Post #9 - Memorial Stadium

For anyone who has ever grown up in Nebraska, they know what Husker football is all about. They also know of the historic Memorial Stadium.



I slowly stepped foot into Memorial Stadium on a cool Saturday afternoon and I could not believe my eyes. The bright sun shined down on the magnificent view. There were people everywhere, scattered in various seats dressed in bright red clothing with much excitement and anticipation in their faces. Thousands and thousands of people stood in the crowded gateway. There was a great deal of activity occurring throughout the stadium, causing my adrenaline levels to rise rapidly. It was a red sea of people as every fan in the stadium proudly wore the red Husker clothing. There was not a single empty seat in the whole stadium. The pearly white helmets of the players glistened from the bright light received from the sun in the clear blue sky. The distinct, structured lines on the field were vividly painted on the field, dividing the yard lines on the short green grass. The endzones on the field read “HUSKERS” in a dark red with thick whites lines bordering each letter. As the players run around and practice before the big game, the cheerleaders are very active on the sidelines. They yell through their large white megaphones chanting “Go Big Red! Go Big Red!” As they cheer on the football team, there is an unlimited amount of excitement in the people’s faces.



Everyone is standing, side by side, crowded. There is no room. It’s very tight, almost clostraphobic. Even though there is no space, my mind is still able to wander and reminisce about the tradition of Husker football. The writing above each part of the stadium reads 106 All-Americans in large, bold, strong letters. These words stand out from everything else, causing me to wonder of the importance for which they have on Husker football. They make me realize how much history has taken place in this amazing stadium, causing my heart to beat even harder. I started to remember all the success Nebraska has had on this field with the five national championships that they won. Every young boy that has grown up in Nebraska has once dreamed of stepping onto that field while wearing the red jersey with pride. These thoughts and emotions were constantly running through my head, for the atmosphere in the stadium is untouchable.

The game is finally here and when the bright yellow numbers on the clock near zero, the tension raises in the stadium, for the game is about to begin. Everyone is turned toward the enormous tunnel vision screen. It is gigantic, almost covering the whole top part of the north stadium above the bleachers. Every single person is tuned into the screen to watch the traditional tunnel walk video and listen to the highly inspirational music. On the screen they show the players walking from the locker room onto the field. Some players are obnoxiously jumping all around while others are walking very slowly while strongly locking hands with firm grips. There is a great deal of focus and determinism in their faces, for they know what this game means to the state of Nebraska and their fans. As I listen to the loud, blaring music from the loudspeakers, my excitement is uncontrollable. My heart beat is off the charts and my mind begins to wonder if I will even be able to make it to the start of the game, for I cannot stay still. There is a chant that is unbearably loud as each side of the stadium yells a phrase. The west side of the stadium begins yelling, “HUSKER!” while the east side of the stadium follows by replying “POWER!” The chants continue for almost several minutes, building the intense atmosphere.



Unfortunately, the game eventually comes to an end and the people around slowly exit the stadium, causing the red sea to dissolve and drift away. There is hardly anyone left, as the seats in the staidum appear to be bear and naked. What was once a loud and ferocious stadium of noise is now a silent, peaceful place. The aisles are completely empty now as plastic bottles and trash fill the rows that were once full.

I began to wonder how 86,000 people were able to cooperatively cram into one isolated area and then leave in such a short organized fashion. When the stadium is full, it is considered to be the third largest city in Nebraska behind Omaha and Lincoln. This strange comparison makes me think about all the people from all around Nebraska that travel and venture to this well-known stadium. This joyful scene showed me that regardless of who you were outside of Memorial Stadium, that everyone was one big family that united to support the Huskers on Saturday afternoons.



As I see everyone join together in the notion of a community formation, I begin to question, "What does it mean for people to join in a community for a certain event, yet be so different from one another and come from such different siutations?" I think of everyone and how diverse they are, how everyone has their own occupation and own lifestyle. I think the aspect of a community is very evident at Memorial Stadium, and that unity signifies a great deal. It means a lot to the whole state of Nebraska, for it shows what kind of people live here. I feel that no other place has the type of people that are present at Memorial Stadium on Saturdays, for the companionship and friendship is indescribable. Even though everyone is so different and so diverse, it still amazes me that everyone can unite together just for a game. That's all it is, really, is just a game. It is meant to be fun. It is an odd situation for me and sometimes hard to understand how people take it so seriously, yet the answer is simple. I feel that the tradition of Husker football provokes people to rally around each other and it continues to consistently bring people together. I also start to question what makes Memorial Stadium so attractive and what is it that continues to bring people back every weekend. Is it the actual football game? Is it the atmosphere of the staidum? Or is it just a social event for families and friends? For me, the answer becomes very clear to me. Memorial Stadium has showed me that football is just a game and meant to be fun.

