For someone who is known to do the same thing every Saturday, Madelyn Elder’s bucket list is getting pretty short.

She has seen the Great Wall of China, rode a camel in Cairo and got baptized in Jerusalem. She’s visited 49 states, nine European countries, Russia and Australia.

To celebrate her 93rd birthday last February, she jumped out of an airplane in Arizona at 13,000 feet.

“That’s kind of how she lived she life,” said Madelyn’s nephew, Kim Elder. “She always liked to try new things.”

But her favorite trips are the ones she makes from Scottsbluff to Lincoln on Saturdays. She’s been coming to games every year since the early 40s – oftentimes catching every game for a season.

“If I did miss a game, then I don’t remember it,” Madelyn said.

Kim said he’s never seen his aunt criticize the Cornhuskers. No matter what happens on the field.

“You gotta stick with ‘em, you can’t just be with ’em when they’re good,” Madelyn said of the Huskers. “That’s not being a fan, that’s just being a follower.”

Madelyn first got hooked on the Huskers when she saw her brother, Marvin Thompson, play for the NU in the 1941 Rose Bowl. That game is still the “crowning point” of her Husker memories, she said. But she still drives, sometimes by herself, to every home game.

“I know we’re going to be better this year,” Madelyn said. “The attitude is so much better this year.”

As deeply as she loves the Husker football though, baseball brought out her love for sports. When she was growing up in Mitchell her father had a blind relative who lived with her family and Madelyn remembers spending hours sitting on his lap listening to Cardinal games on the radio. She roots for the Lakers too.

“I’ve been with sports all my life,” she said. “Don’t know any better I suppose.”

A lot's changed in the sports world since Madelyn started following her favorite teams ever so closely. Stadiums are bigger, the games can be watched from all over the country and athletes at all levels are compensated for their abilities much better. Madelyn remembers her father volunteering to drive Husker players to away games.

But not much has changed for Madelyn. She was getting ready to watch the Cardinals game on Tuesday night as she talked about her favorite Husker moments from her home in Scottsbluff.

“Most of my house is red,” she said. “I wear red, I think red… I like the ‘Ol Huskers, They’ve been good to me.”

Got a Husker Hero in your life? We want to hear about them! Email us at sam@ne.statepaper or send us a private message right here. No story is too small! We want those little moments that count in your life!

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(Above: Myles Frohling, one of the the many soldiers helped by Big Red Betty's kindness)

When Betty Walker passed away after fighting cancer in February, she left behind a sea of red memories.

To say that Walker, more commonly known as “Big Red Betty from Lincoln, Calif.,” was a Cornhusker fan doesn’t do her justice. Her fanhood stretched from her deathbed in California to Baghdad, Iraq.

Walker was the first person to donate money to Husker Dan’s Army, which helped the founders of the program catapult their simple idea of delivering Husker shirts to troops fighting abroad to the program it is today. Hundreds of troops have received Big Red care packages. And there are more Iraqi and Afghan children who have a Big Red shirts stuffed in their closets than you could possibly imagine thanks to the program.

“If it weren’t for her it would have never started,” said Gary McGirr, the president of Northeast Kansans for Nebraska and one of the founders of Husker Dan’s Army.

Walker’s first donation to the program was $100. And overall she only donated $300, said Dan McGlynn, also known as “Husker Dan.” But her donations were worth more than just the money.

Walker knew she didn’t have a time have a lot of time left, but she gave anyway. And that inspired others to follow suit, McGlynn said.

Today, Husker Dan’s Army is business partners with the athletic department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the RedZone in Omaha. In September, an event called Husker Salute will raise more money for the troops overseas and remember Big Red Betty. The event will be held during the Virginia Tech game at the Cornhusker Marriot in Lincoln.

In 2006, Walker was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was told she had six months to live. But she survived the abysmal 5-7 season in 2007 – and had enough energy to be critical when criticism was deserved – and made it all the way into the Bo Pelini era and even saw the Husker’s victory over Clemson in the Gator Bowl.


“You kind of dreaded calling her because you were afraid she wasn’t going to be there anymore,” said McGlynn, who called Walker every two weeks or so during the last year of her life. “A lot of people are fans, but she could really talk it. She could talk defense, about the coaches, about the recruits.”

Walker also took phone calls from Heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch and former coach Tom Osborne.

