Is it possible that these connections could occur with most people, but they seem to happen more to us because we are always wearing our Nebraska gear in public and can’t resist talking to others who do the same?
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Degrees of Separation for Husker Fans
- Thread starter BigRedMax
- Start date
I happened to notice Dave Hoppen outside a Runza/gas station in Ogallala a couple years ago. I had to say hi and say I saw on Facebook he was friends with a buddy of mine Rich King. He said “which Rich King, the tall or short one?” I said “well Rich is fairly tall around 6’2” and he laughed. I totally forgot there was a 7 foot tall ex-Husker of the same name! Of about 15 minutes later the “short” Rich King called me to say Dave had just called him to say he met me.
If you wear Husker gear, drive a red truck with Husker stuff on it, have a fairly good memory, and have traveled a lot, you can put together a few stories. Number 14 is undoubtedlythe one that had the biggest impact on my life, but some of these are extremely long odds that I think they're interesting at least. Apologies for any grammar or spelling errors, I just dictated this because it would take too long to type on my phone.
1) Bumped into a high school classmate of mine in Thailand. He is also a Husker fan. Working on the same power plant project as I was.
2) I picked up my stepson at school in upstate New York. The teachers aide said, "You look like your father." I pointed out that he was my stepson so he doesn't look like me. She said no, called me by name, and identified herself as a friend of our family from Omaha.
3) About 8 years back I was at a gas station here in Chandler, Arizona, and saw a guy pull in with Nebraska plates. I yelled "Go Big Red." Turns out he married one of our neighbors from Omaha. He and I both played tennis for the same high school, he was a state champion, but I was a lowly number two doubles winner in Metro. It was only his second day in town.
4) Came across the Nebraska chain of sandwich shops in Madrid, Spain. Ended up discussing that with a customer of mine there.
5) My fraternity brother's wife is from Belize, in Central America. It turned out her high school boyfriend was living with my prom date from Omaha. Prom date is a Husker fan, at Notre Dame.
6) I used to manage a software product business for GE. One of the main developers of the product is from a small town in upstate New York called Rouses Point. His best friend's brother is married to my sister, from Omaha. Sister and brother-in-law are Husker fans.
7) I was at a super bowl party in Arizona about 17 years ago talked to a guy there. They were only about 10 of us there. His brother and I were classmates in high school. Also Husker fans.
8) Ran into my thesis advisor in England. He wasn't Husker fan but probably wished he were.
9) I worked in the same company as Bob Devaney's son in Connecticut.
10) I took a marketing training course at GE at Crotonville New York about 15 years ago. It turned out the course coordinator was a family friend of ours, he and I have attended high school at the same time. Had taken his sister on a date, our dad's work together, and they even bought a car from us.
11) In Westchester County, New York one of my co-workers and friends was Brian Bemm, son of one of our early All Americans.
12) Stopped in a convenience store in downtown Chandler about 7 years ago. The woman at the counter was about my age and commented on my Nebraska shirt. I asked where she had grown up, and she said Nebraska. I pressed, and she said Omaha, and I pressed further and she said she'd gone to school at St Thomas More elementary. Her eyes got big when I called her by her first and (maiden) last name, she had been a classmate of my sisters. I'm guessing she is a Husker fan.
13) Somehow I figured out that a close friend here in Arizona - - he is from Florida - - lives about four doors down from one of my neighbors in Omaha. That is how I learned my neighbor is here.
14) Five years ago a woman from Las Vegas contacted me on a dating app to see if I would want to go out, even though she lived 5 hours away. It seemed she was a physician from her description, so I contacted one of my three Friends in Las Vegas (actually, she's cousins with the woman from number 13 above and grew up only a block away from me), who, by coincidence is a nurse. Crissie and her husband and I had met up at a Husker bowl game in San Diego when we played USC in 2014. I just sent the picture and Crissie responded, "Oh, Tammy, she's done all my pap smears." Turns out Crissie knew her somewhat and had even worked at her practice, but her husband knew her better because he is an anesthesiologist and had done about 100 procedures with Tammy. Tammy and I started dating and eventually she came down here and met my friend Tom--the first person to whom I introduced her down here--, who, as it turns out, is good friends with Tammy's brother. Tammy and I were married in November.
