz Annie Gellott Christian Horn Austin Kingsley Brennan Merkle Denny Nguyen Ethan Petrik Michaela Scheinin Will Wilson P H OTO Benjamin Skow Timothy Verghese VIDEO Francesca D’Orazi Benjamin Gilg DESIGN Mj Schuster

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Tim Verghese Photo

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The Lincoln High dance team performs in masks at halftime of the Lincoln Southeast vs Lincoln High boys varsity basketball game on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Tim Verghese Photo

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Left: Lincoln High junior small forward Ariana Hoagland wears a mask midgame on Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. Right: Lincoln High sophomore shooting guard Andrew Gaines awaits the inbound pass on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021.

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Tim Verghese Photos

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MEET THE TEAM MEET THE TEAM Broadcaster Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska Dream job: Sports analyst and commentator

Journalist Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas Dream job: Screenwriter

My story is that I love video and audio so much that I want to make a career out of it. My entire life has been surrounded by sports, whether they’re conversations with friends, family and so on. What makes me unique is I can be in front of a microphone unprepared and create quality ad-libbed content. I want to be a relatable voice thousands can agree with when it comes to talking about sports, players, leagues.I produce my own show and I am currently taking whatever steps necessary to make my dream happen.

I am a student who was fortunate to have a teacher so great she made me fall in love with the class. The class was composition. I was a junior in high school at the time and I fell in love with writing so much I knew I had found a calling. That same year, I was on my high school newspaper crew and I loved sports so I quickly decided to go all-in on sports reporting. However, as I grew in college and discovered more about myself, I realized I had more of a love for creative writing than telling other people’s stories. Within months, I had taken a short class on screenwriting and had fallen in love with that discipline.

Jacob Benson

Annie Gellott Journalist/Photographer Hometown: Forsyth, Illinois Dream job: Social media director

Videographer Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska Dream job: Somewhere with a sports marketing company

I am a fifth generation student at UNL, and I am very in touch with my Latino culture. It is a big part of who I am and growing up, it is part of the reason I got into sports. I have also always been fascinated with media and how important social media is to the world. Therefore, when I was deciding on majors, sports media seemed like the perfect fit. I haven’t looked back since and couldn’t be happier with my major and what I’ve learned.

I like to think I’m unique because I have such a different perspective of the video game industry. I like to tell myself that I know more than I probably actually do, but it makes me happy.

Excited to share more stories this semester.

Brock Birkholtz

Benjamin Gilg Videographer Hometown: Northbrook, Illinois Dream job: Video editor for a sports team

Managing Editor Hometown: Sutton, Nebraska Dream job: Director of Communications at Power 5 athletic department or professional team

I always had some interest in sports growing up, and I also always liked being creative. I came to school wanting to be an athletic trainer for a sports team. When that didn’t work out I wasn’t sure what to do.

I decided to combine my love for sports and also creativity by studying sports media and communication. I am so excited to see where it can go.

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Tim Hofmann

I think moving to New Mexico in the middle of my senior year of college in the middle of the pandemic is something that describes me pretty well. I love challenges and new beginnings especially when it comes to my career in media relations/sports information.

I started out as someone who just loved sports and thought he could write. A lot of things have fallen into place for me from that time to now. I found something I love to do that keeps me driven each and every day, and I couldn’t be happier.

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MEET MEET THE THE TEAM TEAM

Christian Horn

Journalist Hometown: Red Oak, Iowa Dream job: Sports reporter somewhere

Journalist Hometown: West Des Moines, Iowa Dream job: A job where I get be paid for being a total geek about sports.

Growing up, I always loved to read and write. As far back as first grade, I remember sitting on the wall of the gym during indoor recess and writing a story about evil football helmets who tried to take over the world and the good football helmets who tried to stop them (the idea came from my large collection of the Riddell miniature helmet replicas). While those stories were almost assuredly not very good, it ignited a love of writing — so much so that for many years, I wanted to be an author one day. I realized being an author might be best suitable as a hobby and decided to pursue journalism to combine my love for writing and my love of sports. Everyone has an interesting story to tell, and I am excited to listen to some of those stories and share them with you.

I originally came into college as a music education major. Into my sophomore year, I realized that music education wasn’t for me, and looked at other potential majors. I was always a fan of sports, but coming out of high school, I didn’t know how a 5-foot6 unathletic person could get involved with sports. With that, I stumbled upon sports media and communication and fell in love with it. I love telling stories that aren’t being told, because I do believe that everyone has a story that deserves to be told.

Journalist Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska Dream job: Play-by-play sports announcer

Journalist Hometown: Sidney, Montana Dream job: Sports radio broadcaster

Sports and broadcasting have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve been sitting in front of a television watching sports since I was 3 feet tall. For some reason, though, I came to college with aspirations of being a weatherman. That didn’t work out. Now I’m here covering the sports stories that matter. It’s a fun gig, and I look forward to seeing where I end up after graduation.

There is not a lot that goes on in a small town like Sidney, Montana. So, as a little kid growing up, you made your own entertainment with the neighborhood kids and my backyard was Lambeau Field, Fenway Park and Madison Square Garden all in one day. Whenever, I was not in the backyard, I was in the basement playing the newest copy of Madden, NHL, 2k or NCAA Football. In high school, I played hockey and covered sports for my paper. Oh, and for quick flex, I am also a fully licensed private pilot. Another hobby of mine is podcasting. I host and produce a weekly podcast called Save Saturdays.

Austin Kingsley

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Denny Nguyen

Ethan Petrik Journalist Hometown: Naperville, Illinois Dream job: Sports columnist/beat writer

Journalist Hometown: Aurora, Colorado Dream job: Documentary producer

My story is that I came to school with a business mindset and wanted to be an accountant. Within a year, I realized that I wanted to do something more creative. That brought me to the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. What makes me unique is that every person I interview, I try to make friends with. I love being able to be personable with people. A fun fact about me is that I was voted “Most Likely to Become Twitter Famous” in high school...has yet to happen.

I am from Aurora, Colorado and I chose to come to Nebraska because I loved their unique sports culture. With no NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB teams, Nebraska is still notorious for having some of the most die hard fans. I loved that. I chose to pursue sports media and communication because I wanted to be able to experience all the different media types, ranging from newspapers to TikTok. I’ve recently become invested in pushing the envelope on advocacy journalism, specifically the misrepresentation of women and people of color in sports.

Michaela Scheinin

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MEET MEET THE THE TEAM TEAM

MJ Schuster

Graphic Designer Hometown: Rogers, Minnesota Dream job: Educational producer

Journalist Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska Dream job: Sports radio host

I grew-up a huge hockey fan in Minnesota; I was sure I was going to be working in a crime lab for the rest of my life. I started my academic career as a forensic science major, and after realizing that I didn’t really like the idea, I switched majors. I looked to my next passion, which was hockey. A year after switching to sports media with a double-major in mathematics, I interned with the Lincoln Stars. After having a bad experience with the team, looking around the industry and realizing that it probably wouldn’t get better, I decided to join UNL’s Aerospace Club, and I am currently having an amazing time building things that will go to space!

I’ve been working in radio since I turned 18. I started as co-host during mornings on 106.3 KFRX then started producing for ESPN Lincoln 1480. Today, I’m producing for ESPN, I call play-by-play for football and basketball games on KFOR and ESPN Lincoln.

Just recently I started hosting ‘Nebraska Nights’ on KZKX 96.9 from 6 p.m. to midnight. I LOVE RADIO.

Will Wilson

Photographer Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska Dream job: Video content producer for a pro sports team

I grew up in a small town on a farm, but don’t have the same interests of the people around me or who have grown up like me.

I’ve always dreamed of big city life, and I’m on my way to living it. I was a business student for my first couple years at UNL, and hated it. I switched to sports media and communication and haven’t looked back. I got my two dream internships and I look forward to a career in this industry.