“I visited with Betty twice during the last few weeks of her life,” Osborne said in a statement. “I was impressed by her devotion to the Huskers. It’s fans like Betty who have enabled us to have the tremendous support we have enjoyed for so many year. We regret her passing, but honor her memory and thank her for her support.”

Betty was born Nov. 1, 1933 and grew up on a farm in Wolbach. She knew details from Husker games starting in the 1950s, but she had an even deeper passion for things more important than Nebraska football, which is why she gave some of her last dollars to Husker Dan’s Army.

“She understood what those kids (troops) were going through,” McGlynn said. “I think she’s a great American. And that’s larger than her love for the Huskers.”

Got a Husker Hero in your life? We want to hear about them! Email us at sam@ne.statepaper or send us a private message right here. No story is too small! We want those little moments that count in your life!

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Above: Sgt Bignell with his Ugandan students on graduation day.





Husker fans...get ready for a really cool edition of our 50 Husker Fans, 50 States segment.


For this one, we're flying across the Atlantic Ocean to the African nation of Uganda, where Sgt. Justin Bignellis helping local Ugandans fight terrorism inside their own nation.


This is a story of service, courage, freedom, the universality of sport and a tribute to enduring passion of Nebraska football and the worldwide Big Red Nation.


Enjoy.


And send this to every Husker fan you know. We hope you and they appreciate it as much as we did.




Q: What position do you hold in the military and where are you currently at in Uganda, if you can say? What role are you serving among the Ugandans? Go into as much detail as you'd like. How difficult/rewarding has that experience been?

A: My name is Sgt. Justin Bignell and I am a 13m, which is a Multiple Launch Rocket crewmember stationed in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. I am originally from Fremont, Nebraska and have been in the Army for 3 ½ years. I am deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Horn of Africa with Charlie Battery 2nd Battalion 18th Field Artillery Regiment.


My unit is working under the newly formed AFRICOM and the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. We are based out of Camp Lemonier in the small country Djibouti. From Djibouti we are sent out to various locations throughout the Horn of Africa. I was blessed to be given the mission of helping run the Ugandan Counter Terrorism Course for the Ugandan’s People Defense Force.


The course is a 15 week course in team building, physical fitness, marksmanship, and basic infantry skills. Basically we work with Ugandan soldiers to teach them the skills that they will use on peacekeeping missions in Sudan, Somalia, and at home while battling the Lord’s Resistance Army.


The Lord’s Resistance Army is a notorious rebel group based in southern Sudan that has battled to over throw the Ugandan Government for almost 20 years. They employ brutal guerrilla warfare tactics as well as the kidnapping of Ugandan children and forcing them to be child soldiers. Last month over 50 children were abducted from one of my student’s home village.


I have really enjoyed working with these men. Doing so has made me realize how wonderfully blessed I am. It is especially the little things that we take for granted. These soldiers protect their families and their nation for less than $100 a month. That isn't even enough money to buy food for their families. Most men have to spend long hours at work and then go home and farm for most the night just to feed their family. After working with these men for several months we've formed very close bonds and relationships that I will never forget.




You mentioned that you've made these men in Nebraska football fans? How so? Did any of them know what American football was? Do they like the Husker logo? Do they wonder what a "Cornhusker" might be? Is there one particular person in your camp that's taken a greater interest than the others in Nebraska football? Since rugby is a sport of some popularity in Uganda, do they compare it to that at all?


The only knowledge that my students had of American football is what some might have seen on TV somewhere or by just what other people have told them about it. American style football is growing in popularity in the capital city of Kampala. A small league of teams has actually even been started this year in Kampala I was told.


My students loved hearing me talk about Nebraska football. I would come into work Monday and they would ask me first thing in the morning if my football team had won. Although they might not understand “Nebraska football” itself as in the coaches, players, and recruits that I would brag about, they did understand my passion for the Huskers and my love for the state of Nebraska. I think that is where we really connected on the issue.

The first time that they saw the Husker logo was on graduation day. After the ceremony I had gotten all of my guys together for a quick photo with my Husker flag. When I told them that it was a Nebraska Cornhusker flag, they argued on who would be the lucky ones to hold the flag in the picture. That lasted a few minutes before they finally decided on who it would be.

At the end of the course I even brought out a football so I could teach them how to play. It was going to be flag football of course, but they were scared at first because they thought it was going to be full contact. One soldier reminded me of the fact that I hadn’t brought out any pads or helmets for them. After they realized that it was going to be flag football they were so excited and eager to learn. Rugby is a pretty popular sport here as well. I had to teach them how to throw the football; everyone threw it just like a rugby ball.




