ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 1, 1997 TAG: 9701030004
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MIAMI
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
Kathy Bogus gets goosebumps when she goes to University of Nebraska football games.
That might not seem unusual, since the temperature in Lincoln hasn't topped 10 degrees in the past week and hovered around 40 below with the wind chill factored in. But Bogus is more likely to see her favorite team when they're playing out-of-state than at home games, even though she lives near Omaha.
Nebraska has sold out every home game since 1962, and many families have reserved blocks of seats through season tickets passed down over several generations. Away games are a must for fans like Bogus and her family who can't get those tickets.
Bogus was one of about 7,500 Nebraskans enjoying the 70-degree weather at the Orange Bowl game Tuesday.
Nebraskans' fanaticism for college football has earned them a national reputation. The turnout for this year's Orange Bowl, however, was low because of disappointment over losing a chance to win their third consecutive national championship.
Still, diehard fans like Bogus arrived at the game decked out in scarlet, making the section of the Pro Player Bowl reserved for Nebraska look like a bank of poinsettias.
Bogus said Nebraskans are obsessed with college football because they don't have a professional team in any sport to support. The Cornhuskers have given the state its identity.
"That's the only thing outsiders associate with Nebraska except being in the sticks," she said.
Most Nebraska and Virginia Tech fans said they knew little about each other, but they had a chance Tuesday to size each other up.
Jeff Glesner, a 1969 Virginia Tech graduate from Richmond, was one of only a few who already had made a few initial impressions before the game. He conversed with Cornhusker fans over the Internet before traveling to Miami.
"They're pretty much like us," he said.
Glesner said Cornhuskers, like Hokie fans, stand out in the college football scene for similar reasons.
"We're real people," he said. "We're not phony."
Both Virginia Tech and the University of Nebraska are land-grant colleges. Both were founded with an emphasis on agriculture, and both serve as the base for the Cooperative Extension Service in their respective states.
The late Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant once called Nebraskans the most fair-minded and polite fans he encountered during his career. Dave Dibelka, a UN sophomore, is a pretty good example. He had a plastic corncob cap stretched over his skull like a heartland yarmulke, but Virginia Tech's logo was smeared on his cheek with maroon lipstick.
"I was coaxed by some Hokies to have VT painted on my cheek," he said. "If they win, great. I understand it's a big boost to their program. If we win, I'll still be out partying with them tonight."
Nebraskans modestly say politeness is an attribute they share with all Midwesterners. Tech fans like to think their manners reflect well on the Old Dominion as well.
In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to run across any derogatory jokes or put-downs aimed at either side. Instead, there's an atmosphere of respect and civility.
"We don't really cut at them," said Bud Keever, president of Virginia Tech's athletic fund. "We're so fortunate to be here to play a team like Nebraska. We're not awed by Nebraska."
Both Virginia Tech and Nebraska have traditions that are followed by the fans en masse as well as special rituals and good luck charms that individual fans swear by.
Nebraskans wear red every Saturday, even if their team doesn't have a football game that day. Bogus said she's started wearing team colors on Friday, too, just for luck.
For Glesner and his wife, Sid, the game turns on the small hand-held Virginia Tech flag they pull off the front of their house and carry to each game. They said the good luck rubs off after a while, and the flag has to be replaced. The one they brought to Miami was purchased to replace an identical one after Tech lost to Syracuse.
"And we haven't lost yet," Jeff Glesner said.
"You sound like an idiot," his wife said, laughing as she added, "Football is a very superstitious game."
Cornhusker fans have one claim to fame that Tech fans would like to emulate: They've sold out their last 214 home games.
"I think Lane Stadium should be full for every game," said Mike Taylor of Roanoke, who canceled New Year's Eve plans he and his wife made in October in order to be at Tuesday's game. "Therefore, I don't think Tech fans are as dedicated as they ought to be."
At least for the 1996 Orange Bowl, Tech fans got to show up the Cornhuskers. Tech sold out its 15,000 tickets, and university officials believe there are about 20,000 Hokies in town. Nebraska sold only about half of its allotment, donating the rest to youth groups in South Florida.
In true polite form, Tech fans are proud but not gloating. They understand that Nebraska fans are disappointed their team won't be national champions this year.
"They're on a downer," Glesner said. "We're still on the rise. We're just getting into the big time now."
"It was a let-down for people," Bogus said. "We had our reservations all ready to go to the Sugar Bowl."
In fact, about 20,000 Nebraskans were set to fly to the Sugar Bowl before the Cornhuskers spoiled their chance for the national championship by losing to Texas. Only about a third of them switched gears and made it to the Orange Bowl.
Bogus loves to talk about the night Nebraska won its first national championship, when Omaha residents spilled out into the streets to celebrate until 3 a.m., then drove to Lincoln to welcome the team home.
"Kids were climbing up big billboard signs, and it was 5 below zero," she said.
Bill Byrne, another Nebraska fan from Lincoln, admits success has a lot to do with the loyalty Cornhuskers have for their team.
"Over the last 125 years, they have always had winning teams except for the 1950s," he said.
This year's Orange Bowl may be a sign that Nebraskans' loyalty will be tested by off years, but Tech fans say they're confident that will not be a problem for them.
"Even when we only won two games a year, we were there," Keever said. "We brag about those days as much as we do the winning days."
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Virginia Tech fan and '94 gradby CNBAngelo Nappi (left) tailgates Tuesday with Nebraska fans Ryan
Mimmick (right) and Dave Dibelka outside Pro Player Stadium in
Miami. KEYWORDS: 2DA