Experiencing Memorial Stadium is something that I will for never forget, for I know what this place truly means to the state of Nebraska. Everyone is so passionate and faithful to Husker football and it is an amazing site when thousands of strangers across the state can come together and have such a strong interest in common. It makes me realize that the unity that is involved in Memorial Stadium is something that I have never witnessed before. The experience will always be with me and the history of Nebraska football will never be forgotten. I notice that dreaming of becoming a husker football player still exists in my mind and always will. Furthermore, I realize that it never hurts to dream and have hope either, for I learned that the imagination can bring you happiness in many ways. Even though the game is over, I realize I am already excited and cannot wait for the next football game at Memorial Stadium.



Being able to watch the Husker football players is almost like a dream come true for me. Watching the players on the field makes me think of the many memories I had as a young child. Those days as a child dreaming of once becoming a Husker football players are still with me. I notice that even though I am older, I still possess those childish dreams. Memories of playing football everyday with my friends and dad outside are still clear to me this day. Dressing up as a Husker football costume on Halloween and pretending to be your favorite player was a typical memory that reminds me of those past dreams. I start to wonder if every other boy that grows up in Nebraska has these same dreams of playing football for Nebraska and playing at Memorial Stadium. For anyone who loves sports or football, how could they not want to play in an unbelievable atmosphere such as Memorial Stadium and represent their state of Nebraska?

Growing up, everyone tells you that you can become whatever you want to be as long as you follow your dreams and goals. In my early years, the dream of playing for the Huskers was in my mind everyday. Now that I am wiser and more mature, I realize that becoming whatever you want to be is certainly not true because reality comes into play and not everyone is capable of becoming their desired profession. Although, I think that even though it may seem negative, it certainly does not hurt to have those dreams and always have hope. Maybe everyone should think like a young child and not consider reality as a factor? I consider this strategy because I remember when I was younger, there were no worries. There was no one telling you that you could not achieve something. As a young child, you had big dreams and followed them because that's what you truly wanted. As I reminicse on these past memories, I realize that I need to start living my life in a childish way by thinking and dreaming without any worries. I feel that everyone should live their life and be passionate about whatever they enjoy doing. Everyone should always have hope with nothing holding them back as if no one is there telling you that you cannot do something. Everyone needs a place such as Memorial Stadium that reminds them of their passions and dreams as a child. Whether or not you once imagined yourself wearing a red jersey and playing at Memorial Stadium, your dreams and hopes should never be forgotten.

Post #8 - Cubing Exercise

1.Generalizing: consider what you have learned from the event or experience that will be the occasion for your reflections. What ideas does it suggest to you? What does it suggest about people in general or about the society in which you live?

This experience has showed me that no matter where you are from or even if you're strangers, everyone can still have an interest or something in common. It also showed me that if everyone can come together and unite as one, it can be a very powerful image.

2. Giving examples: illustrate your ideas with specific examples. What examples would best help your readers understand your ideas?

The main idea is that there is a lot of passion and tradition behind Memorial Stadium and Husker football. The statue of Tom Osbourne and Brook Berringer is a specific example of the history behind Husker football. The "Sea of Red" in the crowd of people with red shirts symbolizes the unity by the Husker football fans at the stadium during a game.

3. Comparing & contrasting: think of a subject that could be compared with yours & explore the similarities & the differences.

A similar event would be another sporting event. A Husker football game is at a very high level of competition and an extremely high level of expectation. A high school football game for example would be similar for it is the same level, but the size of the event would be dramatically smaller.

4. Extending: take your subject to its logical limits & speculate about its implications. Where does it lead?

Memorial Stadium has been around for quite awhile and has served as the place for Husker games for a long time. It signifies Husker football and the tradition and history of the success the football team has had in the past. It holds a relationship between Husker football and all the Nebraska fans and the passion between the two.

5. Analyzing: take apart your subject. What is it made of? How are the parts related to one another? Are they all of equal importance?

Parts of my subject include the stadium as a whole, the football players, cheerleaders, people in the crowd, the food concession stands, and the statue. They are all related but they each have their own purpose or identy. For example, the statue symbolizes something and the people are what create the atmosphere in the stadium. They are not of equal importance, but they each have their own significance in some way. The stadium as a whole is the main focus and serves as the most important.

6. Applying: think about your subject in practical terms. How can you use it or act on it? What difference would it make to you & to others?

A football game is something you could use for lesiure time or personal entertainment. If you enjoy sports or football, or just love being in a great atmosphere around a very large number of people, then a Husker football game would be a perfect activity. It can be used as a social event between others and is something that can bring people together.

