Not all of the Nebraska football fans headed to Dublin have to cross the ocean; some already live there — or live nearby.
From Wisner to Madrid, but missing the Sea of Red
The Huskers were rolling toward a national championship that year and tickets were playing hard to get — and costly if you could.
But Randy Kindschuh got lucky, scoring a pair at face value from his niece’s boyfriend.
And on Oct. 29, 1994, the high school teacher loaded his daughter, Hilary, into their Dodge Caravan for the 100-mile drive from Wisner to Memorial Stadium.
The trip was an early 12th birthday present for her, and nearly 30 years later, Hilary Misle doesn’t remember many details. That Nebraska beat Colorado 24-7, or that Tommie Frazier was injured, so Brook Berringer was starting.
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Still, the atmosphere that day was indelible.
“It wasn't just about the football,” she said. “I loved watching the marching band, the dancers and cheerleaders, and eating Runzas and Valentino’s pizza. It was cold, but nobody seemed to mind.”
They likely left the game a little early, to beat the traffic, and drove back to Wisner. But she was a fan now. She read a National Geographic story about game days in Lincoln. She asked for Tom Osborne’s autograph when she saw him in public.
“Nebraska football was a constant presence during my childhood,” she said.
But not as much as an adult. She went to a few games as a UNL student, but found other interests. She graduated, wrote for the Journal Star, became a librarian for Lincoln Public Schools, married Andy Misle in 2013 and honeymooned in France and Italy.
They were hooked on international travel, and three years later moved to Spain, where she took a job helping students with their English. They told themselves this was temporary. She’d only signed up for a year. But she renewed her contract the next year, and the next.
“By the end of the third year, we knew we were going to be staying in Spain for a while.”
She stopped following the team after she moved. She hasn’t tried watching games on TV, or online. Her friends’ Facebook comments have told her all she needs to know about recent seasons.
But on Thursday, she and Andy and their 1-year-old Ezra will board an Aer Lingus flight for a 2.5-hour nonstop from Madrid. They knew they wanted to go as soon as they heard about the game.
“It may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s much easier for us to get to Dublin than it is to get to Lincoln.”
They’ll meet her mother — who will watch their baby during the game — and her brother and his wife. Misle will scan the streets of Dublin for fellow Nebraskans. She hopes to hear a few Go Big Reds as she approaches the stadium.
And once inside, she’ll allow herself to be embraced by the emotion she first felt nearly 30 years ago.
“Being a part of the Sea of Red is one of the most Nebraska feelings I’ve ever had, and I look forward to really feeling like a Nebraskan again.”
The Dubliner who will wear red
The teenager expected to be playing FIFA soccer on his PlayStation that day in Dublin in 1999.
Or WWE.
But his friend showed up with something called Madden.
They were immediately taken by it, said 39-year-old Oisin Russell-Conway. They were also terrible at it, at first. Their early go-to defense formation was the punt return, because it left the ball returner deep to defend against long passes.
“Eventually, though, we figured things out and got to know how to play the game.”
And they became American football fans. Russell-Conway chose Baltimore, because he liked Ray Lewis. His friend became an Atlanta fan, because of Michael Vick.
Five years later, when they were no longer teenagers, they were in a pub watching a Ravens-Falcons game when they were approached by other young men.
The strangers asked: Any interest in playing for our team?
“The following Sunday, we found ourselves on a muddy playing field in a public park strapping on shoulder pads and squeezing our heads into some musty helmets,” Russell-Conway said. “From the first hit, I was hooked.”
He played for three Irish American Football League teams over the next 13 years. He was on the offensive and defensive lines at first, but as he got more experience — and in better shape — he graduated to specialty positions: halfback and middle linebacker. In 2016, four years before he retired, he was selected to the Team Ireland squad to play in Holland. He still has the jersey.