Benjamin Skow Photographer Hometown: Spring, Texas Dream job: Director of recruiting

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I’m a December 2021 grad with a passion for helping people achieve their dreams. I come from Spring, a suburb of Houston, Texas. I work for Hudl and 247Sports primarily covering football recruiting. Growing up, I always had a love for sports but never expected to make it a career. That all changed my senior year of high school when I covered high school football as an intern for texashsfootball.com. I realized that I could combine my passions into a career in the recruiting field. In college, I immersed myself in the recruiting world and worked hard to set myself up to enter the industry. What makes me unique is I’m of Indian descent and I’m a year and a half behind my class in age as I recently turned 20.

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Editor’s Letter

U

npredictable.

no one is talking about. We want a reader at the end of a story to think “Wow, I had no

If these past 14 months had to be

described in one word, well, there’s the word.

idea this was going on.” There may be stories written that may be uncomfortable for some.

If it’s uncomfortable to read, watch or listen. It

It all started with the Australian wildfires, then

was even more uncomfortable to talk to those

the death of one of the greatest NBA players

involved, but being uncomfortable doesn’t

to ever play the game, then the pandemic and

mean it shouldn’t be shared.

then, well, you know the rest.

As the editor, I am very excited to see what No day has seemed to be the same in the last

my peers produce in the coming months.

14 months. Every day, something you thought

Nebraska is no longer just this state that

could never happen ends up happening, but

is solely known for its college football and

for the past 14 months, one thing has stayed

volleyball. Omaha has become one of the

consistent. Every morning, a large portion

top recruiting markets in the country. We

of America begins their day by checking

continually see people with Nebraska ties

Twitter, reading a newspaper or turning on the

on big stages. There are talented young

morning news. Through all of this madness,

professionals in the College of Journalism

this has stayed constant, yet no one is

and Mass Communications, and their work

thanking us for never taking a day off, putting

will be deservingly displayed in our monthly

ourselves in the thick of danger and covering

magazine.

protests during the summer. That’s OK. We’re not crying for attention. A lot of us prefer to lay low and do the behind-the-scenes work, anyway.

For the next three months, 16 students will be attacking stories that are relevant to not only the state of Nebraska but nationally. The goal of UNLimited Sports is to find the stories

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All of us here at UNLimited Sports are on our own journey. None of us signed up to sit in Zoom classes for hours on hours. What’s the reward? I think sharing sports stories is a pretty good getaway from our daily lives, but maybe that’s just me.

,

- Tim Hofmann Class of 2021

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Omaha WorldHerald Sports Reporter

“

What We said

Christian Horn: I was familiar with Dirk Chatelain before, and I think his reputation among Huskers fans in general as being unnecessarily negative is a little unfair. Nebraska football is practically a religion in this state, and fans don’t necessarily want to constantly be reminded of the negative even if the reporting is truthful. After listening to him speak, I thought a lot of his insight was useful, particularly the bit about approaching every story honestly and with a genuine curiosity for the reporting you’re about to do. Specifically, his comment that we as reporters would be surprised by some of the stories people are willing to tell as long as we show a genuine interest and curiosity in them really stuck with me. I also thought his advice to not be afraid to slow down and to overreport, as well as to not be afraid to go against the status quo when reporting stories was good.

Austin Kingsley: I’m from Lincoln, so I’ve followed Dirk for a long time now. He’s been no stranger to controversy during his career, but I respect his ability to be assertive and get the “tough” stories. Much of his discussion today was about just that -- knowing when to step out of your comfort zone to tell the stories that matter. The things he described are undoubtedly my biggest obstacle toward becoming a journalist. I don’t like to assert myself the way Dirk does. My personality just doesn’t allow it. I’m too afraid to burden people or get in the way. Living up to the advice that Dirk has given would be very challenging for me.

Brennan Merkle: I had not followed Dirk beforehand, but I definitely will follow him now. He had a lot of great stories about the different road bumps he’d hit throughout his career, along with how he handled them. There were some great journalistic lessons in the stories he told. The part that really stuck with me was how he mentioned to always be curious throughout the process. He said to remain curious about the things you don’t know much about and to slow it down so you don’t miss anything.

Tim Verghese : I was familiar with Dirk and his work before. I have not been the biggest fan of his work at times but listening to him talk to classes over

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the last couple years I’ve genuinely gained a lot of respect for him. Especially compared to other writers and journalists that cover Nebraska athletics; he’s unbiased, which can’t be said for others in this market, and goes above and beyond in making sure his stories come from a place of fact. My biggest takeaways from his talk was that it takes a different level of work ethic to separate yourself from your competition. I’ve always prided myself on my work ethic and to see one of the better writers in this industry to emphasize how important it is really stood out. Another big takeaway I had was that you shouldn’t be afraid to put yourself in a position to look stupid. Sometimes the “dumb question” is important and is necessary to get crucial information.

Brock Birkholtz: I had never followed Dirk before today.

I had always heard his name pop up every once in a while when talking about Huskers sports, but it was great to finally meet him. The one thing I noticed about him the most was not anything that he said in particular but how passionate and detailed he was when speaking. He never left anything out when talking about his career and I hope to be as passionate about my job as he is. I loved hearing him talk about his early career memories and the advice he gave about staying true to your interests.

Jacob Benson: I did not know who Dirk was before he spoke to our class. I will have to keep up with his content because it was definitely worth reading.

There were a lot of things he spoke to our class about journalism that I did not know. I know now that Dirk has quite the reputation among Huskers fans as far as being one of the best-known sports writers. One thing I took away from his visit was that journalists always need to persevere even if questions can be hard sometimes. His best example was him talking to Bill Snyder, former head coach of the Kansas State Wildcats football team, and asking tough questions. I also learned that over-reporting is never bad and a journalist’s work ethic is very important. I look forward to seeing Dirk’s work down the road.

“

Tim Hofmann: I’ve followed Dirk for awhile. I used to really not like him at all but he’s grown a little bit on me for the past year or so. I think the most important thing he said especially for reporters is being curious and kind of testing your limits. His story about the Big 12 Championship game is something I totally agree with you. Keep doing something until someone tells you to stop. I think he said some really good things, and he has obviously become very successful in what he does.

Francesca D’Orazi: I was not familiar with Dirk Chatelain prior to this discussion. After hearing from him I understand how he got to be where he is today.

Something he kept mentioning during the discussion was to not follow what everyone else was doing.

He shared a story about the time he went down to the tunnel after a football game when all the other reports went to the press conference. He got to witness a situation that he later produced a story on, and was the only one that was able to produce that story. This stuck with me because it shows how important being unique and not following the crowd it. Don’t be scared to do something different because you could miss out on something crazy.

Denny Nguyen: The first time I heard about Dirk, it came from SPMC250. I recall my classmates groaning when you brought up that Dirk was coming. But every single time that he’s come in to talk to us, I learned so much from him. This time around, the biggest thing I got was that we need to be willing to go places that no one else is willing to go to. This also kind of ties into the idea we recently talked about, whether reporters should be reporting things that make people uncomfortable. With Chatelain, most of his stories that come up are from the times he did something that no one was willing to do.

He gets a lot of hate for some of the stories, like questioning the Huskers football program, but he does bring an outside and unbiased perspective to the table, which can be needed in society. I could also tell that he was genuinely passionate about his job, and even though he gets a lot of criticism for his work, he’s not going to change who he is or what he writes, which is awesome.

Dirk Chatelain

Ethan Petrik: One of the most important things I learned from Dirk’s conversation was the importance of being assertive. I never recognized it before, but, whenever, you take the bull by the horns, you end up with a product of which you are prouder.

Chatelain’s talk also helped me to overcome, or realize that I need to overcome, a negative mindset towards the limits of what I can do. I often censor myself by just saying that I cannot do a certain story.

However, I am motivated now to overcome this mental block.

Michaela Scheinin: I have not read or heard of Dirk Chatelain’s work before this class. I did look at some of his recent publications before his guest lecture.

