As a Nebraska fan living in Dallas, Jill Simpson is used to being badly outnumbered by Texas Longhorn fans. To get an idea of what it's like, think of the Alamo just before it was overrun.
Still, she wouldn't be surprised if almost a third of the expected 75,000 fans on hand in Arlington, Texas, for tonight's Big 12 Championship football game between Nebraska and Texas are dressed in Husker red.
“I don't think it's outrageous to think there will be upwards of 20,000 Nebraska fans,'' said Simpson, president of the North Texas Nebraskans booster organization. “I think we'll see a lot of red.''
If Friday was any indication, she may well be right. Friday was a prime travel day for Nebraskans hoping to see the Huskers win their first conference championship in a decade.
And even in an area as sprawling as the Dallas metroplex, those fans began making their presence known.
They streamed through Dallas' airports, standing out in their red parkas, caps and sweatshirts.
They rallied around the team's hotel. While the team itself was whisked in the back way to avoid distractions, fans packed a hotel ballroom for a Friday night rally and turned the lobby into a sea of red.
“It's absolutely fabulous,'' said NU alumni association director Diane Mendenhall as she surveyed the lobby. “People are excited.''
The pre-game festivities were set to go late into the night at a suburban sports bar. A Lincoln band planned to play an assortment of Husker-themed songs, including a new one dedicated to star defender Ndamukong Suh, sung to the tune of “Runaround Sue.''
Another alumni rally was scheduled this afternoon just outside the stadium.
Of course, Nebraska fans notoriously travel well, and that seems true even in these difficult economic times.
All 12,000 tickets that Nebraska's athletic department was allotted for the game at Dallas Cowboys' Stadium in Arlington were sold within a matter of minutes. Another 12,000 tickets went to the University of Texas.
The rest of the approximately 50,000 tickets consist of about 37,000 fixed seats, about 9,000 Dallas Cowboys suite seats and 5,000 standing-room-only spots. Most of those tickets were sold by the conference weeks before either team qualified for the game.
The question now is how many of those 50,000 tickets ended up in the hands of Husker fans. If past big games are any indication, they'll get their share.
“The one thing we do know is Nebraska fans are pretty creative,'' Mendenhall said. “They seem to find ways to get tickets.''
NU-Texas does seem a pretty hot ticket.
Chad Carr, president of Omaha-based ticket broker Ticket Express, said demand has approached levels not seen since the Huskers' national championship runs in the 1990s.
There certainly won't be anywhere close to the 60,000 Husker fans on hand in Kansas City three years ago, the last time Nebraska played in a Big 12 title game. But the limited tickets available for this game have been in high demand, Carr said.
“This week has been extremely crazy,'' he said.
As of Friday it was costing about $195 just to get a seat, with club seats between the 30 yard lines going for about $400, he said.
Carr said much of the buzz is built around seeing the Huskers play in the palatial new stadium built by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones that's known around Dallas as Jerry World.
And though Bo Pelini's 9-3 team goes in as a big underdog to the undefeated, third-ranked Longhorns, many fans are going in with hopes of seeing Suh and Co. spring the upset.
Playing in their home state, fans from Texas are sure to outnumber Nebraska's, Carr said. But he agreed it wouldn't be surprising to see a third of the stadium in red.
Along with fans coming down from the north, there's sure to be a sizable contingent of Lone Star State Husker fans on hand.
The Dallas-based North Texas Nebraskans booster club has 1,200 active members and regularly draws 1,000 fans for game-watching parties at area bars.
But Simpson said members of her group are probably a fraction of the Dallas-area Husker fan base. It's likely many times that number will come out tonight for the chance to see the Huskers live, right in their backyard.
Simpson said fans based in Texas helped the visitors outnumber the home team during an October Husker game against Baylor in Waco, Texas — the game that launched the Huskers on their stretch drive for the Big 12 North title.
Now she's hoping to see the Huskers finish it all off with a conference championship tonight.
“We're expecting to win,'' she said. “We think positive down here in Texas.''
Contact the writer:
444-1130, henry.cordes@owh.com
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