6,000 Hawkeye Fans Prepare to Invade Lincoln, Nebraska

Memorial Stadium, the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, holds more than 85 thousand fans.  Last week the University of Iowa Sports Information office estimated that at least six thousand of those fans will be wearing black and gold when the Huskers host the Hawkeyes this Friday at 11 a.m.  

This is the first meeting between the teams since Nebraska beat the Hawkeyes in 2000.  Iowa has only won 12 of 41 meetings against the Huskers, with the most recent victory coming 30 years ago.  It is safe to say there is a lot at stake, but Lincoln offers a lot more to fans than just football.

Earlier this month we traveled to Nebraska to watch Northwestern stun the Huskers, pulling off a 28-25 upset victory.  We sampled the food, the nightlife and encountered countless must-see Lincoln traditions.

Fun and Food

Our first stop was at The Watering Hole Restaurant and Bar, 1321 O Street, where grilled chicken wings are the specialty.  The Watering Hole offers more than 20 beers on tap, a handful of which are locally brewed. 

“(Grilled wings) keep the flavoring in, and gets a little bit of the mess out,” said kitchen manager David Johnson.  The restaurant grilled nearly 13 thousand wings when Ohio State fans visited Lincoln in October, Johnson said.

On football weekends the restaurant fills-up with fans of both teams.  Owner Brian McFarland said it's not uncommon for half of his downtown restaurant to be occupied by opposing fans.

Big screen TV's provide the primary source of entertainment for fans, but other area restaurants take the excitement to another level.  Just outside of downtown in the Havelock neighborhood Misty's Steakhouse and Lounge, 6235 Havelock Ave., hosts the Husker marching band the night before every home football game.  Yes, they will be open on Thanksgiving.

The dark exterior of Misty's can be a bit deceiving, but inside the atmosphere is arguably the most exciting in town.  The Husker band typically starts playing for diners around 7:30, playing on a make-shift stage for about a half-hour in the back of the restaurant. 

Nightlife  

There is no doubt that Lincoln is a college town, but unlike Iowa City, the nightlife isn't centered around students.  Most of the college-aged crowd spends time in the Southeast portion of downtown.   The areas directly South and Southwest of Memorial Stadium tend to attract a “more mature” audience.

The hot-spot that attracts the biggest portion of that crowd is at Single Barrel, 130 N. 10

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St., the home of the Sidetrack band, a favorite amongst Husker fans.  Single Barrel, which is a warehouse that's been converted into a weekend bar, is only open on Friday's and Saturday's when Nebraska plays a home game.  This week the bar will be open on Thanksgiving evening, a night which has played host to some of their biggest pre-game parties.

“The Sidetrack Band is a big draw,” said Single Barrel manager Rick Willmott, 34, of Lincoln.  “We had hundreds of people in there (the night before) the first game.”

The band plays the night before a home-game, starting shortly after 10pm.  “Sidetrack” is far from traditional, led by crude humored 74-year-old singer/keyboardist, Joyce Durand. 

“Joyce knows over 100 fight songs,” said band manager Doug Durand, Joyce's son.  “She'll take any request in the world, any fight song from any school in the conference, if you come to our bar you'll have to sing your fight song on stage.”

Game-day

Nebraska football fans have many game-day traditions, and their love of music is the most obvious.  In the hours before kick-off sounds of all sorts can be heard in the stretches around Memorial Stadium.  Fans walking towards the stadium from across the Southeast section of the UNL campus may encounter accordion player Chris Sayre, who has been playing music from the same spot for 23 years.

“At first it started out where people were paying me to go away, now if I miss a game I get yelled at, so I have to be here,” said Sayre, 57, of Lincoln.  “I was driving my wife crazy, so she said: get out of the house, go down to the game, and make yourself useful.”

Sayre is far from the only independent pre-game act. 

“We put smiles on people's faces by playing the drums,” said Jordan Pullen, a freshman UNL student, who entertains fans with two other students around campus. 

While many of the acts are impromptu, one place that hosts organized pre-and-post game performances is the Embassy Suites hotel.  Various bands play six total hours of music on game-day's at a free pubic tailgate.

Tailgating/parking

Due to Memorial Stadium's proximity to downtown Lincoln, many fans opt to spend pre-game time inside a bar and not behind the trunk of their vehicle.  Parking around the stadium is rather difficult, so many fans park in nearby parking garages.  The University of Nebraska also offers parking in various lots a few miles from the stadium and charges a small fee for a shuttle ride to and from the stadium.  A parking map is available by clicking here. 

Despite parking difficulties many fans still tailgate in the lots around the stadium.  Most tailgating is secluded to the lots immediately North and East, some fans also set up their grills inside the parking garages.

Game-time

Memorial Stadium has been sold out for more than 300 consecutive games, an NCAA record.  At game-time the population inside the stadium exceeds Bellevue, Nebraska, the states third largest city.

While pre-game festivities inside the stadium are sparse, Nebraska fans are sure to take their seats by game-time. 

“I think the team and tradition are great,” said Nebraska fan, Mitch Wiebelhaus, 24, of Lincoln.  “I think we're known for having a great fan base.”

Fans boast that when the team takes the field, Memorial Stadium becomes the “loudest place in the country.”  No ticket-holding fan seems to miss the moment the Huskers run on the field.

Nebraska fans also celebrate their first points of the game with the long-running balloon release tradition.  Fans purchase a balloon from vendors outside of the stadium for $1, with all proceeds going to charity.  When the Huskers score, the thousands of balloon-holding fans release their red balloons into the sky.