I really liked how he talked about what it means to be a journalist and why we do it, especially the view that we are the public’s “eyes and ears” in situations when they’re not present. Our job is to relay information from one source to another. His passion for being an honest and ethical journalist makes me trust his work even more. One of the main things I took away from his lecture was when he said you can never over report a story. “Put yourself in a position where you can sleep at night,” Chatelain said. I think this will push me to go deeper with my own reporting.

Will Wilson: Dirk mentioning how new journalists need to be different than the common journalist really stuck with me. Even though I’m wanting to pursue radio, I feel like that advice still applies to radio.

There are so many journalists doing the same thing and it makes sense why success would come from doing something different. I’ve always read Dirk’s work and he came and talked to my sports writing class last year so I was familiar with him before we as a class talked to him. Dirk is popularly known around Husker nation as sort of the pessimistic writer and the guy who puts out stories that will piss off the fans. That what I’ve gathered through the sports radio world. I understand why people think that but Dirk is just showing great journalism and the stories he puts out are in-depth and truthful. Maybe that’s why Husker fans don’t like his stories, the truth hurts.

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Lincoln The New Age B of Sport: Putting Nebraska esports on the map

rian Petrotta sat among friends nearly 30 years ago. As they huddled around the TV, they all picked their favorite team in the latest NBA Live video game.

But he wasn’t focused on winning; his plan all along was to lose the first round and spend the rest of his time broadcasting each game and covering the action that was about to transpire.

Words: Brennan Merkle

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Fast forward to the present day, Petrotta, one of the newest sports media hires at the University of NebraskaLincoln, never considered

“FIFA 21 tourney streaming now with this rad crew” Feb. 26, 2021 | Photo by Professor Kaci Richter

that broadcasting a video game would be a career option today.

“a lot of people growing up will now have this new expectation of being able to interact with athletes in real time.”

- A Da m Wag l e r , Ph . d.

“I realized I was born way too early,” Petrotta said. “Now there’s a whole industry for that.”

The industry known as esports has a diverse connotation. The negative side being that video games are a lazy pastime, but as of recently, this competition-driven team sport in the form of interactive video games has brought in billions of dollars.

It’s way more than just video games.

When examining the realm of esports, Petrotta, who is currently finishing his Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma, is also researching how journalism fits into the esports playing field. This unveils a

new world of opportunity.

“There’s so much that goes into it,” he said. “It pulls from broadcasting. It pulls from digital journalism. It pulls from advertising, branding, marketing, PR. In fact, there’s probably a lot of growth in PR that needs to happen. For me, that’s why a college of journalism is the perfect home for esports.”

Before Oklahoma, Petrotta began his collegiate journey at the University of Kansas where he started off studying print journalism. A relative involved in broadcasting piqued his interest in covering live sports. He found his journalism home on the radio as he jumped to calling minor league baseball out of college. This venture lasted eight years before he transitioned into sports information and PR at Wichita State UNLimited_3.21

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in the switch to online, but that’s not to say they didn’t experience any setbacks.

“From a competition side of it, we were set up easier for it than traditional sports,” said Spott. “I think the problem was that it had hit us before our club was even established for an entire year, so the growth took a hit.”

Petrotta said he is on board with the potentiality of how big esports can become.

Students compete in a Super Smash Bros tournament while others broadcast the action at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications in March 2020. | PHOTo by Professor Adam Wagler

University while broadcasting on the side.

His schedule was packed as he worked many nights and weekends.

He realized that if he wanted to spend time with his family, he needed to switch it up.

“I moved to Oklahoma State University and began to teach a PR class. I loved it so much I decided to go back and get my masters there,” said Petrotta. “To end up at Nebraska feels like I hit the lottery.”

Petrotta will bring to UNL his Ph.D. in Strategic Communication where he hopes to incorporate his research on esports and how to implement effective media within. A student taking the course should be ready for a creative, project-based and hands-on learning experience in addition to hearing from esports athletes and industry professionals.

UNL is not the first college to try and get its foot in the door when it comes to involving esports. The

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University of North Texas has an esports varsity program. Oklahoma City University holds an esports combine for high school students to compete for scholarships. Fellow Big Ten school, Ohio State, constructed its own state-of-the-art esports arena accompanied by a curriculum, including the emergence of esports.

“To end up at Nebraska feels like I hit the lottery.”

- B rian Pe t rot ta

The Nebraska Esports Club, a recognized student organization since October 2019, was born out of specific game clubs like the League of Legends or Rocket League Clubs.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” said club member and social media manager, Josh Henry. “The college scene is so fun. You get to play against all of these rival schools like any other kind of sport.”

Like traditional sports, esports clubs conduct practices and hold their athletes to certain standards, often including GPA requirements and wellness limitations.

When COVID-19 hit campuses across the nation in 2020, many traditional sports were drastically affected by this sudden change of pace. Face-to-face practices were put on a long hold and athletes had to quickly adjust to being online.

Joey Spott, president of the Nebraska Esports Club, said esports athletes were already more adapted

“It’s not even close to the peak of where it could go,” he said. “I think we’re climbing up the base of the hill at the moment.”

The League of Legends World Championship finals held in South Korea in 2018 had over 100 million unique viewers who tuned in online, compared to the previous Super Bowl which had just over 98 million viewers, according to CNBC. Along with the addition of Petrotta, other UNL faculty understand the importance of esports in the college.

Adam Wagler, Ph.D., a current advertising and public relations professor, researches immersive and interactive media, which embodies much of what esports brings to the table.

“The momentum’s there,” Wagler said. “It’s still a relatively new discussion on whether schools are including it in the athletic department. The production around it presents tons of opportunities that are new and interesting because students have the potential to shape this industry.”

The College of Journalism and Mass Communications took strides in including esports in its framework before officially adding a course to the curriculum. Wagler and the journalism college conducted e-gaming tournaments where journalism students livestreamed and broadcast the game play. They’ve also created shorter, experimental pop-up classes specifically aimed toward the production behind gaming.

From an advertising and public relations approach, Wagler realizes, like Petrotta, that this niche market brings forward advertising opportunities. Similar to how NASCAR drivers show off sponsors on their vehicles, brands partner with professional esports streamers.

“We tend to try and look where audiences are looking,” Wagler said. “It’s much different than the passive broadcasting that comes with just watching TV. It’s a unique area that a lot of people growing up will now have this new expectation of being able to interact with the athletes in real time.”

In fact, esports jobs grew 185% within the first six months of 2019, according to Esports Insider.

Start Here.

Go Anywhere.

“The College of Journalism and Mass Communications made me the confident reporter I am today.

The professors pushed me in the classroom every day and made sure the stories I told were compelling and moving. From editing to interviews and being confident in front of the camera, I now get to showcase all the skills I learned in Andersen Hall right in my profession.”

Allie Snow ’20, KLKN reporter and photojournalist

Petrotta is not surprised.

“The video game industry is larger than the movie industry -- and that was before COVID-19 happened,” he said. “The gap has only gotten bigger.”

,

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Ben Skow Media

Improvised, Adapted, Overcame: Media Resiliency during a Pandemic Words: Ethan Petrik

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ormally, Steven Sipple’s spent fall Saturdays fighting through throngs of avid fans following a pregame radio show in downtown Lincoln.

10/11 News reporter Nicole Griffith | courtesy photo

Normally, crowds shouting, “Go Big Red!” dominated the half-mile walk to Memorial Stadium and, normally, following a short visit to the field to watch warm ups, Sipple settled into his press box seat to cover Nebraska football.

But 2020 was everything but

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normal.

“It was an incredible difference,” Sipple said. “You just walk to these games, and there are no fans around ... It was sort of eerie.”

Sipple spent the last 20 years covering Nebraska athletics for the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper. In 2021, his columns draw tens of thousands of daily page views for the newspaper.

In 2020, he, along with every sports writer across the country, found himself with an interesting challenge: how to write interesting stories when everyone has the same information.

