The Biggest Husker Fan

     Family, friends and football readers, I must begin this post with an apology. I have falsely claimed the title of the Biggest Husker Fan throughout my life. I've always convinced myself this was the case because I live and breathe Husker football, but I am not the Biggest Husker Fan. That title goes to the woman who taught me how to live and breath Husker football, my amazing mother, Kelli Fernando.

     For those unaware, my beautiful mother passed away on October 24th, 2018 from unexpected medical complications after a successful surgery. She always had and will continue to teach me in her passing. My mom loved to sing, socialize, and most of all, cheer for the Huskers. Mom would let absolutely nothing stand in her way of watching her Huskers, and watching games with her will be one of my most cherished memories in life. My Mother taught me everything about about football and the Huskers. My love and passion for the game stem from hers. I've been watching games with her since I was just 5 months old. Now, you wouldn't think someone so young would be able to pay attention, but Mom had lots of ways to keep me entertained. During the late 90s seasons, I was only a couple years old and would sometimes struggle to pay attention to everything in the game. So, Mom would have to get creative if she wanted to watch the game and keep her young Husker-in-training focused. We made nicknames for all of the star players on the team, and came up with creative actions to honor them with. For example, Matt Davison was dubbed "The Miracle Man", after his Miracle in Missouri catch during the 1997 season. So whenever "The Miracle Man" would catch the ball, Mom and I would put our hands above our head in praise and bow to Davison on TV. Another popular Husker at the time was Running Back Dan Alexander, a.k.a. "Tripod". Alexander got the name "Tripod" because whenever he ran the ball, he always seemed to need to put his hand on the ground to steady himself in order to get more yards. So, whenever "Tripod" carried the ball, Mom and I would run back and forth in front of the TV and put our hands on the ground like Alexander. The greatest nickname belongs to one of my all-time favorite players, Correll Buckhalter, aka "The Train". Buckhalter was a favorite among many Husker fans, because he refused to go down once hit with initial contact. Because of this trait, Mom and I would always run around the living room moving our arms like a Train and saying "Chugga-chugga, Chugga-chugga, CHOO CHOO"! When she took me to get Buckhalter's autograph, she stopped the line for a few minutes to tell him all about dubbing him "The Train" and how he helped spark my passion. She always told me I followed the games really well for someone so young, but I know it was because I simply just loved playing all of those games with her. One of her most famous nicknames came just a few years ago with Ryker Fyfe taking over at QB for the injured Tommy Armstrong. Mom called Fyfe "The Grand Island Gunslinger". No one was more creative or passionate about the players than my Mom.

     Now her fandom didn't stop with simply keeping me interested in the game, it grew as I grew. She instilled in me the passion that she had, growing mine to new heights. I wanted to be a Husker Football player my entire life because of what she taught me. She fully supported me, sending a special text when I tried out as a potential Walk-on my Freshman year. Mom had to be the bravest women on earth to let her 5'7, 100 & nothing pound Freshman in college try to be a Husker, but she supported me in everything I did. Now I realize that I simply just wanted to be a Husker, and I wanted to be like her. We had so many traditions on Gameday, following along with the Huskers every step of the way. Before the game would start, Mom would prep the stereo system with her famous Husker CD. We'd begin by blasting Sirus, by The Alan Parsons Project, throughout the living room to get hyped for the tunnel walk. We'd dance and march to the other songs on the CD until kickoff, and then we were locked in. To this day, and every day to follow, once the ball is snapped, the only thing I can think of is my Mom yelling "GET HIM GET HIM GET HIM GET HIM"!! She was so excited with every snap of the ball and would jump up and down screaming on every play (Nebraska actually did good things on every play back then). My favorite part would always be when Nebraska scored on a big run as she'd be jumping and screaming the whole time the ball carrier ran down the field. Then, following every score, we'd turn on the stereo again and blast Hail Varsity while the commercials ran. Mom would dance around the room and pull our dog Shadow into the celebrations as well. As the song ended, we'd yell "GO BIG RED" as we settled down to watch the game again. I had a special "lucky" plush football when I was young, and I never watched a game without it. Mom and I would play catch during commercials and I would try to juke her out as she tackled me to the couch. As I grew older, my excitement matched hers.

     One very important thing to point out, my Mom's passion for the Huskers did not just stop with encouraging me. Although her husband could never quite figure out the game and her youngest son preferred fossilized bones over a pigskin, Mom would make sure everyone was in red on Gameday. She always made sure everything was Husker and she always helped me to become even more of a Husker. One of my all-time favorite Christmas gifts will always be the Husker uniform set with the #7 (Eric Crouch) Jersey, pants and two Husker helmets. I was so proud to wear that outfit and I know she was proud to see her influence paying off. I've received something Husker for every single Christmas of my life, no lie. She made every effort to help my passion grow, and would constantly garb me in Husker clothing and find posters for my walls. My room at my parents house is completely covered with Husker posters, flags and memorabilia from wall to wall. Mom would also always help me get autographs from the players I adored so much. Little did I know she adored them even more. She was always so star-struck when meeting players with me, but that's just who she was. Why not be excited about this right? I have well over 300 (low guesstimate) autographs around my room from all the Husker greats. I remember when she took me to meet Scott Frost at a local HyVee, explaining to him how big of a Husker fan I was. Or when we joined my aunt and uncle in Omaha to bowl with Husker greats and talked with my all-time favorite Husker, Eric Crouch, all night long. My Mom did everything to make sure absolutely everything I owned had a big red N on it. One of the best stories is how she fought off her own sister in a bidding war at our family reunion silent auction in order to ensure that I got the autographed Tommie Frazier jersey, not my aunt. My mom always helped me decorate my room, and when I moved to the basement she helped make sure every inch was covered in red. Now I was slightly upset when she said I couldn't paint a big N on the wall, but with the pictures below, you can see it wasn't even necessary! From Husker clothes to a telephone that played the fight song, my Mom made sure I could be the biggest Husker fan I wanted to be.

