Nebraska...

(Editor's note and disclaimer:  This is kind of a long post, without pictures; and it may not be relevant unless.... you live in Nebraska or have ever lived in Nebraska.  If you aren't really sure where Nebraska is on the map, I'd just stop reading now.  Ha! )

Sometimes, especially when I travel (or we're visiting my husband's relatives in Illinois), I get that look that says, "Why in the world do you live in Nebraska?"  If you live in the heartland, you've probably gotten the same response at some point.  Now, in the dead of winter, when the snow is knee deep and the wind is howling at 40 mph -- I sometimes wonder myself. After all, there are places - just a plane ride away - where the palm trees sway all year round and you can wear those cute little cropped pants everyday ... but it ain't here.  So why, oh why do we live in Nebraska???

This is why....  These are just a couple of letters found in the Daily Nebraskan, written to the people of Nebraska after the Penn State game a week ago...

To the Nebraska community:

I am presently writing you as a lone individual – I do not now, nor will I ever pretend to, speak on behalf of the more than 40,000 Penn State University Park students, nor the nearly 100,000 members of our two dozen commonwealth campuses and assuredly not on behalf of the nearly half-million Penn State alumni around the country and around the world. I can only speak for myself, and this is the experience I had the last few days interacting with the Nebraska community members who came to Happy Valley for (Saturday's) football game.

On Friday, your first fans began making a visible presence felt in downtown State College, Pa. I was, personally, a bit relieved that they came after all the speculation resulting from the horrific events over the last week. It has been a turbulent time for all of us in the Penn State community, and no one could reasonably blame anyone for their trepidation in the face of willingly going into fray, so to speak.

On Friday night I saw members of your community proudly clad in scarlet on the lawn in front of Old Main, participating solemnly, respectfully and supportively during an emotional candlelight vigil. Your fans stood by us while we listened to various community speakers, the Penn State Blue Band, acapella performances and a heartbreaking anonymous letter from a PSU student chronicling her own experiences with sexual abuse. Most importantly, while we prayed for the victims of unspeakable crimes committed in our own community — and victims of sexual abuse all over — you were quite literally standing beside us and standing for what should have been the focus of our community's attention and national media attention all along.

All day Saturday Nebraska fans filled seats in Beaver Stadium, seats in our restaurants and bars and explored the campus we call home. In spite of a close ending to an exciting game – an ending that, I must admit, I wish had a slightly different outcome (ahem) — your fans were gracious and continued to be grateful and kind everywhere I ran into them. From friendly passers-by on campus to a lone Nebraska fan at a gas station on the outskirts of town calling a friend back home to talk about how well things were going in Happy Valley, I did not have a single bad interaction with any member of your community. I sincerely hope the experiences of your Huskers were similarly positive.

Overall, the purpose of this letter is to thank you – all of you. As I said, this has been an extremely difficult time. Emotions have been running high and, to say the least, have gotten the best of most of us at one time or another. As the nation and world have seen, this week glaringly revealed the worst of not just college athletics and higher education, but the worst of humanity as well. The support of your community has shown many of us in Happy Valley the best of college athletics, the best of higher education and the best of humanity. Your support — both implicit and explicit, intentional and incidental — made a world of difference for our entire community this weekend and will continue to allow us to pick ourselves up, to renew our commitments to the values and ideals we seek to uphold and to remember the victims and prevent future tragedies from ever taking place. Thank you again, and I, personally, look forward to seeing you in Nebraska next fall.

Andrew Carr

Penn State Political Science Ph.D. Candidate

AND.... this one....

To the players, coaches and staff of the football team, and to the students, faculty, staff, administration and alumni of the University of Nebraska:

In 1983 I was an undergraduate at Penn State. You came to State College wearing red and white and filled with pride and a sense of camaraderie that those of us in big schools share. We were impressed by your sportsmanship, courtesy and anticipation for the game. We shared our tailgates with you before the game and couldn't believe how loudly you cheered despite being outnumbered eight to one. We won the game on a controversial call late in the 4th quarter. You held your heads high, rejoined us in our tailgates and started home on your long journey.

Today you came back to Penn State and, in possibly the finest display of sportsmanship I have ever seen, joined in solidarity with us in our moment of excruciating pain. You won today, but there were no losers on the field or in the stands. Those of us who love Penn State dearly will never forget you. Thank you for showing the world the finest qualities in human beings that sports have to offer.

Thank you, for everything.

Edward Doherty

Penn State, 1985

Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

AND.... this one....

To the administration, students, football players and entire University of Nebraska community:

In the midst of the darkest days in Pennsylvania State University history, two teams joined at the center of Beaver Stadium this past Saturday and knelt in prayer. Graciously led by Nebraska running back coach Ron Brown, this simple action of unity served as a beacon of light, a light which will hopefully grow and soon drive out the night enveloping the Penn State family.

Nebraska, you could have turned your backs. You could have opted to have nothing to do with Penn State other than the football game. Instead, you embraced your fellow student athletes, and in doing so, the entire Penn State Family, and said, "We stand with you."

For this — for your class, your friendship, your solidarity and your support — we thank you.

Though we are Penn State, we thank you for being the amazing community that you are, University of Nebraska.

Devon Pogasic

Penn State alumnus, 2008

Steelton, Pa.

 

So... for everybody who wonders why we live here, the answer is simple.  It's the people.  We may not be New York, Los Angeles, or even Chicago... but that's because we choose NOT to be -- we choose to be Nebraskans.  

So... will I still cuss when I get behind a combine, going all of 23 mph, on my way to work??  Yes.  Will I still cringe when I see those stupid corn cob hats on national TV?  Most definitely.  But I'm still proud to be from Nebraska and proud of the people of this great state --- they don't call it the Heartland for nothing.

Oh... and this is for the people who really don't know where Nebraska is.....

'nuff said.

Comments

[kelly]

proud to be Nebraska! :) What a great post, Deb. :)

[Ginnie Kadavy]

A great post - I have sent it to all my NEBRASKA friends. They have expressed appreciation regarding comments from the Penn State people. We are fortunate to be Nebraskans who live in the Heartland. Compared to other parts of this country, we have it pretty good here.