“IT WAS SORT OF EERIE,” SAID LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR COLUMNIST, STEVEN SIPPLE, ON COVERING NEBRASKA SPORTS IN 2020.

As the COVID-19 pandemic removed in-person access to players, coaches and practices, members of the Nebraska press corps pioneered new methods to differentiate their coverage, worked with the fluidity of the situation and manifested enthusiasm for their content.

Sipple was not the only one with a challenge. In the 24/7 news cycle, a shifting landscape forced media personnel to adapt along with protocols and find ways to be resilient.

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“You would think the early years would be the hard

Sipple and Griffith said crafting content, which is markedly their own, is the best way to stand out as a sports reporter and journalist. The best way to do so before COVID-19 was through individual side conversations with athletes and coaches, but in 2020, university-controlled Zoom press conferences shut the door on private conversations.

ones, and they

This lack of individual interviews, Sipple said, affected the quality of those interviews. However, he called upon his years of experience to churn out interesting stories.

“I think there is something that is lost without personal contact,” he said. “When you sit down with a coach, there is a lot of body language that you can see, and you get to know them. You get a much, much better feel for them as individuals.”

Griffith agreed that talking to the players in person and having to do Zoom interviews with the rest of the media eliminated “special moments.”

As a newer reporter to Lincoln, Griffith reviewed the video captured by her cameras on-location, listening to all the sound and looking for things that may have gone unnoticed during the interviews or events. She followed players on social media and leveraged connections to former players to create unique newscasts and engage a hungry audience.

Initially, she said 10/11 viewers were concerned about a lack of coverage without sports.

But Griffith focused on feature stories of the Nebraska rifle team and a Concordia women’s basketball player with a powerful message. She focused on feature stories of oft-forgotten sections of sports that normally she does not have the

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were, but those years do not even

For Sipple, strong connections with individuals inside Nebraska’s athletic department still allowed him some private information but not as much.

“We cannot go to any practices and talk to guys,” Sipple said. “There are no individual interviews with players. It is always a group. There are no individual interviews with coaches on Zoom, so the individual part has been taken out.”

g i b go

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Nicole Griffith comes to Lincoln by way of the University of South Dakota. Since taking a reporting position with 10/11 News in 2019, the news reporter said her days consist of covering Huskers and Nebraska high school sports. With little live sports at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Griffith led the charge for sports coverage in one of the most fanatical sports markets.

stack up to 2020.”

- Jake Sorensen time to cover.

As the COVID-19 pandemic limited exposure for the media, organizations, sports leagues and teams also enacted different restrictions and protocols to ensure everyone’s safety. This meant going from the collegiate level with heavy attendance restrictions and mask mandates to Class D high schools in communities without restrictions.

On the local sports beat during the pandemic, Griffith said it was hard knowing the rules for every game and each location’s point of contact for different protocols.

“Small towns are going to have more fans there because they have less restrictions,” Griffith said.

“You just kind of tread with caution.”

husker pride delivered to your door runza.com/shop

While covering Nebraska athletics, Sipple recognized inconsistency from school to school.

Some universities, he said, used Plexiglas partitions in the press boxes. Others allowed parents of opposing players in addition to its own players’ parents. At Rutgers, the university left the windows of the press box open even though temperatures dipped below freezing by kickoff.

For Nebraska football’s game at Ohio State, public address announcers, who introduce the players, call out yardage for each play and serve to excite the crowd, were absent, which Sipple said made

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maddie washburn Photo

it difficult, at times, to follow the action on the gridiron.

On the radio side, local radio host Jake Sorensen of 93.7 The Ticket said his live, on-location broadcasts continued to be a successful venture for the station amid the pandemic.

“We have not done as many remotes as we have in years past,” Sorensen said. “But I would say that from our experience, it was pretty full -- at least to what the restrictions at that point indicated it could be. I do not think it really hurt us.”

However, even success came with struggles. Sorensen said they had to find ways to get creative with their content.

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“You did not have as many sides of a story to talk about,” he said. “Before, there would be guys at the podium and there would be guys who came out into the hallway to talk. That access does not exist anymore.”

For the radio host, the challenges were not solely content-based, either. Ten years ago, when Sorensen began working at The Ticket, he started on-air and later took on the sole responsibility of the station’s sales in addition to his onair role. However, it was not those early years, Sorensen said, when he faced the biggest challenge of his professional career.

“THERE WAS A DEFINITE SHIFT FROM THE DAY-TODAY REPORTING TO INCORPORATING MORE STORIES THAT COULD BE PLUCKED OUT OF THE ARCHIVES -FEATURES YOU COULD RUN ANYTIME.” - READER SURVEY

“2020 was the most challenging, emotional and working year of my life by far,” Sorensen said. “At 29 years old, I have been in this job for 10 years.

You would think the early years would be the hard ones, and they were, but those years do not even stack up to 2020.” *** UNLimited Sports sampled fans through a random, anonymous consumer survey about changes in local sports coverage since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around one-third of respondents said they noticed a change.

“It’s about the same,” one respondent wrote.

“Sports writers had less content due to there being no spring ball, but I didn’t notice.”

“I think our state does a good job covering sports,” another respondent said. “We do not have a lot going on, so I don’t mind seeing more about our

local teams. Especially for our small communities, I think there’s a lot of appreciation for covering high school athletics the way we do.”

On the opposite side, those who noticed a change said they recognized more uniformity in coverage and a lack of “insider access.”

“It’s not their fault,” one respondent said, “but there was a definite shift from the day-to-day reporting to incorporating more stories that could be plucked out of the archives -- features you could run anytime.”

Another respondent noted more sports news coming from fan accounts on Twitter and posts on specific subreddits.

“All traditional media coverage became linked with the pandemic,” the respondent said.

Over 80 percent said the change in sports coverage during COVID-19 was not an improvement.

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Lincoln Nebraska Athletic Bands feel pandemic’s strain amid attendance policy uncertainties 38 UNLimited_3.21

A third of the Cornhusker Marching Band plays during an early-morning practice in Cook Pavilion. each musician either wears a mask or has the bells of wind instruments covered with cloth.

Photo by Craig Chandler | University Communication

Words: Christian Horn

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fter the final notes echoed throughout the rafters, Alexander Heraty cast a second glance around the stands, looking out at the faces in the crowd.

It was the evening of March 11, 2020 — the first day of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had just lost to the Indiana Hoosiers 89-64 in the first round to end the season.

Heraty, a mellophone player in the Big Red Express, the University of NebraskaLincoln’s pep band, knew something big was coming.

“It’s One of those things where you don’t make money being in pep band, but hopefully you’re not losing money.“” - Do u g bu sh , as s i s tan t di r e c tor of b a nds

After the game, he made sure to soak up everything before he left the arena.

“It was a very weird feeling,” Heraty, a senior, said of that night.

Prior to tip-off, both the Huskers and Hoosiers knew neither team would play another game that weekend. The coronavirus had begun spreading to the United States, and conference officials elected to pull the plug on the tournament.

After leaving the arena, Heraty stopped for food with his fellow bandmates before hopping on the bus back to Lincoln.

“I’ll always remember sitting in the Steak ’n

Shake in downtown Indianapolis after the game knowing we were going to go home but not knowing what else was going on,” he said.

This spring, collegiate athletics have returned to action after the NCAA shuttered its spring sports seasons a year ago. However, the pandemic’s presence is still felt, most notably in the lack of in-person attendance.

Rather than establishing a policy for fan attendance, the NCAA delegated such decisions to conferences and the universities themselves. As a result, attendance policies for fans vary across the country at the discretion of each conference, or when conferences don’t adopt an attendance policy, the university UNLimited_3.21

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makes the decisions. Sometimes, fans are allowed in, though usually not at full capacity. Other stadiums remain mostly silent as teams play in front of empty stands.

One casualty of this uncertainty is university athletic bands and the students in them. Athletic bands include ensembles that play at athletic events like pep bands or marching bands. They provide a soundtrack to game days at schools across the country and are embroidered into the fabric of the fan experience.

