In the state of Nebraska, passion for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team runs deep. However, one fan recently discovered that Husker pride has its limits.
On Wednesday morning, 15 minutes into an Intro to Anthropology lecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, self-described Husker maniac Brian Gonzalez stood up and belted out the first half of the team’s signature “Go Big Red” call-and-response cheer. What happened next stunned him.
“I stood up and did the long ‘Gooo Biiig Reeed’ cheer – you know, the one they do at the games,” Gonzalez said. “And not one person – not one person – responded with the fast ‘GoBigRed!’”
Witnesses reported that while a few students turned to stare at Gonzalez, who was standing in the back row, most paid him no attention.
“I think we all hoped that if we just ignored him, he would stop,” said freshman English major Johnny Clemens. “Unfortunately, that didn’t work.”
“I thought maybe they didn’t hear me, so I tried doing it louder,” a frustrated Gonzalez explained. “This time, I think the professor said something, but it definitely wasn’t ‘Go Big Red.’”
Professor Sheryl Harrison told The DailyER that she tried asking Gonzalez to stop, but he wouldn’t listen.
“He just kept yelling, over and over, louder and louder, and I couldn’t get a word in,” Harrison said. “I don’t think I could have said ‘Go Big Red’ even if I wanted to.”
“I love the Huskers as much as anyone, but he was disrupting my lecture. I had to call security.”
As UNL police officers dragged a flailing Gonzalez out of the room, he had a sudden realization.
“I thought, maybe they think I’m from Wisconsin and I’m trying to trick them, since Wisconsin is the Big Red too,” he explained. “So I tried the ‘Husker Power’ cheer – everyone knows that one!”
However, at that point police had already taken Gonzalez into the hallway, and Harrison resumed her lecture amidst muffled calls of “Husker” through the door.
When Gonzalez returned to class Friday, classmates report he sat silently, taking notes with a dejected look on his face.
“Husker pride is dead,” he said.