How did you become a Nebraska football fan? Has it been a lifelong love, and, if so, through whom did it start? Did family and friends shape your fanhood, or was it something you developed on your own?

Nebraska football has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of me and my father watching the Huskers play. My wife is originally from Kansas and we have done a successful job of converting her to Nebraska football, but just can’t get her away from Jayhawk basketball!


How hard is it to keep up with Nebraska football in Uganda? Presumably, you have to do it by Internet, right? Do you listen to the games on the computer? Do people send you newspaper clippings and tapes? Since Uganda is nine hours ahead of central standard time, is it easier to follow NU for day games or night games? Where and how did you learn of Nebraska's win over Colorado?


It’s actually pretty easy to keep up on Nebraska football while we are deployed. I am able to listen to the games on Huskers.com. Between listening to Adrian Fiala and getting the play by play from my father on instant messenger, I get a pretty clear picture of what is going down on the field.


For those who are on main bases throughout the world, the Armed Forces Network will from time to time have a Nebraska game on TV. With the Internet it is also easy to keep up with all the Husker news, team reports, and recruit information. The hardest part is the late nights staying up listening to the games. I like the day games better because I don’t have to get up at 3 or 4 a.m. and then work that morning!


The Nebraska-Colorado game was the first one that I missed. And boy do I regret that. We had graduation rehearsals early the next morning.

First thing I did when I woke up was jump online to check out the score.

The second thing I did was check Youtube for the Alex Henery kick.

It was just a great way to finish this season. The emotion of the players was amazing. They have really worked their tails off this year and I am proud of them.




How is sport treated in Uganda? Presumably, soccer is popular, but are the. Given the violent, 30-year history of Uganda - Idi Amin, Sudanese Civil War to the north - is it hard for Ugandans to make time for sports, or is it a part of everyday life?



The past of this country is always in the minds of its people, but they don’t let it bother them. They try to live their lives to the fullest. Being in the south central region of Uganda, we are kind of sheltered to what is going on around the rest of the country, especially along the northern border with Sudan and now recently the western border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Among the students, the favorite sports to play in their off time were soccer and volleyball. The children in the surrounding villages do nothing but play soccer when they are out of school. We even gave out a few soccer balls to some neighborhood children when the patches on their soccer balls would come off.





Share a favorite Husker memory, if you can.

Having lived through the glory years of the mid-1990s and through our most recent down years, I have a lot of great Husker memories, but my two favorite memories come from the most recent years.

I was deployed to Iraq during 2005-2006 and was watching Nebraska and Michigan in the Alamo Bowl in the chow hall in Balad. Of course you all remember the ending of that game right? Well I didn’t see it! A mortar hit right outside the chow hall and knocked out the power right before the end of the game.

But my favorite Husker memory would come from the next season when I returned home from Iraq and was able to take my father down to Dallas for the Nebraska-Auburn Cotton Bowl. Although we didn’t win the game, it was the first game that we went to see together and it will be the one that I will never forget.


Pretty awesome, right? If you know a fan - from anywhere in the world - you'd like to nominate for 50 Husker Fans, 50 States - or Husker Heroes - drop us a line at sam@ne.statepaper.com


And make sure you spread this story around! We think it's a great one!


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As Nebraska football players made their way through the therapy gym at Madonna Rehabilitation Center, a little girl in her own red dress waddled toward them. She was Alexis, a toddler who had been in an accident, and now walked with the help of a therapist and tiny braces on her legs.


With one hand clasped to her therapist and the other reaching out for the four big guys in red, Alexis finally got the attention of Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz, who turned from another patient to see the girl at his feet, gazing up.



“Hi!” Ganz said. “Look at you!”



Then senior receiver Nate Swift turned and saw her. Within a minute, Alexis was out of the therapist’s hands and on Swift’s lap, taking a picture with Ganz, quarterback Beau Davis, offensive lineman Justin Baumgartner and another Husker who wandered over from another group.



Two days before the Colorado game and one day before Thanksgiving, NU players visited several area hospitals, including Madonna Rehabilitation Center, Wednesday morning. The Huskers took buses to the locations, split into groups of four or five and walked around talking to patients, posing for pictures and, most of all, signing autographs for Husker fans, whether they were patients, staff, or folks just visiting.



