Nebraska Football: Is Memorial Stadium Suffering From Moodiness? Huskers News Matt Rhule

This article is not meant to be a statement of any kind. It's just a thought I had last week when I wrote Friday Flakes about Memorial Stadium not making it into EA Sports' Top 25 Most Difficult Places for Opponents to Play.

First, let’s be honest about the fact that Memorial Stadium isn’t currently one of the top 25 toughest places for opponents to play. Like most things in life, things can change with a simple win. But right now, it probably shouldn’t be in anyone’s top 25.

I have been to many Nebraska football games at Memorial Stadium, probably as have most of you reading this article.

The terms I would probably use to describe the different environments at Nebraska football games include:

Tired.
Bored.
Not interested.
Pressed.
Angry.
Friendly.
Passionate.
Indignant.
Furious.
Motivated.

We all know that those 11:00 AM games against teams like UTEP and Northern Illinois are almost always a cause for celebration. Hopefully we win by 20+ points, then maybe we can beat the crowds before we head to the Gateway Mall.

The 2:30am kickoff is full of “ugh, this is going to ruin my whole day” feelings.

We also know that the 6pm or 7pm kick-off will probably have a similar atmosphere to the atmosphere we have because we could tailgate all day.

But not always.

I've been to enough night kickoffs that I would sometimes describe them as: I think we need to be louder, so I'll do my best attitude. It's better than the 11am games, but it's still not what it should be.

To be fair, sometimes Nebraska fans get really excited.

I would describe the game against Miami in 2014 as angry. It was infectious.

I would describe the 2009 game against Oklahoma as probably my favorite environment I've ever been a part of at Memorial Stadium. It was like the fans felt like they were a necessary part of Nebraska's quest to beat the Sooners en route to a 10-3 victory.

There was also the 2011 win over Ohio State when Nebraska trailed 27-6 in the third quarter. The Rex Burkhead jump cut touchdown catch was a great moment. The atmosphere was great. Especially during that comeback.

Since that game against Miami in 2014, there haven't been many games played in Memorial Stadium where the crowd played a significant role and came to the game.

I would almost dare to say that the atmosphere has been moody. As if the fans are waiting for something good to happen. And until that happens, they are sitting on their hands.

I get the 11 o'clock kickoff. I think that affects every college football atmosphere in the country. It's nap time.

However, it's the 2:30pm, 6pm and 7pm kickoffs where your fans need to shine, but Nebraska often falls short.

As I said, losing definitely has a lot to do with it.

What would need to change? Of course, serving alcohol would help. But what else?

Does the music need updating? Do we need to hear AC/DC and Motley Crue over and over again?

The tunnel walk probably needs to be adjusted. It is now much too long-winded.

Maybe you shouldn't treat the time between breaks as an opportunity to let Nebraska fans sit through a commercial. I'm yawning just thinking about it.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but changes need to be made to the matchday experience. And that doesn't mean demolishing a large portion of the stadium.

The change in mentality has to be aimed at the younger generation when it comes to the atmosphere on match days. Yes, that would include a generation younger than me.

However, you could argue that it will drive away the older folks who have supported the program for generations. Yes, but the other side of the coin is that we will have a game day experience that starts to look more like a retirement home than a college campus.

Who knows. Maybe winning can cure everything. It would be fun to find out.