“We make a great student section because we provide entertainment, but we also do a great job of cheering on our team,” UNL senior flute and piccolo player Megan Roucka said. “It’s honestly great, but it’s also devastating when we lose.”

Of the four-year universities in Nebraska, 12 have some sort of athletic band — UNL, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the University of Nebraska Omaha, Chadron State College, Peru State College, Creighton University, Midland University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Wayne State College, Concordia University, Doane University and Hastings College.

University enrollment usually determines the size of these ensembles. Schools with smaller enrollments typically have smaller ensembles than schools with larger enrollments. At UNK, the size is about 30 students while the ensemble at UNO is generally around 75 students, and UNL’s group has 120 spots.

Often, students earn scholarships or stipends for their participation in the ensemble. Students in the Maverick Machine, UNO’s pep band, receive a $500 stipend at the end of the season.

Doug Bush, assistant director of bands at UNL and director of the Big Red Express, said the school provides pep band students with a scholarship that pays for a one-hour credit class. Ensemble members also receive a little extra to help offset the cost of things like not being able to work a part-time job in order to meet the group’s performance requirements.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t make money being in pep band, but hopefully you’re not losing money,” Bush said.

Much like the rest of the country, fan attendance in Nebraska varies at sporting events — and by extension, athletic bands.

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“We have schedules.

We have plans, and then a team needs to reschedule for a week or two down the road. It makes a difference for us.”

- rex Barker Midland and UNK allow fans to attend events, so the athletic bands at these schools still get to play.

UNK’s pep band played its first performance on Feb. 4 in an 87-79 loss against Central Oklahoma in men’s basketball from a back corner away from other spectators, and students followed the same safety protocols required for playing music amid the pandemic. All performers wear masks with slits cut into the mouth. These measures stem from an aerosol study commissioned by the National Federation of High Schools and the College Band Directors National Association, according to UNO director of athletic bands, Joshua Kearney.

“While people are playing their instruments, a significant number of aerosols are released by the nose,” he said.

“If people have a mask with a slit on, even though they’re still expelling aerosol through their instruments, it’s keeping the aerosols from the nose from escaping into the room.”

Each instrument includes a bell cover on the opening of the instrument. These covers serve as a sort of mask for the instrument, preventing aerosols from escaping through an instrument bell. Additionally, students cannot touch equipment that isn’t their own, UNK director of bands, Duane Bierman said.

“Usually, certain people would grab a whole rack of

The Maverick Machine, shown here in 2016, is not playing this year because of a university decision. However, the group may plan out a virtual halftime show as an alternative to live performances.

Joshua Kearney Courtesy Photo

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music stands and wheel them over, but now everybody has to take their own stand and touch their own stand only,” he said. “Nobody can help the drummers move their stuff. All those same precautions we do for any indoor playing are still in place, and it works out pretty well.”

At Midland, athletic bands played one fewer football and volleyball game this season than it usually does. It’s difficult for the group to work around any events that might be rescheduled in the face of coronavirus concerns, said Rex Barker, the university’s director of performing arts and instrumental activities.

“We have schedules. We have plans, and then a team needs to reschedule for a week or two down the road,” Barker said. “It makes a difference for us.”

While the athletic bands at schools like Midland and UNK are back in action this spring, others remained silenced.

UNO’s Maverick Machine typically plays around 45 events from mid-September through early March. This year, they’re not playing because of a university decision, according to UNO’s Kearney.

Kearney said the group is considering a virtual pep band as an alternative to live performances. The ensemble would write a special halftime show recorded in the school’s concert hall rather than live during a sporting event and be shared on social media as “a gift to our athletic department,” Kearney said.

The Big Red Express, which typically plays many men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball matches, is inactive this year after the Big Ten Conference prohibited fans from attending sporting events during the pandemic.

Joshua Kearney Courtesy Photo

“It’s a lot more exciting to play with a large group of people.

It’s been a while.

I do miss that a lot.”

- Ale x ander Herat y

The Maverick Machine has done similar shows for basketball games. In February 2020, the ensemble performed Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” featuring a guest soloist on the electric violin. Kearney said such plans are tentative.

Additionally, the students in the ensemble would need to sign off on the idea.

“There may or may not be students interested right now because things are so different with their classes,” he said.

“I want to be respectful of everyone’s time.”

At UNL, students in the Big Red Express typically play about 30 events a year. However, the ensemble as a whole plays more events since not every student plays each event. Bush said he usually splits the 120 members into four groups of 30. The goal is to split the groups evenly enough that each can function as a separate band for volleyball matches; for basketball, Bush combines two groups for two 60-member ensembles.

Because of Big Ten attendance policy, the Big Red Express is not playing this spring. For non-music majors like Heraty and Roucka — marketing and biological science majors, respectively — it’s a missed social opportunity. Often, pep band is their only chance to see friends within the ensemble.

“It’s a lot more exciting to play with a large group of people and playing fun, upbeat music,” Heraty said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that, so I do miss that a lot.”

The lack of a pep band season could have a ripple effect for the program, according to Bush. As the upperclassmen graduate and inexperienced underclassmen fill their roles, the ensemble must relearn some things. One way the lack of experience could impact the program is through what Bush called “add water” tunes.

“We’ve played them long enough that everybody knows them, so you just rehearse them a couple times and then you can play them at a game,” he said. “We won’t have that luxury next fall. If we have to start right out the gate with volleyball the first week of classes, we might be able to play the fight songs and maybe that’ll be it because we’ll be starting from basically zero.”

For seniors like Heraty and Roucka, the loss of an entire year of marching band and pep band is a big blow.

“I just feel like my senior year sort of got taken away from me,” Roucka said. “I understand last year’s seniors didn’t get a proper graduation or anything like that, but they got a real marching band season, and they got real pep band seasons. That’s what I was expecting for this year, but I didn’t get those, so it’s kind of depressing honestly. It made me really sad, but a lot of people have to deal with that, too.”

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Swim and dive: How Gabby Baratta spent her whole swimming career in pain Words: Denny Nguyen

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fter seven grueling months of recovery from a labrum tear, the swimmer stands at the edge of the pool, ready to practice. Filled with excitement, Gabby Baratta finds herself eager to make up for lost time.

In the pool, she pushes herself as hard as she can. That excitement and eagerness made what should have been a step forward, a step back.

“I took it too fast, and it felt like I was going backwards. That was probably my lowest point,” Baratta said.

Gabby Baratta swims the breast stroke event at a Recent Huskers swim meet.

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Originally from Old Tappan, New Jersey, Baratta, a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a member of the Huskers swimming and diving team. Baratta comes from a physically-active family: Her mother is a specialized physical education teacher; her father, an athletic director at a high school. Her younger brother, a senior in high school, plays football and runs track. Growing up, Baratta played soccer, basketball, danced and did karate.

Gabby Baratta swims the breast stroke event at a Recent Huskers swim meet. Photo By Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Communications

But the one sport that stuck with her from a young age, was swimming.

The sport that challenged her every day for the rest of her career.

Baratta has chronic asthma, which can make swimming difficult. Indoor pools tend to be more humid, too, and breathing in this humid air activates nerves in the lungs that narrow and tighten the airways.

While Baratta is swimming, she has to breathe in this hot and stagnant air, which may lead to breathing issues.

Baratta’s mother, Eva Baratta, said this is something her daughter has struggled with her entire life.

“This wasn’t something where you can take medication, do rehab and finish with that. This was a chronic thing that she constantly had to balance,” said Eva. Besides asthma, Baratta also has cold urticaria, an allergy where her skin reacts to anything cold. The temperature of pools is set between 77 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The normal body temperature for a human hovers around 97.5 to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower temperature of the pool is to prevent swimmers from overheating from the intense use of their bodies.

This lower temperature can cause a problem for Baratta, causing her skin to break out in hives. The cold can also cause problems for her asthma, making it hard for her to breathe.

