You may find this hard to believe, but I used to be a pretty good dancer.
I grew up in the 1970s polka halls of Valparaiso, Brainard, Dwight, Bee, Ulysses and other eastern Nebraska hamlets.
The Flying Dutchman was my favorite. Me and two pretty girls burning up the hardwood, concrete or square tiles.
Then came the early 1980s and my life in Cozad included country music.
George Strait, Ricky Skaggs, Willie Nelson, and others.
My favorite dance song was Heartbroke by Ricky Skaggs.
If you danced with me, you best be prepared to move fast.
Alas, that was many years, pounds and muscle flexibility ago.
Skaggs’ Heartbroke ran through my mind a lot when following certain sports teams.
Nebraska men’s basketball and the Kansas City Chiefs, in particular.
And Nebraska football on certain Thanksgiving weekends when the opponent was Oklahoma.
Both the Chiefs and Husker cage men had eased up on breaking my heart.
Nebraska won six of its last eight regular season games. But a first-round loss in the Big 10 Tournament to Minnesota eliminated NU’s chance to play in the National Invitation Tournament. NU finished the season with 16 wins and 16 loses.
Not so much heartbreak as it is disappointment.
The Chiefs have mended my heart by playing in three of the last four Super Bowl games.
KC really hasn’t broken my heart since January 20, 2019, when they lost the AFC Championship to the New England Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kansas City led by four points with less than a minute to play and had intercepted a Tom Brady pass. However, the Chiefs were flagged for being offsides and the ball when back to Brady. A Patriots victory followed.
Five years ago, the Chiefs were the darlings of the NFL. Now they are hated by many. Reminiscent of New England and the Brady days.
Everything goes in cycles.
The Chiefs will eventually fall from their perch and the Broncos and Raiders will return to glory.
The last time Nebraska won a regular conference championship was a tie for first when the Big Red played in the Big Seven Conference.
An outright title?
The Big Six crown in 1936.
Oh, there have been chances.
Well, never during NU’s time in the Big 10 or Big 12. The highest the team ever finished was fourth in each league once.
Danny Nee’s 1991 squad, which won 26 games, could only master nine victories in Big 8 play.
Joe Cipriano’s 1978 team won 22 games. However, like Nee, his Big Eight victories totaled nine.
Cip’s 1966 squad won 20 of 25 games and finished 12-2 in Big 8 play. They were the conference bridesmaid to Kansas and didn’t receive an invitation for any type of post season play.
My most heartbreaking Husker basketball loss?
March 5, 1975.
In the smoky Coliseum one block east of Memorial Stadium, Nebraska built a 19-point first half lead, only to allow the Jayhawks to come back and win in double overtime, 79-77.
I watched the game in Section R, which is the far northwest corner of the Old Barn.
The victory provided Kansas with the Big 8 title.
There was no dancing that night.
Had there been, I’d have been waltzing to Down in the Valley.