Post #7 - Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps is not just an Olympic athlete, he is an American icon. At the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Michael Phelps won a world-record eight gold medals. It was something that was unheard of and have never been done before. The way in which he completed this amazing task was quite a journey. He was a part of several relay teams that won three golds and the rest of the gold medals he won were individual events. He set world records in seven of the eight gold medals that we won, and the one that he did not set a world record in, he still set an olympic record in that event. In the 100 meter butterfly race, Michael Phelps won by the smallest possible margin. He was able to claim a victory by an incredible .01 seconds. Phelps was outstanding in the 2008 summer olympics, for he finished above 14countries by himself in the medal counts. He currently possesses 16 gold medals, the most ever by any athlete. Michael Phelps has not only changed the sport of swimming just through his performances in the olympics, but he has represented the United States of America in a great deal of positive ways. He is now an American icon and a role model to numerous people. Even if you do not enjoy watching sports or don't have any interest in them, his success at the olympics will go down in history forever. The olympics is a tradition that is highly celebrated worldwide. Countries have a lot of pride in their countries and take the olympics seriously. America was fortunate to have an individual like Michael Phelps represent our country in a very positive way.

Post #6 - "Savin Me" by Nickelback

This music video, "Savin Me" by Nickelback, has a lot of hidden meanings in its content. In order to fully understand this video, it is imporant that details are focused on. The video begins with masses and masses of people walking around a city. It seems to be very cluddered and busy. Every person seems to be worried about only themselves and is on their own path to go where only they desire. They seem to have no concerns about anyone else and not friendly at all. In the beginning,a man in a trench coat rushes over and pushes a man out of the street and makes him avoid an oncoming car. The man who was saved in the video seems very confused and not comfortable, almost as if he feels out of place. He is very, very interested in everyone walking and he observes everyone and looks above their head. He's very intrigued at this, but the viewer is now aware of what he is looking at. The man is so interested that he even grabs some of the people and touches them. Whatever he is looking at above the people's head seems to stress him out as he sits on benches and shows very worried facial expressions. He seems very urgent and in a rush, for he is pacing and moving around constantly. At 1:51 in the video, the man notices orange numeric numbers above every person's head. These numbers are a dial that appears to be counting down. Then, at 2:40, the man notices an elderly woman on a stretcher being carried into an ambulance. At 2:50, the man then noticed that the numbers from the elderly woman being carried into the ambulance had expired and reached zero. After this incident, the man continues to walk around observing everyone's numbers. At 3:45 in the video, the man notices a woman getting into a car and he rushes over to her. He then violently grabbed the girl and pulled her away from the taxi cab that she was intending on getting into. After he pulled her away, a momument that was in a large crated that was likely attatched to a crane, fell out of the sky and landed right on top of the taxi cab that the woman was about to get in.

After viewing the content of the video, it is very evident that there is a great amount of symbolism in this video. As you reflect upon this video, you have to make a lot of inferences and assumptions. First, you have to assume that the man at the beginning of the video saved the other man in the street for some reason. You have to make an inference that there was some reason or some way that he could sense the danger and knew there was an oncoming car. Also, you have to assume that whatever is above the people's head must be very important. Toward the first half of the video, you don't know what those numbers stand for. Then as the woman dies in the ambulance, the viewer is finally able to figure out the meaning and symbolism of the numbers. The most important and strongest part of the film is when he saves the woman at the end. This is definetelty the most important element of the video because the man was able to apply what he had experienced and learn to something else. He was able to recognize what those numbers symbolized and saved the woman. I felt the producers did a very well job of using symbolism in this video and relating it to the lyrics for they state, "Say it if it’s worth savin me, Hurry I’m fallin". In this video, the other people are the helpless ones who are falling and are relying on other people to save them.

Post #5 - "Truth"

I'm sure you have all seen the commercials on television from Truth but have you really stopped and really thought about the message that they are trying to get across to you? These commercials provide their viewer with stunning statistics that are used to capture their viewer. They use a style that is very unusual, unique, and different. There is not even a single word said in this whole commercial. They make a point against tobacco in this video by just using auditory and visual effects. The loud noises build up as the video goes on until all the people collapse. Once the people collapse, the silence comes into play. This content of the video is significant because it is a technique used in filming to get a message across. Once it is silent, the person holds up the sign so the message is clear and evident. These are the types of videos and commercials that are society needs to start paying closer attention to and take action into their own hands. Serious issues, such as this video against tobacco, are effecting people in many harmful ways. I really enjoyed the part of the video when the man flips over the sign and the question asks, "Ever think about taking a day off"? The sign was directed toward a tobacco comapny people that is responsible for killing 1200 people a day. I felt that it was the strongest point in the whole clip, for it is a very bold question to ask, as the question is putting much of the responsiblility into the companies. This brings up another issue or question, are the companies ultimately responsible for all these deaths or is it primarily the consumers fault, for they were the ones who purchased their own tobacco. These are questions that people should be curious about and question society everyday if changes are desired.