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tore her labrum, a piece of cartilage in her shoulder that helps keep the ball joint in place.

According to Patrick Rowan, UNL’s swim and dive coach, a torn labrum can be very serious.

“I’ve had athletes that had labrum tears that were so serious that they couldn’t make it back,” Rowan said.

In Baratta’s case, she had to sit out for seven months before she could participate again.

“That was the longest that I’d ever gone not training, probably my whole life,” she said.

“Swimming is such an intense, all-year-round sport, that we don’t really get any breaks. The longest break I had before that was two weeks.”

During her first week after her surgery, Baratta recalls sitting on the side and watching her teammates practice.

“At first, I really didn’t think it was going to be as difficult as it was,” she said. “I was very frustrated after a week of watching and was super eager to get back in. I think this helped me realize how much I really did love the sport because I couldn’t do it at that point.”

Baratta spent months in a sling and could not use the shoulder at all. Eventually, she was cleared to start kicking again and slowly get back into training.

After the recovery period, Baratta’s eagerness to get back into the pool made other issues come up. Instead of taking it easy, she tried to jump back into full training and that led to shoulder issues her sophomore year. Even as she was feeling pain, Baratta wanted to push herself as far as she could for the team.

“She doesn’t always want to listen to her body and what her body is telling her. And so she’s pushed through, sometimes too far,” Rowan said.

Due to the constant pain she was feeling, she had to be pulled from the conference meet. She could no longer do butterfly strokes without feeling immense pain and could no longer swim the 46 UNLimited_3.21

New Jersey Native Gabby Baratta is one of nine seniors this season.

Photo by Maddie Washburn/Nebraska Communications

individual medley.

“There was a wide range of worries and emotions that she went through,” Rowan said. “‘How am I contributing? How am I helping the program?

Am I gonna be able to come back? Is my career over?’”

But even with all of these obstacles, Baratta remained a fierce competitor and refused to give up on the sport or herself. Even with her family 1,300 miles away, Baratta always kept her head up and refused to listen to any negative thoughts in her head.

“Her perseverance, her strength, her determination, I never saw as great as they were during that time because she’s never had anything as significant as that in her life at that point,” Eva said.

With enough determination, anything is possible, she said, even if it seems impossible.

“Don’t give up on yourself,” she said. “When you’ve been practicing a sport for so long and an injury changes the outlook of your whole college career, it can be tough to deal with. But there’s always good that can come from it.”

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Scouting L from a Distance: Virtual Recruiting Amid a Pandemic

Lincoln Southwest’s Shaylee Myers gets her team fired up against Lincoln Southeast at Southwest on Sept. 22. Photo by Justin Wan/Lincoln Journal Star

incoln Southwest volleyball player Shaylee Myers just wanted to go somewhere warmer.

The star outside hitter had two important activities: tan on the trampoline and field calls from college coaches looking to recruit her.

Shaylee’s mother, Natalie, remembers many of those phone calls and discussions. She remembers when her daughter’s mind was made up.

Words: Austin Kingsley

“They called her all the time, and one day, they asked her about her plans for the day,” Natalie Myers said. “She said she was going to tan on the trampoline. He said he knew right then he really wanted her to come to Fresno State.”

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about their college choice, according to Next College Student Athlete.

Dead periods usually last a few weeks. With the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, however, athletes and coaches have been stuck in a perpetual dead period for almost a year. For now, it will stay in place until at least May 31.

Myers’ coaches are unsure when they will see their start recruit in person for the first time.

“They have no idea,” Natalie Myers said.

The dead period’s prohibition of in-person contact creates a major obstacle for many athletes. It is perhaps most detrimental to under-the-radar prospects looking for their shot to earn an athletic scholarship, according to Mike Schaefer of 247Sports.

“You have schools in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York and Virginia that just didn’t play football at all,” Schaefer said. “Those 2022 recruits just have their film from sophomore year.

If you didn’t make varsity or if you’re a backup and you didn’t have a campushave campus that you could go to, your recruitment is going to be a little squirrely.”

Photos courtesy of Shaylee Myers

University in southern California was the destination for Myers. She made the decision without an in-person visit from her future coaches, nor was she allowed to travel and visit the campus. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual visit had to suffice.

The NCAA estimates that around eight million high school students are involved in athletics. About 500,000 of those compete in college. It’s a large group to pare down, especially when limited scholarships are available. For those offered a coveted scholarship, the ability to meet face-to face with coaches or step foot on a college campus has totally vanished.

In a normal year, the NCAA enacts dead periods in which college coaches cannot have face-to-face, in-person contact with a high school athlete or their families. It’s a cyclical way to give prospective student-athletes some space to think 48 UNLimited_3.21

Schaefer, a recruiting expert covering Nebraska football since 2011, says while major programs like Nebraska have done its best to adjust, some aspects of virtual scouting can’t be accounted for.

“You don’t get to see these guys in person, and that matters even more than just being able to tell if a guy is a legit 6’0”, or if he’s actually 5’10”,” Schaefer said. “Believe it or not, the internet is not the most accurate source for people’s heights.”

Factors that determine a collegiate athlete’s success, Schaefer said will still be the same: finding the right fit, adjusting to college life and connecting with coaches who will help them reach their potential. However, checking all these boxes during a pandemic can be more difficult.

The looming question for many high school athletes is how they can raise their own recruiting stock without the benefit of in-person scouring.

University of Louisiana-Monroe head volleyball coach Charlie Olson said that video has been the primary way for athletes to stand out.

“Video is king,” Olson said. “It’s been super helpful that companies like BallerTV have been streaming so many events, but it’s only helpful if teams can wear jerseys that we can actually see on the far side of the court.”

Olson said he has three commits from the Class of 2021 who he has never met face-to-face. One of them is Logan Jeffus of Papillion, Nebraska, a vastly different landscape than the muggy college town in northern Louisiana. Drawn in by highlights of Jeffus, Olson then did all his recruiting virtually.

Along with film, the primary recruiting tools for Olson have become FaceTime and Zoom. For Shaylee Myers, it was a daily phone call with her coaches and a desire to go somewhere sunny and warmer.

For those who athletes who are yet to receive those calls, Schaefer says that being proactive and having support networks is critical.

“I think athletes have to be their advocate, and then they need their coaches or someone at their school involved to be able to help disseminate their film and get them in touch with people,” said Schaefer.

Coaches, too, have to scramble to put together rosters based on nothing but online video clips.

High school athletes are even more in the spotlight, needing to make themselves known over the computer.

“The athlete has a lot of onus on themselves to go and try to market themselves as best they can,” Schaefer said. “Then they give themselves the best opportunity to be recruited.”

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Dreams come true:

world or chosen as one of the 12 additional picks.

How the pandemic led Kate Smith to Augusta and beyond

“I was about the front 200 in the world, in the summer, I was 127 to 180,” Smith said.

Words: Will Wilson

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he azaleas and dogwoods glow in the sun everywhere you look. The bright soft sand bunkers act as big holes throughout the shiny green grass. The beautiful nature at Augusta National Golf Club and being the home to the annual Masters Tournament makes it one of the most exclusive golf courses in the world.

Many golfers have the dream of playing there, and in April, Nebraska’s Kate Smith gets to do exactly that.

Smith, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was all set to graduate last spring and head off to the LPGA until the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled her senior season.

“Our season was taken away and I had about two weeks where I didn’t touch a club,” Smith said. “Then I was like, ‘Wow, what an opportunity, the world is standing still, if I can grind and really work hard I could rise the ranks a little.’”

Kate Smith is one of the top golfers in Nebraska history and plans to compete at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Competition in April.

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| NOVEMBER 2020 Photo byUNLimited Lydia Asplin/Nebraska communications

The Detroit Lakes native returned for a fifth year at Nebraska, which gave her another opportunity to improve her game and qualify for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur against the world’s top women amateur golfers.

