The sounds of Midwestern America arrive on the streets of Dublin as the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Northwestern Wildcats prepare to face off in this year’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic in the Aviva Stadium.
n soccer culture, we would expect the journey of two top teams to foreign shores to be little more than an exhibition game, but today’s clash is anything but. These are two teams vying for a win in the opening week of the season in the Big 10 conference, one of the most prestigious divisions of College Football that boasts names like Notre Dame – home of the Fighting Irish – and Michigan University – Tom Brady’s old proving ground.
The fans have spent months longing for this day to arrive, the players are in a battle to show the NFL they are worth picking, and at home, four million people are expected to tune into the season’s curtain-raiser. So, as Ireland prepares for a wave of tailgate parties, cheerleaders and mascots, we run through who these midwest titans are and what to expect on game day.
‘Corn and football’
Talk to a local in Lincoln, Nebraska, and what they will tell you is that there are two things in their state – corn and football. College sport is deeply ingrained in Nebraska culture – the University runs a downtown basketball arena that fits over 15,000, as well as a baseball stadium and volleyball arena that holds 8,000 each. And these aren’t just there for show or to be filled by concerts – the ladies’ volleyball team sells out their arena twice a week, every week.
In total the Nebraska Cornhuskers Athletics scheme has over 830 people involved in sports programs, costing $118 million a year to run, and Nebraska is one of 39 US States where the best-paid job in the public sector is a head coach in a college sport .But despite the top-class indoor arenas that bring life to Lincoln, the sports program that packs the biggest punch is by far the football program.
The Cornhuskers have sold out every game they have played in their 85,000-capacity stadium 382 times in a row – a streak stretching back 60 years. And each game contains all the trimmings you’d expect from a big American event; fireworks, air force flyovers, celebrity national anthem singers, marching bands, DJs, cheerleaders and hot dog guns to keep the party atmosphere going for the ‘Big Red’ superfans.
The college earns a $60m net profit every season from the football team, and in a bid to end their quarter-century wait for a national championship, Nebraska’s money goes to employing 14 assistants to the head coach to train 132 players – 110 of which have made the Dublin-bound squad.
On top of that, the college has dieticians, medics and physiotherapists, all of whom have made the trip across the Atlantic, bringing seven tons of gear with them.
The Cats’ Cradle
Despite being smaller than Nebraska in terms of school size and sports programs, the Northwestern Wildcats knock it out of the park when it comes to training facilities. On the banks of Lake Michigan just north of Chicago stands the Cats’ $270m lakeshore training hub. Complete with 44-foot high glass walls, panoramic views of the Chicago skyline and architecture straight out of an Avengers movie, the centerpiece of the complex is the football team’s space-age Ryan Fieldhouse.
The players train on a full-size field covered by a roof that helps climate control in all seasons. On top of that, they can use the top-of-the-line gym, sauna, and sports medicine center to work with one of the 60 coaches and staff (all of whom have come to Ireland) to improve their game and maintain their planned diet and physiotherapy regimes. And all of this for players who are studying for a degree during their four years in college.
The lakeshore facility has become a modern landmark of the Lake Michigan coastline and is the envy of many professional teams across America. And the investment has paid off – before the 500,000 square-foot Walter Athletics Center was built, Northwestern’s facilities lagged far behind their rivals , but since its opening in 2018, the Wildcats have won their first two Division titles in their history.
‘That chip on your shoulder’
Last season, the Wildcats traveled to Nebraska to get destroyed. The Cornhuskers ran out 56-7 winners in October and Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald is looking to use his side’s position as underdogs to his advantage.
“We are the smallest school in the division. But it’s not about the size of the dog, it’s about the fight in the dog, right?” Fitzgerald, who has roots in Nurney, Co Kildare, said.
“When you’re a small team like us going up against multiple national champions like Nebraska, you get a chip on your shoulder. Like, it’s you against the world.”
“The last day we got crushed. It was not a very good day for us in Lincoln and they just played very well. We just need to get trained and prepared for the game medically and physically.” In a league that only has 10 teams, every game feels like a grudge match, and both of these teams have something to prove this season. Last year, they both finished bottom of the Big 10 West division with a 3-9 record and only one win each against division rivals. But the nature of college football squads means things change a lot between seasons, and Fitzpatrick has the know-how to get Northwestern back to winning ways – the Wildcats topped their divisions in 2018-’19 and 2020-’21, so they will hope to do the same this season.
And the fight for NFL attention is key in games like these too, especially as some teams will want to know how a player deals with foreign trips with the increasing occurrence of games being played in places like London or Munich during a season. Just one percent of college football players get a chance in the NFL, but these colleges have a decent hit rate, with Nebraska boasting 27 players currently on league rosters and Northwestern producing 30.
The Circus
As if the drama and stakes on the field weren’t enough, the show that surrounds college football games just adds to the great sense of the occasion. On top of the tons of gear and dozens of players and staff, Dublin is also set to welcome two marching bands and two cheerleading teams. Northwestern are bringing a band of 92 musicians, and by the time you add in directors and Nebraska’s band, we will see around 150 performers on the field showing off world-famous choreography in the build-up to the game.
The cheerleaders aren’t messing around, either. Expect to see more than just dancing around in the shapes of letters – these squads are bringing aerobatics and a sense of athleticism in their performances so mind-blowing it will remind you why cheer has now become an Olympic sport.
Oh, and have I mentioned the mascots? Northwestern brings along their positively huggable icon Willie the Wildcat, complete with mane, full-body fur, and purple jersey. Meanwhile, a big red cowboy hat, bootcut blue jeans and a wide white smile make up Nebraska’s mascot Herbie Husker, who will smile even wider when he sees the large plastic corn cobs fans will inevitably bring to the stands.
What to expect
Firstly, whether you care about American Football or not, it is worth heading to Temple Bar at around noon today to experience the Tailgate parties. In America, the culture around football games is that you’d pull up in your pick-up, open up the back and start a barbecue for yourself and any passers-by who wanted to join the party. In typical American style, these often include large tents unpacked from the back and huge speakers and TVs, but today’s festivities may be more muted in terms of the ‘truck tech’.
However, the buzz should be something unique as the two camps have found their spots to gather and get hyped for the game – Northwestern fans will gather around Fitzsimons Temple Bar and Nebraska fans will congregate by Buskers.
Also expect the pre-game and half-time entertainment to be extravagant. Get to the stadium early and stay to watch the half-time show because the choreography and showmanship on display will be nothing like anything we produce here and is an experience that can’t be missed for anyone who fancies a glimpse of true, traditional American Football culture – the type you can’t find in the NFL.