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That Guy's Wearing Red, Too!

Exploring the State of Nebraska and its unique football tradition

Building in Beatrice

It has long been my personal philosophy that every day offers the opportunity to learn. I knew there would be much learning involved when I took on this project of writing a book about Nebraska and its rich football heritage. However it was not until I went to school today that I began to realize the limits of my knowledge. There is much more to football than simply football.

Beatrice High School sits on the east side of the town, having been built to replace the former high school that my mother-in-law attended which is now the district’s middle school. Looking at the ample parking lot I could not help but compare my own high school days in Australia in the 1970s when less than 20 of the school’s 1,400 students owned a car. Even more striking is the comparison to Australian high school football where the emphasis was different such that the entire audience watching us play consisted of between 2 and 4 people (our coach, the other team’s coach and maybe 1 or 2 fathers who had driven their sons and friends to the game). Today in Australia high school football continues to be a low-key athletic event.

Despite those differences in my upbringing, today I was able to recognize the embodiment of the underlying principles that make Nebraska Football so special. I had the honor of being able to sit down with a man who shapes the lives of young men every day. He would never say that this was his job description, but this is what he has done for 15 years and continues to do on a daily basis. Bob’s passion for his role as Head Coach was evident as I watched him interact in a friendly manner with his fellow coaches and his players today. His team was heading to Omaha by bus tonight for their game, yet somehow he managed to find the time to show me around the school and introduce me to his coaching staff.

As Bob describes it, four years ago Beatrice had the oldest high school football stadium in the state. Fundraisers within the community raised some $1.5M towards the cost of a new stadium, and a number of local professionals and tradesmen offered their work for free in the course of building a new facility valued at $15M.

Bricks and mortar aside, today I was privileged to meet a man who is working to refine the lives of his students through the crucible of football. Long may he and his program prosper.

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