     Every true Husker fan knows you're not supposed to have anything going on during game time on Saturdays in the fall, and my Mom was a true Husker fan. I always thought it was funny when someone would call the house phone while we were watching the game and she'd storm off to the phone (kind of sarcastically, kind of not) and say "don't people know not to call during a Husker game?!" One of those people that called once was one of my Mom's closest friends, Rebecca. In October of 2010, Rebecca got engaged and the first person she wanted to tell was my Mom. Unfortunately for Rebecca, she called during a Husker football game and my Mom said, "Yeah, uh huh, that's nice. I'll call you back later.", as she hung up and continued to watch the game. Now please remember that my mom is the most social and kindhearted woman I've ever known, she loves to talk and will talk all day and all night, as long as it's not during Husker football. Rebecca learned that the hard way, but still shared the news with my Mom after the game.

     Mom was always very superstitious about the games too, and mostly about her husband being a complete jinx for the Huskers. She's tried to teach him football, but he just doesn't understand. Dad often gets Idaho State and Ohio State confused. Anytime he would walk into the room, something bad would often happen to the Huskers and Mom would immediately send him outside to go do a project. In 2004, we brought my childhood friend Isaac Faldmo to his first ever Husker game (he's a BYU fan), and Mom immediately blamed him for Matt Herian's injury early in the second quarter of the game (jokingly of course). She even "banned" her own mother from attending away football games with a fake game pass that said "Do NOT Allow In" after Grandma attended two blowout losses at Wisconsin and in the BIG 10 Championship in 2011 and 2012 respectively. We would cross our fingers during field goals and pray for Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Missouri to lose every week. You can now add Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State to that list as well! Mom always mocked the Sooners' fight song as well whenever it played, singing "Boomer Sooner" in a fake squeaky voice. She was as fierce of a competitor as any of the guys on the field.

     I always loved going to games with my Mom, and luckily her sister (yes, the one she beat out for the autographed Frazier jersey) had season tickets. When Mom brought me to my first game, it was incredible. When I took her to her last, it was just as special. We've been to so many games over the years, but my favorite will be Homecoming against Rutgers on September 23rd, 2017. I was selected as one of our Homecoming Royalty Candidates at Nebraska and was able to bring my parents to a special luncheon before heading to the stadium for the game. Now Mom wasn't thrilled with the seats we were given (field level behind the Husker bench, only view of the game was on the big screen), but I know she was incredibly proud and happy to be there with me. She was so excited to see me on the big screen, but immediately moved us to the student section by my cousins afterward so she could actually watch the game. Each game with her was special, and it was always fun watching her be one of the loudest and craziest fans. My last game with Mom was the season opener against Colorado. I am so thankful I got to spend at least one last game with her, watching and talking about football all day long. I was bummed the Huskers lost, not really for the team, but mostly for my Mom. I know she loves nothing more than seeing the Huskers win, but she still had a fun time and I had the best time because I was with my Mom. Again, she taught me everything about football when I was starting out. How the game worked, what the rules were, it was very special. I don't know too many people who can bond so strongly over something like football with their Mom, but that's just one of the many reasons on why she was so special. It was difficult being at school, because while I was able to attend every game, I missed watching them with her. However, I always looked forward to our post-game phone calls to discuss our analysis of the team and the issues that needed to be fixed. She was always so excited to hear about how my recruiting tours went, and earlier this season was absolutely thrilled when I shared my play by play broadcasting experience with her. She would always give me constructive critiques on my radio shows, but I always knew she was proud of me. Just over a week ago, days before she passed, we texted as we watched Purdue beat Ohio State. I didn't even need to ask if she was watching, all I had to do was text her saying "I wish I had picked Purdue for the upset". I always knew she was watching football on Saturdays, even after the Huskers were done. We watched every game we could together and she would always be asking how all the other games of the day went for each team. Another great story is when my friends and I were in Lincoln having a watch party for one of the Husker games last season. Dedrick Young completely whiffed on a tackle and I immediately complained to friends on how slow he was. The next thing I know, I received a text from my Mom also complaining how slow he is. My friends were all amazed at the connection we had and the fact that she just knew exactly what to talk about. I think I will miss analyzing the games and plays with her the most. It was always so fun to listen to her suggest teams do a fake punt or field goal just for the hell of it.

     There are far too many stories to tell about my Mom and the Huskers, but the most important message of them all was her passion. It was so special to see someone get so excited for something they've seen 1,000 times before, but she always knew each game was special. She was such a super fan that she developed a nervous cough right when kickoff started and it often stayed until the final whistle unless the Huskers were dominating. I've never seen anyone so dedicated to anything in their life as my Mother was to her Huskers. She shared that passion with me and I cannot thank her enough for that. She always said she brainwashed me too much, but I know she wouldn't have it any other way. She loved the Huskers just as she loved everyone and everything else in life, with all of her heart. She was the most special person I've ever known, and I'm so thankful I was one of the two lucky enough to call her Mama. I know she's proud of my brother Brian and all of his Dinosaur antics, but I cannot describe how special it is to share this passion with you Mom. I will love you forever, and I will always remember when you first taught me to say GO BIG RED and hold up the #1 sign every Saturday. Thank you so much for teaching me about football, the Huskers and my passion for life. It's hard for me to give up the title of Biggest Husker Fan, but I will do anything for you Mom. You truly are the Biggest Husker Fan, because you taught me how to be the second biggest. I love you Mama, Go Big Red.

#CFBKnowItAll

Alex Fernando