'Greatest Fans' in football leave early as Huskers suffer worst home

Good thing they match, originally uploaded by echobase_2000.

On Saturday the Huskers suffered their worst home loss since 1958.

Usually when the Huskers play, the state shuts down. It's a great time for non-fans to shop, because they can go to the mall or grocery store without trouble. No one goes out. Everyone's either at the game or someplace watching the game.

Just to give you an example of how bad it's gotten, even the governor took a shot at the team the other day, joking how some long-time state employees should suit up on defense.

It's getting ugly.

Like Republicans bailing on the Bush Administration, fans have actually been leaving early. These are fans who cheer for kickers who send kickoffs into the endzone, and linemen who get pancake blocks. They know football. And they can't even bear to watch this.

The thing that makes me nervous is how people will cope with this. The state takes its identity in part from how well the football team does. Nebraskans can't relate to lovable losers like the Cubs or perennial losers like the NBA's Clippers. People here don't know how to lose. They may have to take a crash course in losing, because it doesn't look like this trend is turning around.