Brian Rosenthal: Fans attend games through thick and thin
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When Scott Armknecht awoke Saturday morning, he found an oversized red foam hat sitting on his kitchen counter.
Written on the side of the hat, in black magic marker, was “Oct. 25, 2008,” and recognition of Armknecht, 32, attending his 100th consecutive Nebraska home football game.
The hat was a gift from his girlfriend.
Would you have worn it to Nebraska’s game Saturday against Baylor?
Armknecht did. This time.
“This will be the only time I wear it to a game,” he said. “I’ll probably put it in the basement.”
Saturday, it was proudly adorned on Armknecht’s head.
Yes, there are many fans like Armknecht with impressive attendance streaks. Some with much longer streaks. Armknecht knows this.
“I’m sure there are hundreds of others,” he said.
But Saturday seemed like a good time to point out such a streak on a day when splotches of empty seats appeared in the student section, and tickets were plentiful on the street.
Armknecht, whose streak began with the 1994 season opener against UCLA, once counted on those street tickets to keep his streak alive. He had student tickets from 1994 to 1997, then said he had to be resourceful to find tickets once done with school.
“Actually, the Baylor game in 2000 was probably my biggest scare,” Armknecht said, noting how he was standing outside looking for tickets in the minutes before kickoff. “That’s when they were a little more scarce outside than they are now.”
His luck changed when, before the 2004 season, he walked into the ticket office, asking about being put on a season-ticket waiting list.
“The girl at the counter was like, ‘Actually, sir, we have tickets available right now in South Stadium,’” Armknecht said. “I called my buddies and said, ‘Hey, let’s get in on this.’”
They have three tickets in South Stadium — Section 16C, Row 83.
“We stay ’til the buzzer every time,” Armknecht said.
Well, there was that one game.
“It was Iowa State, 1995 maybe. It was just super cold, and we were killing them, so we left after the third quarter,” he said.
“We don’t leave the losses early. I think that’s kind of weak. We have a good time on game day. I want the Huskers to win, but I have fun regardless.”
Armknecht, who also has season tickets for volleyball and men’s basketball, realized last season he was approaching 100 and started counting.
“My friends are probably sick of listening to me talk about it, so I’m going to have to shut up for a while,” he said. “Maybe when 200 rolls around I’ll say something again.”
Tenopir sidelined
Former Nebraska offensive line coach Milt Tenopir was on the field before Saturday’s game to help present the Jake Young Memorial Scholarship to Marcel Jones.
Tenopir, though, was in a wheelchair, his leg in a cast. He said he broke it last Sunday while helping unload equipment.
He had plenty of well-wishers on the sideline. Said one man: “You’ve got to learn to play with pain, Milt.”
Going deep
* That was the best-timed flyover of the season, and certainly the loudest.
* Correct me if I’m wrong, but if a player who recovers a fumble emerges from the pile and spikes the ball in clear open field, isn’t that an unsportsmanlike conduct flag? I know a certain quarterback from Washington who might think so.
* Looks like a Nebraska record — 35 straight bowl appearances — will stand. Michigan (2-6) needs to win out to become bowl-eligible. That includes beating Ohio State. Good luck with that.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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