Where I Come From: How I Became an NIU Huskies Fan

Great article, thanks. I’m a Huskie alumni and and have followed the Huskies for years. I pretty much gave up int the 90’s-we were an embarrassment. Things started turning around about 2001, and with the advent of the net and satellite TV it was easier to follow NIU in Florida. Beating Alabama is what got me back in the fold. I’ve always worn NIU shirts here in Miami, as do my daughters. After the Alabama game, I was at the store when an older gentleman looked at my shirt. In a southern drawl, he said “you guys got a good team this year”, and shook his head and walked off. That was a classic moment.

I remember when I first became an NIU fan. I grew up in central Illinois, where it was the Illini…and nothing else. So when deciding on a college in the 1999-2000 school year, I had pretty much settled on NIU before fall had ended, because I wanted to go to a “directional” school in Illinois that had a statistics program. NIU was the only choice…so one day, watching college football, I noticed an NIU score on the bottom. They were going to play W. Michigan later that day, to which I thought, what the heck kind of opponent is W. Michigan? Well I would find out a year later, when I took a student job with Sports Information. I was told I’d be working football, and of course I was excited, but I was also warned we didn’t have a very good team. I said I didn’t mind, my high school won 3 games…in the 4 years I was there. In 2000 we finished 6-5, and throughout my entire collegiate career, it was pretty much all uphill. The success of the team definitely helped convert me into an NIU fan, and has fueled my interest in football to this day.

I started school at NIU in 2002, when the football team started getting real entertaining. During 2003, the team was hard not to follow as they ripped off several incredible wins. When they went to the Silicon Valley Football Classic in 2004, I followed them thinking it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I was wrong.

Since then, Ive traveled to several different cities to watch them play Big 10 teams, MAC teams, and bowl games. I no longer miss a home game (though the weeknights are tough). Basically, I just grew into the Huskies.

I graduated high school in ’96, went to community college for 2 years and then began my search for a 4 year university to finish out a bachelors degree. My best friend at the time was going to Northern, they were known for having a great music program, and all my classes would transfer so I decided to go there. Little did I know how large an effect NIU would have on my life.

I started classes in the Fall of ’98 and lived in Grant South on the 12th floor (Penthouse!). We were a tight knit group that always hung out with one another. This included going to all kinds of sporting events. This was the seed that was planted in me. From there I started following everything regarding the Huskies. Basketball, football, wrestling, you name it and we wanted to know about it. But football struck a different chord with me.

Led by “Papa Joe” the football team was more of a passion. Something I couldn’t get enough of. I made it to every home game except one that year…. homecoming. And boy do I regret missing that one. I had a couple friends stay back for the soggy weekend and they went to the game. I was at home watching it unfold on Sports Channel (now CSN). I felt such pride knowing what kind of team Papa Joe was building and that he was building it the right way. Things don’t take 1 day/week/season/year to change when they are going so wrong. He had a underdog, lunchpail, grandfather attitude that hooked me.

Since that point I met my wife the following year at University Plaza (UP!) and have tried to make as many games as I could every season. If we aren’t at a game with friends we are watching from home or listening on the radio. Each season we have openning game kick-off party called the H.H.N.I.U.F.S.K.B. (Hoy Hizzy Northern Illinois University Football Season Kickoff Bash…. whew!) for about 20 – 30+ of our friends. Also the guys try to plan a “mancation” each year to one of the out of conference games (Illinois this year). Check out page 7 from this Northern Now, www3.niu.edu/devrel/northernnow/Images1/winter07.pdf, for more info about our dedication. The Huskies are, and probably will forever be, my favorite team.

The first NIU football game that I attended was the 26-17 victory vs BGSU in 2002. I was there with a friend and his dad. I had a great time but really wasn’t a huge fan yet. At the time I was still undecided on what college I was going to, debating between NIU and Iowa.

When I decided on NIU I was in the midst of an NCAA video game binge and instantly began a dynasty with NIU. I had the rosters named and immediately became familiar with the team. I got on campus in August of 2003 and was counting down the days to the Maryland game. I was on the east side of the stadium, about 10 rows up on the north endzone’s 30 yard line. After that game I was hooked.

The four years I was there featured some of the most explosive runningback play ever. I remember plenty of friends who were attending Big Ten schools giving me calls saying how NIU and Michael Turner were unbelievable. Unfortunately we have yet to get back to that level but maybe this year is the year.

My first year in school was 2002 and I while I was not very familiar with the huskies, my dorm buddies (graduated from HS early, went to NIU for spring semester and made it into Stevenson as a second semester freshmen in fall of 2002) were very familiar with the team. We sat on the 50 in the first 1 or 2 rows and berated the visiting team (which was the style at the time) even getting the names of their mothers on occasion. (Side note: we once got a WMU player so pissed at us he threw Gatorade at us but ended up hitting the handicapped people instead and got talked to by the cops). My first game was versus Wake Forest when Azar hit the 50 yard fg to win it and I was basically hooked from that point forward. The BGSU game that year was awesome and I think was one of the first sellouts in NIU history. Urban Meyer crapped his pants that day (but 2003 payback I’m sure felt sweet to them). It was awesome to see HS rockin and they understood not to leave at halftime because they wouldn’t get a seat if they tried to come back in.

Where you ’goin? Answer: NO-WHERE!!!

Well it all started back in 2003 when my dads friend, and also a former NIU football player gave us tickets to a single game. Against Western Michigan I believe, but anyway I was hooked ever since after that huge win.

I was hooked on NIU football after the first game I attended in the mid 90s when nationally ranked K-State came to town. NIU got beat up pretty bad in that game with a few memorable moments, but the thing that sticks in my mind is the pure volume of purple in the stands. It took me awhile to comprehend these were actually fans that travelled all that distance to see their K-state team. I thought that kind of dedication was awesome and really got me interested in college sports. Naturally being an NIU student, that made me a big Huskie fan. So I guess I indirectly and hesitantly have K-state to partly thank for pulling me into being a Huskie fan.