Cotton Bowl

It's Nebraska versus Auburn! To most people in the United States, it's a "Who Gives A Shit" bowl game. To fans of the two programs, and several intermittent casual observers, this could shape up to be a good game.

Just to fans? Are there no ramifications, win or lose?

Good question, Ron. There are no championship ramifications. There are, however ramifications of perception.

If you were to read Huskerpedia, and saw this thread that I have linked right here in this oddly-colored text, you would see a thread that is a debate on whether "must win" games actually even exist. The apologists are out in full force with sarcasm. For example, the blithering idiot, HuskerNCorpus, says "Looking at the 2007 schedule, I think it's clear we have 14 must-win games (including the Big12 CG and the bowl game). If we lose one of those "must-win" games, something seriously catastrophic will happen to the program. 2008...I haven't seen the entire schedule, but you can bet on NU having at least 13 must-win games."

HnC, stop baiting people and open your eyes. On various boards, you see, prior to each game, excuses being formed before the first snap. Then when it is noticed, the irritating game of semantics begins. Here is the bottom line. Every game needs to be looked at as a "must win" game. We are the Cornhuskers, for crying out loud, not Iowa State, Kansas, or Colorado. Parity is a bullshit excuse, as well. It is irrelevant when it comes to our expectations. When we start talking about acceptable losses, losing becomes acceptable. Every time the World's Most Ignorant Man, Jim Rose, talks about what awesome losses we have, he needs his teeth kicked in.

This is not to say that their is to be rioting, raping, and pillaging after a loss. Far from it. We need to learn from it, and move on. Losing is not an option. Will it happen? Yes. But the philosophy of winning has apparently become dumbed down by the same people who wanted Solich burnt alive, while his family was executed.

Solich had to go, so we could continue/rebuild to dominance. There is no such thing as "restoring the order" when you start talking about which losses are ok, and which losses aren't. I call that continuing the Solich order.

In the Cotton Bowl, fans are apparently showing their distaste for losing. $10 a ticket. Are you kidding me? They'll be giving them away at Jack in the Box pretty soon to every third customer.

Stop with the stupid excuses, realize that we demand a winning program, and watch the program deliver that. When your expectations are set high, great programs deliver high results. When your expectations revolve around excuses, apologists, and overall douche-baggery, then you get failure.

GO BIG RED!