Stay on your side... Nebraskarado
Many of you out there have had the experience of moving in with a girl/boyfriend only to have the relationship go sour, and eventually you breakup. The worst part of this episode is the awkward phase after the two of you have decided to call it quits, but neither of you has a place to move to right away, so you have to continue sharing the same living space until the end of the month when one of you can move into that sweet downtown loft* that is guaranteed to get your life back on the right track. Well the 2010-2011 school year will be that awkward "living together, but not really together-together" phase between the Remaining 10, and Nebraska/Colorado (Nebraskarado?).
*I am convinced that 50% of downtown lofts are inhabited by people that have just experienced a bad breakup. It always seems like the fix to those that have been tied down for the past few years.
With Nebraska scheduled to leave the Big XII after the 2010-2011 school year, and Colorado looking like they will push to leave at the same time, we have an entire year ahead of us that will be spent avoiding eye contact, leaving notes rather than speaking to each other, watching tv in separate rooms, and trading off nights sleeping on the couch while we wait for the 2011 baseball season to end, and we can finally get some closure.
I realize that we are talking about fanbases and institutions, rather than individuals, so it isn't a perfect comparison, but a similar tension will definitely exist. I am sure that on October 23rd all the pale Peliniacs will be all over Stillwater, dressed in XXL red sweatshirts, cheering for their team like they have been for 100 years... but in the back of all of our minds we know that for better or worse, things are not, and never will be, the same. We also know that in spite of the shared feelings of nostalgia and remorse, they are already looking forward to that downtown loft that they can't wait to move into, and they know that we are excited about putting a pool table in that now empty room where their ugly dining table used to be.
We all know the score and know where this is headed... I am just hoping we can act like adults, struggle through this awkward phase peacefully, and next summer share a farewell hug knowing that we honestly hope for the best for each other. Or we can spend a year calling you traitors, and you can tell us that you never felt respected and that is why you are leaving. I guess I'm good with either....traitors.