It was 50 years ago.
One of the highlights of the 1974-75 basketball season was the opportunity to attend some Nebraska Cornhusker basketball games at the NU Coliseum.
When the Cornhuskers met the Kansas Jayhawks in early March, it was billed as the final game ever to be played at the Coliseum.
However, several months later the University announced construction delays on the new arena at State Fair Park would force NU to play in the Old Barn for another year.
Those of us who loved the unique atmosphere of the Coliseum didn’t complain.
The NU/KU game, played the night of Wednesday, March 5, 1975, was one of the most unbelievable athletic events I have ever witnessed. My three-dollar reserved seat was on a wooden plank in the northwest corner of the building, and it allowed me to watch Nebraska play near flawless basketball during the first 16 minutes of the game.
The Cornhuskers built a 41-22 lead with four minutes left in the first half, only to have Kansas begin chipping away at NU’s large margin. The Jayhawks pulled within 11 at halftime and then managed to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation.
In double-overtime, KU won, 79-77.
The entire Coliseum crowd stood collectively in utter disbelief as the Kansas players and cheerleaders charged onto the floor to celebrate their incredible come-from-behind victory. The game had been stopped several times because students were protesting officials’ calls by throwing ice onto the floor. The public address announcer was forced to warn the crowd that the officials would stop the game if ice and other debris continued to find its way to the court.
The game continued and so did the ice cascades.
I was one of the last people to leave the Coliseum that night. I ventured clear to the top row in the south balcony and stared down at the floor believing I would never witness another game in a building that housed so much NU history.
I also was trying to rationalize how Nebraska could blow such a huge lead. I had seen the exact thing happen on the Coliseum’s court 12 months earlier when Raymond Central blew an 18-point second half advantage to Howells in the semifinals of the 1974 Class “C” State Basketball Tournament.
The Cornhuskers’ loss to KU didn’t sting as much as the Raymond Central loss did, but only because I had been down that avenue before.
As I walked down the balcony’s ramp and prepared to exit the Coliseum, I crossed paths with NU Head Coach Joe Cipriano. “Cip” was making his way to press-row for his post-game radio show on KFOR. Cipriano was carrying a paper Coca-Cola cup and had his head down. His eyes met mine, and I smiled at him. Cipriano didn’t return the smile.
I still have my 15-cent program from that NU/KU contest, which prematurely proclaimed the game would be the last one played in the Coliseum.
I also have a recording of Kent Pavelka’s call of the contest as broadcast on KFAB, which Mom had recorded for me. Thanks, Mom.
While Mom was doing her good deed, so was Dad. He was patiently waiting at Grandpa and Grandma Horn’s house, located three blocks from the Coliseum, for me to return from the game.
When I walked in their house, the trio inquired in unison, “Where in Hell have you been?”
I explained that the game went into double overtime, and I had waited for the crowd to thin out before I left.
I didn’t tell them about my private moments staring down from the top row of the south balcony.
I figured three old people wouldn’t grasp anything that had to do with nostalgia.