Smith, a graphic design major at UNL, spent the summer of 2019 playing in events to improve her amateur golf ranking, which is the key to qualifying for one of 72 spots. Amateurs qualify if they are in the top 30 in the US, top 30 in the

To get there, Smith would need to rank 30th or above in the US.

During the first week of 2020, Smith ranked 46th in the US, which didn’t qualify. As it turned out, even if Smith did qualify, she would not have been able to compete since the event was cancelled because of COVID. Not only did the Augusta tournament get cancelled but so did the remainder of Nebraska’s 2019-20 season.

When the NCAA granted fall sports student-athletes an extra year of eligibility, Huskers head coach Lisa Johnson talked with Smith about the decision to come back for a fifth year, ultimately looking at how it would affect Smith’s future.

“With the unknown, we were not sure if she was even going to have the opportunity to qualify for the LPGA Tour,” Johnson said. “As it turns out, she would not have had that opportunity as they didn’t have qualifying school last year. So it just seemed like a pretty easy choice to continue her amateur career and stay at Nebraska.”

The opportunity to come back for a fifth year at Nebraska was too good for Smith to pass up.

“All the opportunities I’ve had at Nebraska and the coaching staff that is currently there, it’s good stuff,” Smith said. “There’s unfinished business. I think there are things we still could’ve done as a team and an individual.”

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“With purpose and hard work, your game gets better,” Kris said. “Kate has used her opportunity of having a fifth year at Nebraska to continue the process of getting better.”

Johnson pointed to her experience at Nebraska that helped her get qualified.

“She’s played all different types of golf courses, played on different grass, she’s really learned to play through all the adversity that golfers face,” Johnson said.

The Michigan native is a fifth-year senior this season after the COVID-19 PANDEMIC GRANTED her another year of eligbility. Photo by Scott Bruhn/Nebraska Communications

to come back for a fifth year at Nebraska. She shot a career best 220 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in September.

For Smith, it helps to have a father who is a PGA professional back home in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

“He helps a lot, and my brother played golf in college, so he would caddie for me. It’s really like a team effort,” Smith said.

The grind didn’t stop there. Smith could not improve her rank unless she played in tournaments, so she played wherever she could.

“Pretty much from May until now, I played in every event I could drive to,” Smith said in February. “I’ve found some success that way, which really helped my ranking.”

Placing top 30 in the US was the key to Augusta, and at the end of 2020, Smith was right there.

“I really didn’t think I had a chance because I was like 31, 34, bouncing around all summer in the US rankings,” Smith said.

All Smith could do was wait and see.

It was January 2021 and Smith was getting ready

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to begin her fifth season of Nebraska golf. If she qualified for Augusta she would be hearing something soon but so far, she had heard nothing. Smith was quarantining like most athletes in the Nebraska sports bubble. One day during Smith’s quarantine in midJanuary, she was in her apartment and opened her laptop to check her ranking. She didn’t like what she saw.

“I checked the rankings and my ranking got worse,” Smith said.

It wasn’t great news to see her ranking go down, but seconds later, it didn’t matter.

“I got a notification on my laptop telling me that UPS is trying to send a package from Augusta National.”

Inside the package was an invitation to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Tournament.

Smith finally got the news she worked so hard to hear. It wasn’t an ordinary invitation, either, but a handwritten note.

“It’s green and it has gold foil on it. It looks like you’re going to a ball or something. It’s crazy,” she said.

Smith’s father Kris gives credit to her hard work ethic and her time at Nebraska.

her, too.

“Traveling is a huge thing college athletics teaches you to do, just adapting each week,” Smith said.

“With golf, it’s not like basketball. It’s not the same hardwood every week. We play all these different grasses and climates.”

Adding to that, Smith has also gotten great advice from Johnson.

To prepare for Augusta, Smith started training off the putting green, too.

“She’s been (to Augusta) with another player two years ago,” Smith said. “She’s given me a lot of advice on what to do, what not to do, and what to expect, which is huge.”

“This past fall, I brought my computer and streamed the Masters next to myself on the range,” Smith said.

“I also listened to a podcast of a PGA player who explained his process through playing Augusta when it was his first year there.”

Before this season, Coach Johnson was the head coach at Idaho State where she went to Augusta with one of her players. On advice for Smith, Coach Johnson said it’s more about the moment than the play.

The annual Masters Tournament isn’t scheduled until after the Women’s Amateur, but Smith isn’t treating it any different.

“Just being on the grounds of sacred Augusta National is unlike any experience that you’ll ever have in golf,” Johnson said. “The difficulty of the course is a factor in that, but it’s just the overall experience that makes it such an unbelievable opportunity.”

“This Augusta tournament is just like the female version of the Masters,” Smith said. “Luckily, enough they made it an amateur event instead of a professional event, which means a bunch of us college players get to play in it and enjoy that experience.”

Smith realizes Augusta National is an infamous golf course with a lot of history behind it, but she be worrying about more important things come tournament time.

Smith is able to bring three guests with her to Augusta.

“It’s pretty tough,” Smith said. “I have one brother and my two parents so I think it’s right I take all of them.”

Smith’s father Kris says he can’t wait to be involved in this special moment with her, but he would’ve gone to Augusta either way.

“I think the initial plan for me is to focus on controlling what I can control,” Smith said. “This is a seven iron, and this is a seven iron at any course in the world right now. Not like hey, this is a seven iron at Augusta; don’t screw it up.”

“My wife and I could just go down there and stand outside the gates and see her before and after,” Kris said. “But she decided that the three of us go along and her brother who is a big intricate part to her success.”

But it is Augusta, and it is a once and a lifetime opportunity to not only play but compete there.

Smith and her family will arrive at Augusta on March 28. Smith will play three practice rounds before the tournament officially starts on April 1. It’s a big opportunity, and Smith knows what she wants to get out of it.

“It’s just a complete bonus to my college career,” Smith said. “I’m excited whatever the score is.

Obviously I’d love to compete and be in contention and that’s the goal, but I can’t forget where I am and how special it is to be there.”

Her five years at Nebraska have mentally prepared

“It’s been crazy, I know it’s been a really hard year for a lot of people,” Smith said. “I definitely don’t want to say it’s been a good year for me, but I’ve definitely tried to make the most of it, and I’m glad I did.”

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But beneath the pure fandom lies a dark underbelly of the Huskers fandom that is becoming increasingly toxic.

“It’s a growing trend on social media because people can remain anonymous. And if they start getting beaten up too badly, they’ll just delete their comment, move to a different board and it’s all over,” Kaufman, an active social mediaposter said.

From nasty Twitter responses to threatening comments in Facebook fan groups, some fans have started spreading hatred to anyone who disagrees with their opinions online.

One Husker fan who is in a Facebook group called “Husker!!!! Power!!!!” and asked to remain anonymous said, “I get really into the game. The thing is, I grew up being a Husker fan. When I see other people on the Facebook page not supporting our team enough, it really can get me upset.”

Many Facebook groups like ‘Husker!!!! Power!!!!’ have hundreds or even thousands of frequent members. These toxic fans are still a minority of the fandom, though. A lot of Huskers fans are well-intentioned, supportive people who simply wants their team to succeed.

Toxic FAns in Big Red country: ‘It’s a growing trend.”

Words: Annie Gellott

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ost Saturdays in the fall, thousands of people covered in red flock to Memorial Stadium and begin their weekly chant,

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Nebraska fans toppling a goal post on Oct. 29, 1994.

Photo courtesy of Phil Johnson.

‘Go Big Red!’ With the longest sellout streak in the country, Huskers fans have made a name for themselves as a loyal, passionate group of people who bleed Big Red. But one issue with bleeding Big Red occurs when blood runs too thick.

Carson Kaufman, a 28-year-old Lincoln native and a 2014 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, remains a loyal fan with pure intentions in his online fan-chatter.

“For me, supporting the Huskers is mostly a family tradition and something that exists to strengthen bonds with my family and friends.

Often, it’s just a nice way to spend an afternoon with others,” Kaufman said.

