Game Day: Nebraska Football: The Greatest Games, Players, Coaches and Teams in the Glorious Tradition of Cornhusker Football [Hardcover]

Athlon Sports (Author), Trev Alberts (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006 | Series: Game Day

The names are oh, so familiar to fans of college football. Johnny Rodgers. Dave Rimington. Mike Rozier. Tommie Frazier. Eric Crouch. Grant Wistrom. Those names and countless others have given Nebraska football an unmatched tradition and legacy of greatness and made football Saturdays high holy days in the Cornhusker State.

In this book, we’ve attempted to distill that tradition of greatness into words and pictures. It’s a daunting task. Few programs inspire the loyalty and passion that Nebraska football exacts from its fans, and with good reason.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The first time I learned what it meant to be a Husker was running into Memorial Stadium as a redshirt freshman. It was daunting as 80,000 dressed in red stood in an almost reverential way and saluted their Huskers. I couldn’t feel the turf. My knees were weak. I understood this wasn’t our team. This wasn’t even Coach Osborne’s team. This was Nebraska’s team!" —Nebraska All-American Trev Alberts, from the foreword

From the Inside Flap

The numbers are impressive: five national championships (and counting). A staggering 43 conference championships. Three Heisman Trophy winners. Dozens of All-Americans. Countless statistical milestones.

But the numbers alone don’t do justice to the impact that Nebraska football has had and continues to have on its legion of fans. What takes place within the storied confines of Memorial Stadium is more than simply a game; it’s a way of life.

Two-time All-American and Academic All-American rush end Grant Wistrom puts it this way: "No matter where I go, where I end up, this place is always going to be home to me. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t be wearing any other colors but the red and white."

Game Day: Nebraska Football is a celebration of that bond that all Cornhuskers share and of the decades of gridiron excellence that have inspired it.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572438843
• ISBN-13: 978-1572438842
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,147,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM OF THE 80'S & 90'S, November 23, 2006

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Game Day: Nebraska Football: The Greatest Games, Players, Coaches and Teams in the Glorious Tradition of Cornhusker Football (Hardcover)

Things have been pretty tough for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in recent years. In 2004 they suffered their first losing season in over 40 years, breaking the nation's longest streak in that area. But it would be hard to argue with anyone who claimed that Nebraska was the most dominant team of the 80's and 90's, compiling an eye-popping record of 211 wins against just 36 losses, averaging less than one loss per year in those two decades. Of course the man at the helm for all but the last two seasons of the 90's was the great Tom Osborne. Nebraska Football is of course the subject of this latest offering from Triumph Books and Athlon Sports in their Game Day series, dedicated to the greatest program in college football.

On thing that really makes Nebraska unique is that they don't have the benefit of professional sports or even another large university in their state to compete with. In Nebraska, the Cornhuskers are it and it is one of the great atmospheres in all of sports. The book follows the same formula as the rest in the series, beginning with a look at the Traditions and pageantry of NU football, including their famous red sea of fans, garbed in crimson, and the blackshirt defense as it has become known. I for one never knew the story and origin behind the blackshirt defense until I read this book.

Nebraska's great players reads like who's who of college football greats: Tommie Frazier, Turner Gill, Eric Crouch, Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, Grant Wistrom, Will Shields, and many more. When it comes to coaches, two names stand out, and what a pair they are! Bob Devaney took over in 1962 after Nebraska had finished 3-6-1 the previous year. NU would not have another losing season for over 40 years! Devaney went 101-20-2 and winning 8 conference titles, and two national championships. He turned the team over to Tom Osborne who would do even better with a record of 255-49-3 and three national championships. From 1994-1997, Osborne's teams lost only two games.

Relive some of NU's greatest games including the 1971 "Game of the Century" showdown with rival Oklahoma, won by the Huskers 35 - 31, the 1995 Orange Bowl win over Miami, and the miraculous overtime win over Missouri in 1997 that preserved an unbeaten season. You'll thrill to many more great moments and rivalries in this thrilling look at Nebraska football.

As with all of Triumph's books it sparkles with fantastic black & white and color photography and is personalized by reflections from former players and coaches. Even if you're not a fan of NU, you can't help but respect them.

Reviewed by Tim Janson