“You just want to come here and meet fans and cheer people up,” said Swift, who, as a senior, is doing this for one of the last times. “Try and help them in any way. If us coming here helps in any way, it’s a good thing. It brings guys back down to earth. It helps us realize the position we’re in and what we can do for people.”



As the Huskers traveled from room to room, they spent time with any patient who asked for it. Freshman center Mike Caputo put frosting on a gingerbread house. Sophomore running back Roy Helu, Jr held a patient’s water bottle while he signed an autograph. Sophomore defensive back Prince Amukamara signed the hat of a wheelchair-bound patient without waking him. Junior Wes Cammack pulled out autograph cards, handed them around, and greeted everyone with “Hi, I’m Wes.”



Helu was particularly engaged in the room, spending ten minutes in a semi-circle of patients talking shop and video game football. Which game system? Which game?



“You got those dynasties going with Nebraska, right?” Helu asked one patient.



Another boy wore Marlon Lucky’s No. 5 jersey and asked each player who signed his helmet when Lucky was coming around. Unfortunately, Lucky was at another location.



“Don’t worry,” Helu said. “I’ll tell Marlon about you.” Then they took a picture together.



Visits like these were also important to Swift, who suffered from Guillian-Barre syndrome when he was 11 years old and spent weeks in the hospital with paralysis. He never received visits while he was in the hospital in Hutchinson, Minn., or during physical therapy in Minnesota.



“Seeing a couple a kids here who have something similar to what I had, it definitely helps,” Swift said. “I’ve been here before – not the extent that any of these kids, obviously, but it’s a little bit easier for me to understand what they’re going through.”


***

Know a Husker Hero or want to be one yourself? Drop us a line at sam@ne.statepaper.com.

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Here's photos from the Nebraska's football team's trip to Madonna Rehabilitation Center the day before Thanksgiving.


Check out our accompanying Husker Heroes story!

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(Above: One of the many "Run for Reagan" joggers who ran from Lincoln to Manhattan before the Kansas State game.)




Good morning! We're starting a new series here on Husker Locker called Our Husker Heroes, where everyday people of this Big Red Nation do cool things to help or serve others. We figure, in this day and age of college sports, there are a lot more silver linings than there are clouds, and we aim to point them out to you.



We want you to know, right off the bat, that we want to hear from you! If you know of a Husker Hero, or think you're one yourself, send me a message on here or send me an email sam@ne.statepaper.com. Yeah, we really mean it. Drop us a line!



Our first story came to us in the most roundabout of ways: Fraternity brothers, going door to door raising funds for an Alzheimer's Run to Manhattan. Yes, the Little Apple of Kansas. The guys were raising money to run, in rather brisk weather, in the middle of the night, 167 miles to help with Alzheimer's research.


The University of Nebraska-Lincoln chapter of Tau Kappa Episilon is like any number of fraternities that do charitable work. The difference for TKE: They're not currently in a house. So their charitable work, which included delivering "apples for Alzheimer's," had to be done outside the confines of a property.




So, TKE brother Jeremy Mohr, among others, came up with the "Run For Reagan" idea. Since former President Ronald Reagan was a member of that fraternity way back when, and he was a long sufferer of Alzheimer's, the UNL TKE group decided to dedicate the run to Kansas State to him. In Manhattan, they met up with a Kansas State chapter of the same fraternity, enjoyed NU's 56-28 win over the Wildcats, and played a flag football game of their own the next day.



In between was the run, split in half, near the Nebraska-Kansas border. The run began around 6 p.m. Friday night in Nebraska. One group handed off to another, who finished the run to KSU.




"We ended up having about 20 guys run," said Mohr, a native of Ponca, Neb. "And it went a lot quicker than we expected. We were done around 1 a.m. and we thought it would take until 6 or so."




Along the way, Mohr said, the runners encountered some adventures. A couple times, the police pulled over the lead car trolling ahead of the runner to find out if everything was OK. The toughest stretch involved running past a pig farm, and we all know how that can smell in a car going 60 miles an hour.

Imagine jogging past it for five-10 minutes.



"Guys got back in the car and couldn't stop talking about bad it was," Mohr joked.




In all, the run raised a little over $2,000 and the participants got to catch a big Husker win in Manhattan.


They're also the first installment of our Husker Heroes.



Now, let's hear from you! And we absolutely want you to join our site! It's free!

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