Nebraska Trivia Thursday

7 comments so far July 31, 2008 by Brandon Vogel

You don't really expect to find traces of Nebraska football fandom on the coast of Maine but a couple of weeks ago that's exactly what happened to me. Somewhere between Acadia National Park and Young's Lobster Pound in Belfast, Maine, we stopped off at a giant barn that used to house chickens but now holds thousands and thousands of used books.

Finding the football shelf, I began picking my way through the titles. I started collecting dirt on conference rivals (Bootlegger's Boy, Meat on the Hoof) then moved on to dirt on the game of college football as a whole (The Hundred Yard Lie) before arriving at a slim paperback called Nebraska Football Trivia by former Nebraska sportswriter Paul Hammel.

That's a pretty sedate title for what might be the most diabolical book ever written.

Simply put, this things is vexing. What was supposed to be a fun diversion for my remaining drive back to Boston was actually too hard to even be humbling. I convinced myself that this was actually just an elaborate scheme for Mr. Hammel to easily identify readers of his column, that all the answers to these very specific questions could've been found in his his columns prior to 1988 (the book's pub date). I couldn't even feel ashamed for not knowing this stuff, nobody should know this stuff.

Except for maybe the readers of Big Red Network. Below you'll find some of the more esoteric questions in the book, remember it's all pre-1988, and throughout the day I'll be providing the answers in the comments below but, by all means, feel free to steal my thunder:

1. What song did Bob Devaney sing with Tony Jeter's mother that helped convince Jeter to enroll at Nebraska? (from "The Bizarre Questions" chapter)

We'll start simple with something every real Husker fan should remember fondly...that in-home visit to the Jeter household.

2. Who arguably was Nebraska's first football star? (from "The Big Red Beginnings" chapter)

What? You think the word "arguably" precludes this question from having a true answer? You're already wrong.

3. How many stations did Nebraska's first football weight-training machine have? (from "The Weight Room" chapter)

Again, who could forget such a seminal moment in Husker history.

4. When did Nebraska add a single, red stripe to their helmets? (from "The Uniforms" chapter)

So this one might actually be able to be answered if your obsessive enough.

5. What was the best team nickname in school history?

Okay, this is actually a question from my own mind so I'll give you one for free. The answer is Mankilling Mastodons. Bugeaters? Cornhuskers? Old Gold Knights? All good, but the correct answer is Mankilling Mastodons. That's just the way it is.

Now Husker fans, good luck with the rest of them and don't forget to answer below (partial credit awarded for unique/funny answers). Google is acceptable but I doubt it will be of much help.

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