Pioneer Spirit - Transcript
Segment
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[“Frederick Ware”]
In increasing numbers the sons of the pioneers entered the University. From the farms they came and from the cities and the towns, but they were boys out of a common mold; endowed with their parents fierce patience and stubborn confidence and zeal when confronted by handicaps and hazards. The qualities that had won a living in a new land against drought and grasshoppers and searing winds from the south.
[Sherwood]
So if you look at the Nebraska State Journal, the newspaper of the day, the first game that we played in 1890 shared a front page with the story about Indian problems out in the western part of the state. At the same time the student newspaper which was the Hesparian was writing articles about how the University of Nebraska wanted to be a ‘real college’ and since the Yales and the Harvards and the Princetons were playing football, Nebraska had to play football to be considered a real college.
[Narrator]
In the early 1890s, the University of Nebraska had only five hundred students. Many of them were worried that Nebraska would be viewed as a school for “hicks” and “hayseeds.” Some students saw football as one way to make sure the University was known for more than just agriculture.
From the beginning many have wondered how a state that is so isolated and sparsely populated would have such remarkable success for over a century. Some feel the answer is in the spirit of Nebraska’s game.
[Babcock]
It just matters, it’s just really important to the people in the state. And as a result I think the program has reflected that. I think the values that are important to the people in this state, hard work and being able to deal with adversity and all the things that go along with being a farming state -- are reflected in football.
[Sherwood]
A lot of sports writers over the years have made a lot of fun of Nebraska. They talk… you know, God gave places mountains, and God gave places oceans, He gave Nebraska football.
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