More than 80,000 fans turned out for the Nebraska Huskers spring football game on Saturday, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the team's biggest fans, was leading the charge — literally. Thomas was a "guest coach" and got to run out on the field at the head of the team (photo courtesy of the University of Nebraska) and stayed on the sidelines during the scrimmage.
Thomas, you may recall, is not a Nebraska grad himself, but his wife Ginni is, and he has become an avid supporter of all Huskers athletes — once telling team members he bleeds Husker red. Last fall, in connection with the publication of his memoir, ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg accompanied him to a game, and it was clear from her report that Thomas had something close to a mentoring relationship with some of the team members. He spoke with team members on Saturday as well, we are told.
I have been an "adopted" Husker since 1970, when my boss and one of my colleagues invited me to an UNL-Oklahoma game party in Atlanta with a gang of Huskers. I learned and played the UNL fight song, "There is no place like Nebraska" on the piano, and was instantly "adopted". 26 years later, my oldest daughter matriculated at UNL as a freshman, and graduated. During her stay, my wife became a rabid Husker fan, and now wears red every fall weekend.
Bottom line, this Ivy League lawyer agrees with Thomas that there is no place like Nebraska. Go Huskers.
Posted by: vnjagvet | April 22, 2008 at 06:17 PM