When a program has been as good and as beloved as the Nebraska football program has been, there are bound to be more than a few traditions that stand out. Some of the greatest traditions for the Huskers are done by the program itself. Sometimes, it’s done by the fans. And sometimes it’s a bit of a collaborative approach.
Over the years, some of those traditions have fallen by the wayside, or become less of a tradition than a nod to the past. Still, if it’s something that’s easily recognizable as uniquely Nebraska, it still counts as a tradition, even if it’s put up on the shelf and brought out a little more rarely.
The three best Nebraska football traditions that have stood the test of time
Red Balloons on Husker scores
There was a time when this was a weekly occurrence that allowed vendors to pay their mortgage. The tradition was a simple one. Almost every fan would buy a single red balloon at the stadium before heading to their seats. Then, when Nebraska scored the first touchdown of the game, everyone would release them at the same time.
It was quite a sight to see tens of thousands of balloons soaring into the air. It also served as a kind of beacon to the rest of Lincoln that NU had scored. A couple of years ago, the university discontinued the tradition, citing the environmental impact of the rubber and a shortage of helium, making it far too expensive to do. However, AD Troy Dannen brought it back for a few games over the years and has hinted it could be brought back again in the future. The tradition of doing a balloon release during every game appears to be dead and gone, but it will live on in one form or another.
The Tunnel Walk before Nebraska games
The Tunnel Walk is one of those traditions that is collaborative between the players and fans. Before each game, a song begins to pour through the stadium as a video opening plays on the big screen. Eventually, the big screen features the players walking from the locker room to the field through the stadium, flanked by scores of fans on either side. Then the players reach the end of the tunnel and charge onto the field. The songs that play during this march to the field have changed over the years, but the walk itself certainly seems something that will stick.
The sellout streak
This tradition has lost a bit of luster in recent years, but Nebraska still prides itself on being a place that can fill a giant stadium to cheer on the team. The most important thing about this tradition is that the fans are loyal to the program through thick and thin. Even if every seat isn’t sold and the place isn’t a sellout in the truest sense of the word, it’s hard to knock a tradition that had 80,000 fans coming to see a program that went a decade without a winning season.
Sometimes it feels like Nebraska and its fans place too much emphasis on the sellout streak, but it’s still one of those traditions that has gone on for decades and will likely go on for the foreseeable future, even if the university has to tweak things like offering deep discounts on tickets.
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