The 39-year-old civil servant doesn’t have a favorite college team, but he likes the idea of the Fighting Irish. Plus, he watched Notre Dame blow out Navy in Dublin in 2012, his first taste of in-person college football.
Russell-Conway knows little about Nebraska. The word makes him think of farmland and livestock, he said, but he couldn’t place it on a map.
He knows even less about the team — he hasn’t yet researched its players and coaches, recent results, offensive philosophy, though he plans to. He has, however, watched Decoldest Crawford’s air-conditioning commercial.
But on Saturday, he’ll make the hour-long drive from his home in County Meath to Dublin. He’ll wear red but look for Husker-branded gear — a hat, maybe a T-shirt — for sale outside the stadium.
Once inside, he’ll be ready. He joined the Huskers in Ireland Facebook page, and Nebraska fans headed to Dublin were happy to teach him the Go Big Red cheer and the Husker Power chant.
The unlikely American football fan is hoping for a close game — to keep it interesting for everybody — but predicts Nebraska will win by 10. But more than that, he’s hoping his 6-year-old son Fionn will be moved by what he sees in Aviva Stadium.
The heart and history of college football. The mascots, bands and cheer squads that contribute to the festival nature of games.
“I really want to see the wonder in his eyes as events unfold on game day, when I share that experience with him.”
In Scotland, split loyalties
Fiona Blair has a confession to make.
She’s an Alabama fan.
The 41-year-old finance administrator from Glasgow, Scotland, explains: About six years ago, a family friend had toured the U.S. and returned with a gift for Blair’s husband, David. An Alabama football cap.
So they watched a Crimson Tide game, and they were hooked, she said.
“One baseball cap was all it took.”
They watch the NFL, too — her brother’s been a Bengals fan since the ’80s — but it’s not the same. “College ball is way better,” she said. “The bands swing it for us.”
The 250-mile trip south to see the Nebraska-Northwestern made sense. They’d never been to a college football game. They’d never been to Dublin. And David is turning 40.
She knows a little about Nebraska. She learned in college it’s the birthplace of Kool-Aid. The word makes her think of wide-open spaces and hospitable, friendly people — so maybe Nebraska fans won’t be upset that she’ll cheer for Northwestern. She likes the color purple, she said.
But her husband will root for the Cornhuskers. “He’s cheering for Nebraska, as he likes the vibe the fans give off.”
He also likes their corncob hats, she said, and he’s hoping to find one for sale Saturday.
A home game for a Nebraska fan
Adam Romans worked at Buzzard Billy’s while earning his undergrad, and that could be good and bad for a Nebraska fan.
The York High grad got to experience game days in the Haymarket, and all the cash that came with it. But it also stopped him from seeing the Huskers play.
“I’ve only been to a handful of games in person and can’t even remember the last game I went to.”
Still, he considers himself part of the Husker Nation, and he follows the rules. He tries to watch games on TV, or at least listen to them on the radio, when possible. He always wears at least one piece of Husker wear while traveling.
And he traveled. Four years ago, he moved to Ireland to pursue his master’s degree at the University College Dublin.
Romans was thrilled last year when he heard his team was headed his way.
A home game, finally, that he could go to. “I was very excited to hear that Nebraska would be coming here and knew I would be going to the game no matter what.”
And he was disappointed when the game was postponed by the pandemic.
But he has tickets for Saturday’s game, and high expectations.
He can’t wait to tailgate with traveling Nebraskans, though he’s not sure what that will look like in Dublin.
“It will also be interesting to see how it will be done considering there isn’t really a parking lot for it and the Irish don’t know what tailgating is.”
He’s eager to see the reaction of Paddy, a friend he’s taking to the game. Romans told him only that wearing red is non-negotiable, that it’s going to be loud, and that Nebraska has the best traveling fan base.
And that might be what he’s looking forward to the most. His people, flying thousands of miles to join him in his new city.
“Being enveloped in the familiar Nebraska atmosphere will be as close to home as I’ve been for a while.”