Growing with the streak
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
At least one current Nebraska football player has contributed to Memorial Stadium’s streak of 300 sellouts.
Jay Martin, a walk-on tight end from Waverly, said he’s been coming to Nebraska home football games “as far back as I can remember.” His father, former Husker All-American Bob Martin, has season tickets.
“I know a lot of the kids don’t get the chance, sometimes,” said Jay Martin, who was born in 1988. “I probably take it for granted, but I just expected every week to be here.”
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He remembers missing only one home game, so he could attend his cousin’s wedding — out of state, obviously. Nobody around here would exchange vows when Nebraska plays Oklahoma.
That’s right. The Martins missed Mike Stuntz to Eric Crouch in 2001.
“We taped it, and we tried not to find out anything about the game until afterward, but somebody blew it and told us, so we already knew,” Martin said.
“We still went back and watched it.”
Martin attended every home game his cousins, Barrett and Bo Ruud, played in. Now, he’s on the sideline, one of several homegrown Huskers with childhood memories of Memorial Stadium games.
Who knows? Some boy in Saturday’s 300th consecutive sellout crowd might be visiting with reporters the week before Nebraska’s 400th straight sellout, reliving memories of his first game way back in 2009.
“The game that I do remember — I couldn’t tell you what year — but we were playing K-State, and it was the loudest I think I’ve ever heard Memorial Stadium,” Nebraska center Mike Caputo said. “Maybe it’s because I was young, but it was intense.”
Caputo, an Omaha native, went to Nebraska games occasionally with his father, a Massachusetts native who played football at Kearney State. At the time, Tony Caputo was anything but a Husker fan. That’s since changed.
“He didn’t really like Nebraska back when he played, because guys would show up to his games with red and stuff and headphones on,” Mike Caputo said.
“He couldn’t understand why fans were wearing red to his games, too.”
Dreu Young grew up in Cozad, about 2 1/2 hours west of Lincoln, but squeezed in a Husker game here and there into his busy high school athletic schedule. He’d usually sit behind the south end zone.
“Every time they kicked a field goal, people around me would snag it, not me,” Young said. “Never got one, but I was always close.”
Young is making up for it these days by snagging his share of footballs while playing tight end. And he’s appreciative of whoever will sit in that south end zone seat on Saturday.
“It means a lot to have a packed house every time you come out and play,” Young said. “Through all of the stuff we’ve been through, to keep that streak alive. … Even in ’07, when we weren’t having the best year, we still had fans out every game.”
Martin said many teammates who didn’t grow up in Nebraska are always amazed at Husker fans — how much it means to attend a game, or even just meet a player.
But how does Martin view Saturday’s continuation of an NCAA record for sellouts?
“It doesn’t even feel like something that’s out of the ordinary,” Martin said. “Growing up, the only thing I ever saw is that games should be sold out.
“I don’t know even know what it would be like to be in the stadium if it wasn’t full.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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