Brian Rosenthal: NU band members a die-hard bunch
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AMES, Iowa — Boarding a bus in Lincoln at 4:30 a.m. for a trip to Ames — and returning later that same evening — sounds like a miserable way for a college student to spend his Saturday.
For Michael Hesterman, it must’ve seemed like a vacation after last weekend’s three-day excursion to Lubbock, Texas.
A member of Nebraska’s traveling pep band, Hesterman wasn’t required to make both trips. He just wanted to.
“That’s actually the one I wanted to go to,” he said of the Texas Tech game.
Uh, why?
“I don’t know,” he said. “It was far away. It seemed like a good trip.”
A trip with two 6 a.m. departures — Friday and Sunday — and two 9:30 p.m. arrivals.
But at least there was a nice stay at the Lubbock Regency.
“It was a long bus ride,” said Hesterman, a sophomore trombone player from Grand Island, “but the game itself was really exciting. It was a fun environment.”
Band members are a die-hard group, and the 40-some member band for Husker road games is always a welcome addition for the fans that travel, too. Saturday, the band serenaded the Big Red faithful from the lower southeast corner of Jack Trice Stadium.
Members of the Cornhusker Marching Band can sign up for which games they’d prefer to attend, listing their first, second and third picks. They’re then assigned games.
Lincoln Southwest graduate Erica Bischoff signed up for every game.
“I wanted to go to any of the games they needed me,” she said.
One game each season — this year, it’s the Kansas State game — the full band travels to an away game. Most years, the band plays at an area high school football game the night before as part of that trip.
How are band members welcomed by visiting fans? Any taunts?
“Actually, not really,” cymbal player Eric Price said. “It’s pretty surprising. Even the Missouri fans last year, I thought they’d be terrible, but most of them were pretty respectful fans.”
Who is Jack Trice?
Jack Trice Stadium probably evokes images of cold, gray, windy, snowy, rainy, foggy days for Nebraska football fans.
Seldom do visitors ask themselves this question: Who was Jack Trice, anyway?
It’s a story that’s been told many times, but never one too many.
Trice was Iowa State’s first African-American athlete. In 1923, Trice, playing for Iowa State College, suffered an injury early in a game against Minnesota, in Minneapolis. He broke his collarbone but returned in the second half. He was later “thrown on his back and trampled by three Minnesota players,” according to an excerpt on Trice from Iowa State’s media guide.
Trice suffered internal bleeding and died three days later. More than 4,000 people attended his funeral on campus.
It was Trice’s first appearance in a game. The night before, Trice, forced to stay in a different hotel than his teammates because of racial segregation, wrote the following:
“My thoughts just before the first real college game of my life: The honor of my race, family & self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will. My whole body and soul are to be thrown recklessly about the field tomorrow. Every time the ball is snapped, I will be trying to do more than my part. On all defensive plays I must break thru the opponents’ line and stop the play in their territory. Beware of mass interference. Fight low, with your eyes open and toward the play. Watch out for crossbucks and reverse end runs. Be on your toes every minute if you expect to make good.”
The field at then-Cyclone Stadium was named after Trice in 1984, and the stadium’s name changed to honor Trice in 1997.
It’s believed to be the only stadium in the country named after an African-American athlete.
Heading for home
* The tailgating scene in Ames is as good as anywhere in the Big 12. Must’ve been really good in the second half, judging by the growing number of empty seats.
* Those Iowa State uniforms may look a lot like USC, but the comparisons stop there.
* For the first time this fall, I could see my breath. That’s when I knew I was in Ames ... or just haven’t been outside at an early hour recently.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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