ASU students happy to help Husker fans
SAN DIEGO — Two 20-year-old college students, Ermin Delic and Jeremy Hall, sat behind a high school band on the Nebraska side of the stadium, nine rows from the field.
They had painted their torsos red. Delic sported a white “N” on his chest. Hall had a white “U”. Nothing particularly unusual there, except that neither Delic nor Hall is a Nebraska fan.
“We just don’t like the Wildcats,” Delic said.
Turns out they’re both Arizona State students, so they like two teams — the Sun Devils and anyone playing Arizona.
Hall’s father Shawn, who accompanied them to the game, just shook his head. Shawn Hall, who grew up outside Omaha and now lives in Phoenix, had the good sense to keep his shirt on. He proudly wore a Nebraska sweatshirt — and said his son would, too, on the drive back to Arizona.
“I’m making him dress up in Nebraska gear,’’ Shawn Hall said, “and he’s got to ride in the back of the truck like that back to Phoenix.”
White out
The completely all-white look isn’t something Arizona unveils very often.
The Wildcats, tabbed as visitors for the Holiday Bowl, sported white jerseys, pants and helmets.
In fact, it’s never happened under six-year coach Mike Stoops. The Wildcats hadn’t worn white helmets since 2003. They usually wore blue headgear. They did wear white jerseys and white pants earlier this season — most recently at Arizona State Nov. 28. They wore blue pants a week later at USC.
Go Big ... Runza?
Nebraskans walking the Qualcomm Stadium concourses sensed a familiar aroma.
And you only had to hang out at a Runza stand for a few moments to notice fans’ surprise.
“Hey, those are from Nebraska,” said one fan.
“You guys have enough Runzas?” said another. “I’m gonna be back in the first quarter, second quarter and third quarter.”
The restaurant chain, headquartered in Lincoln, trucked 2,000 Runza sandwiches to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl, according to vendor Carrie Guess. Runza had two stands inside the stadium and one outside.
“We expect to sell out,” Guess said.
Backup singers
The stadium microphone cut out on Daniel Tucker, chairman of the nearby Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, just as he began to sing “America the Beautiful” during pregame ceremonies.
The fans picked him up, the crowd’s voice rising to make it one of the more memorable renditions of the song.
Tip: Take the train
Don’t worry about the drive. San Diego’s public transportation system might have offered the best shuttle service to and from the Holiday Bowl Wednesday.
All of the road-based entryways to the Qualcomm Stadium parking lots were crammed with vehicle traffic until kickoff.
Fans poured off the train-like trolley system, seemingly with little disruption. They got off the train, walked out of the stadium station and about two minutes later, they were at their gate.
Big boom
Excuse Brandon Kinnie if he heard nothing Wednesday night after the 35-minute mark on the pregame clock.
The Nebraska receiver stood in line with his teammates to re-enter the locker room after warmups when the Qualcomm Stadium cannon exploded feet from his head. It was a test of the device, which boomed after every score. Kinnie, who was wearing his helmet, gripped his headgear with both hands after the explosion.
Just a second
Two women dressed in Nebraska gear carried a professionally made sign around Qualcomm Stadium before kickoff: “Remember, a football game is 60 minutes. And one second.”
It’s been nearly a month since the Huskers’ Big 12 championship game loss. Clearly, though, many have not forgotten.
It makes one wonder when the official countdown begins for Oct. 16, 2010, when Texas visits Memorial Stadium.
What’s a little rain?
Occasional light rain fell in San Diego Wednesday, prompting Arizona fans to seek cover. The desert dwellers aren’t used to much wet weather — or temperatures below 60 degrees, for that matter.
Temps hovered near 55 for much of the game. The average high in Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday is 65. It’s 34 in Lincoln, so this was downright balmy for Nebraskans.
An Arizona fan outside the stadium, dressed in a Wildcat T-shirt, tried to buy a red jacket from a Husker fan. Didn’t happen.
— Jon Nyatawa, Dirk Chatelain, Mitch Sherman, Kirk Kenney
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