-Isms: Views on life in rural America

It’s time to go bowling ... and I’m not talking about rolling an eight-pound Columbia 300.

I haven’t been to a bowl game since 1981. That’s a 43-year drought where I’ve had to watch bowl games from afar or, gasp, suffer without a post-season game for the ‘Skers. So stop complaining because it has been eight years since our boys of fall last competed in late December. Forty-three is almost half a century. That’s ... old.

Saturday’s Husker win over the stinkin’ Wiscy Badgers secured a bowl bid. I’ve read countless complaints about students and fans storming the field after the 44-25 victory, questioning why the fan base is happy with a six-win season.

Um, news flash. The majority of us were happy with nine-win seasons back when Coach Bo fired up the sidelines and took his teams to bowl games.

Students haven’t had an opportunity to be part of a winning football team. Sure, they hear about the traditions, the 90s references about domination, but this is the best season they’ve personally experienced. So let them storm the field. Let them celebrate what, hopefully, is the turning point in this program. If Oklahoma fans can overtake the Sooner turf after becoming bowl eligible by knocking off Bama, then Husker fans, rejoice, jump the fence, flow onto the field and party like it’s 1995.

Let’s pack our bags and head to Nashville or Tempe or Charlotte or the Big Apple. At least these are the spots sports prognosticators think the Huskers are headed for post-season play.

Our opponent, well, that’s a toss up. Texas Tech, TCU, Geoergia Tech, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, North Carolina State, Ole Miss, LSU and Syracuse could be our opponent, depending on who you ask.

My bet is on Nashville, the last place the Huskers visited for a bowl game in 2016. And, I think we’ll play LSU. It’d be a win/win for Nashville, with fan bases that travel heavily converging in the heart of country music territory.

Once the fireworks exploded as the clock struck zero on Saturday, I asked Scott if I could start planning a road trip. He said he would consider a bowl game trip if the Huskers beat Iowa on Friday.

In other words, my bags are packed and I’m ready to go.

Go Big Red.