A heartfelt welcome to the Big Ten...

Yesterday, at the big house, I watched three brothers, I assume they were adopted as one was black, one was Asian, and the two white ones looked nothing alike, all dressed in Nebraska gear, get their picture taken.

I talked with the youngest afterwards, and here's the kicker. Their oldest brother is blind as a bat, and even though he couldn't see, spent his whole life as a husker fan. The other three brothers followed in suit. The youngest brother told me it was a dream come true for the oldest, and blind brother, because even though he couldn't see, he always wanted to go and (see) Nebraska play in the vaunted "Big-House". The three younger brothers got him there, finally, yesterday.

I congratulated them and then proceeded to get the most choked up I've been in the last two years.

In our conference, it seems that everyone says they're our rival. As my bud Keith puts it "Man, everybody gets up for Michigan". But we honestly only look at a few of our regularly scheduled teams this way. I think Nebraska will be joining these ranks, someday.

It would honestly be nice, because their fans, tradition, and pedigree are things I've always found easy to respect.

And in our case, it would be nice to have an annual rival that isn't wrapped up in a competitive blanket of perpetual hate.

I can't stand Minnesota because, well, it's our bucket in the first place, and nice try anyways.

I hate State because, well, theyre all
A bunch of little bitches.

I hate Ohio because it's the nature of this great beast to which we sit at the right hand of. Oh and because they spent the last ten years making a mockery of any form of integrity within the bounds of this great thing we know as college football.

And I hate Notre Dame, because their fans continue to think they are the greatest thing to ever happen to fucking civilization, even as they annually slip further and further into College Football irrelevance. And they forget that WE taught THEM how to play.

It will be nice to square off with a Powerhouse, annually, and want to beat them simply out of a want to beat them. To hate them only on game day, because we're told to. Kind of like how people hate Tom Brady if they aren't a Pats fan or Ovechkin if they aren't from Washington, or they suffer harshly from bandwaggoner's syndrome.

I'm rambling now, I know. I guess I'll close with this...

Nebraska, welcome to the Big Ten. So many people thought you'd come in this year, and clean house. But NOT SO FAST. The Big Ten is like Northwestern, they certainly aren't at the top of the world, but the moment you take your eye off the ball, they'll remind everybody that you're not exactly LSU, either...

Just don't turn in to a huge dick of a fan base, keep winning games, and keep that leash on Pelini short, and we'll find a way to get along in a grand, grand way.

And congrats to those four brothers, for one of the best stories I've ever heard this side of the ball.

Now DAMMIT! GO BLUE!

AND BEAT OHIO!