“Nebraska fans are so passionate because I think a lot of us invest ourselves in the team. We end up putting our time, sometimes money, a lot of our emotion, just a lot of us into the results of those games,” Kaufman said.

Fans start behaving like this when they feel like the only ‘true’ fans around, turning fans against each other. This is why the behavior increases when Nebraska teams struggle.

“I just think that you have no business being in fan groups unless you’re really willing to be a diehard,” the anonymous Facebook-poster said. “True fans will stick with us through thick and thin, and if you’re not doing that, go be a bandwagon fan somewhere else.”

These homers will often take out their frustration on players, coaches, reporters and even other fans. Toxic fandoms are not unique to Huskers football, though. Toxic fans devour content from every sport, team and even league.

For now, though, it seems as long as teams continue to struggle, fans will continue to complain online.

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UNL studentathletes dream of competing on biggest world stage Words: Michaela Scheinin

S

mall footprints lead from the ladder out of the pool all the way around the lapped lanes and slide lines.

The steps come to a stop at the base of the diving board.

Not even three feet above the water, it mocks her with curiosity and adventure.

A daring choice for the young girl.

Five-year-old Morgan McCafferty had one dream: to jump off the diving board. But to do this, she had to pass a swim test. After four hours and multiple failed tests, a lifeguard recommended swim lessons to her parents.

By age 7, McCafferty was swimming year round, and by the time high school rolled around, the Olympic Trials were a glimmer in the future, a dream she had to fulfill.

“I won my first state title when I was 10, and I remember driving home and thinking, ‘I’m gonna get out of Ohio. This is my ticket,’” McCafferty said.

By age 18, she was swimming at the 2016 trials with her eye on the Olympics.

McCafferty, currently an assistant coach for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln swim and dive team, was a four-year letterwinner for the Huskers.

“Swimming is interesting because when you go to big meets like nationals, even local sectionals, or regionals, all those big meets, there’s going to be Olympians there,” she said.

From a young age, swimmers are drilled with discipline and often dedicate their lives to the sport. For the passionate ones, the Olympic trials can be a shining light at the end of the tunnel.

“Almost every swimmer that goes to the collegiate level thinks about making the trials,” McCafferty said.

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Buzzer Beater

The hidden sport of Monster energy supercross

By jacob Benson and Brock Birkholtz

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he roar of revving engines, dusty dirt hills and the sound of bike tires hitting dirt at a supersonic level. The sport that comes to mind is Monster Energy Supercross, something Midwesterners, especially Nebraskans, don’t often know about An ongoing advertising campaign to raise awareness of the dynamic sport is taking place at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We interviewed students and experts on the matter of helping raise awareness for Supercross in Nebraska. We discussed what Supercross is and why it should be popular and what’s going on with the growing interest in the sport.

Before Tyler Vail started working on the campaign, he wasn’t sure how much he knew about Supercross, but he learned how fast and dangerous the sport really could be after doing research. Per the whole campaign’s purpose, Supercross participants are hungry for more viewers, Vail says.

“I didn’t know that much about the sport; I knew about dirt bike racing, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge,” Vail said.

There is a particular “should” aspect of why Supercross should be more popular, with heavy adrenaline and risk of injury; there is no reason this should not be one of the most-watched sports in the U.S. “The “should” part is the entertainment. People get injured, it’s fast-paced, there’s a lot on the line,” Vail described.

And while Supercross is a sport for men and women alike, another senior at UNL. Carlie

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Reineke is looking forward to adding more of her female friends to the Supercross fandom.

“I want to focus on getting more women to watch the sport. There are women in the sport right now, but there isn’t enough coverage. No one is talking about it,” says Reineke. “There are a lot of firsts for women in this sport, and no one is talking about it.”

While sports such as NASCAR have an imperssive social media following, Supercross has one of America’s biggest motorsporrts audiences with over 3 million likes on Facebook and 1.6 million followers on Instagram. Sean Brennen, the ad campaign manager for Supercross through the UNL Capstone course, has more on the discussion: “There hasn’t been anybody that I have exposed to this sport that after attending a race hasn’t become a fan,” Brennen said.

As the ad campaign manager, Brennen has brought up many new ways to make Supercross events more exciting and engaging.

“These athletes, in the intense racing, we have a lot of different angles, we have spider-cams, and all kinds of equipment other sports are using, but nothing compares to seeing these guys live and in person,” Brennen said. “Anytime we can beat [NASCAR] in a category, like social media, it is huge.”

Soon more Nebraskans should be aware of the unknown beauty of Supercross through the campaign’s capstone course.

“Supercross is the original action sport,” Brennen said. “We used to have a tagline: Supercross, the king of action sports.”

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Video games and esports: What’s Not to

like?

By Ben Gilg

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hat if I told you there was an industry that is a bigger moneymaker than the North American sports industry and global movie industry combined? Now, what if I told you about an industry that’s bigger than the previous two is one you know barely anything about. In 2020, the global video game revenue was expected to reach $179.7 billion. Yes, that’s billion with a “b”.

Video games are the ones dominating not only North American sports but also the entire movie industry. And talking about the video game industry doesn’t even cover the main point, which is esports.

Before we go any further, we should probably explain. Esports are sports competitions using video games. The players that compete in these leagues are known as professional players. The big titles in esports are: League of Legends, DOTA, Counterstrike, Overwatch, Fortnite, Call of Duty and the list goes on and on.

Now, let’s dive into those numbers a little bit.

Esports revenues were around $856 million in 2018, but that number is expected to bubble-up to $1.79 billion by 2022. Those numbers include media rights, merchandise, ticket sales, advertising, sponsorship and game publisher fees.

This is usually where people start asking for viewership numbers. In 2020, the League of Legends world championship drew 3.8 million viewers. In 2018, CS:GO had 1.9 million viewers for its Eleague major final which matched up the super-team FaZe vs. the underdogs Cloud 9.

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After making it to the 2016 trials and seeing that goal become a reality, McCafferty said she started experiencing burnout. She felt like her whole life had been dedicated to one thing; her whole identity was solidified in what she was able to do in the pool.

“Right now, I’m just tired,” McCafferty said. “Looking forward, I want to find something away from swimming … I do think I’ll come back to it at some point.”

Proving that athlete burnout ebbs and flows, McCafferty said she would love to create a swimming club in a low income community in West Oahu where her mom and stepdad currently live. Working with Coach Pablo Morales, has given her the ability to learn from one of the best in the sport.

Morales won a relay gold and two silver medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics and set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly at the trials. He stressed the importance of being present in practice and appreciating the workouts in and out of the pool.

“Every stroke, every lift, every early morning swim has a purpose. That’s what I drill into my athletes -- that everything we’re doing here will help them,” Morales said.

One of Morales’ swimmers, Tori Beeler, graduated from UNL in December 2020 and is currently training to compete in the trials.

She was known for her backstroke, but breaststroke was her calling.

“In the summer of 2016, I dropped eight seconds in the 100-meter breast and missed the trials cut by 0.4 seconds,” Beeler said. “After that, I had it set in my mind that my last meet I ever do will be the 2020 trials, because I knew 2020 would be my senior year.”

COVID-19 postponed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in late March 2020, and four months later, the games were cancelled for over 11,000 athletes who were expected to travel to Tokyo. Team USA was expected to bring around 600 athletes. For those hoping to make it, their dreams were momentarily put on pause.

Almost a year later, the trials are set to return to Omaha on June 13.

Beeler has trained for four years at Nebraska with Morales and was originally planning on competing in the 2020 trials. She questioned whether or not she wanted to pursue her goal.

“It came down to me telling myself I would regret it more if I didn’t try and trials happened than not try and always wonder what could have been,” she said.

Beeler mentioned her own motivation and how losing that immediate goal only made her commitment stronger.

“We say, ‘Don’t try to control things in which you can’t control,’” she said. “I couldn’t control trials being pushed back a year, but I could control how that change affected my goals.”

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Tim Verghese Photo