I have maybe 5 or 10 more of these if I sit and think about it. I documented most of these Small World storiesa few years back, I probably have 50 such small world stories. Not all related to the huskers though.
My sister asked me to include one for her.
"
My story: not currently subscribed to pay for posting on buskermax
I went to an Ohioans for Nebraska party when we lived there.
There was a young man who was in the air force there. He was from Dorchester.
I said to him, "My ex boyfriend was engaged to a woman from Dorchester who died of an asthma attack. "
It was his aunt. "
There are fun additional details to a few of these, but time doesn't permit me to write them all.
1) Bumped into a high school classmate of mine in Thailand. He is also a Husker fan. Working on the same power plant project as I was.
2) I picked up my stepson at school in upstate New York. The teachers aide said, "You look like your father." I pointed out that he was my stepson so he doesn't look like me. She said no, called me by name, and identified herself as a friend of our family from Omaha.
3) About 8 years back I was at a gas station here in Chandler, Arizona, and saw a guy pull in with Nebraska plates. I yelled "Go Big Red." Turns out he married one of our neighbors from Omaha. He and I both played tennis for the same high school, he was a state champion, but I was a lowly number two doubles winner in Metro. It was only his second day in town.
4) Came across the Nebraska chain of sandwich shops in Madrid, Spain. Ended up discussing that with a customer of mine there.
5) My fraternity brother's wife is from Belize, in Central America. It turned out her high school boyfriend was living with my prom date from Omaha. Prom date is a Husker fan, at Notre Dame.
6) I used to manage a software product business for GE. One of the main developers of the product is from a small town in upstate New York called Rouses Point. His best friend's brother is married to my sister, from Omaha. Sister and brother-in-law are Husker fans.
7) I was at a super bowl party in Arizona about 17 years ago talked to a guy there. They were only about 10 of us there. His brother and I were classmates in high school. Also Husker fans.
8) Ran into my thesis advisor in England. He wasn't Husker fan but probably wished he were.
9) I worked in the same company as Bob Devaney's son in Connecticut.
10) I took a marketing training course at GE at Crotonville New York about 15 years ago. It turned out the course coordinator was a family friend of ours, he and I have attended high school at the same time. Had taken his sister on a date, our dad's work together, and they even bought a car from us.
11) In Westchester County, New York one of my co-workers and friends was Brian Bemm, son of one of our early All Americans.
12) Stopped in a convenience store in downtown Chandler about 7 years ago. The woman at the counter was about my age and commented on my Nebraska shirt. I asked where she had grown up, and she said Nebraska. I pressed, and she said Omaha, and I pressed further and she said she'd gone to school at St Thomas More elementary. Her eyes got big when I called her by her first and (maiden) last name, she had been a classmate of my sisters. I'm guessing she is a Husker fan.
13) Somehow I figured out that a close friend here in Arizona - - he is from Florida - - lives about four doors down from one of my neighbors in Omaha. That is how I learned my neighbor is here.
14) Five years ago a woman from Las Vegas contacted me on a dating app to see if I would want to go out, even though she lived 5 hours away. It seemed she was a physician from her description, so I contacted one of my three Friends in Las Vegas (actually, she's cousins with the woman from number 13 above and grew up only a block away from me), who, by coincidence is a nurse. Crissie and her husband and I had met up at a Husker bowl game in San Diego when we played USC in 2014. I just sent the picture and Crissie responded, "Oh, Tammy, she's done all my pap smears." Turns out Crissie knew her somewhat and had even worked at her practice, but her husband knew her better because he is an anesthesiologist and had done about 100 procedures with Tammy. Tammy and I started dating and eventually she came down here and met my friend Tom--the first person to whom I introduced her down here--, who, as it turns out, is good friends with Tammy's brother. Tammy and I were married in November.
I have maybe 5 or 10 more of these if I sit and think about it. I documented most of these Small World storiesa few years back, I probably have 50 such small world stories. Not all related to the huskers though.
My sister asked me to include one for her.
"
My story: not currently subscribed to pay for posting on buskermax
I went to an Ohioans for Nebraska party when we lived there.
There was a young man who was in the air force there. He was from Dorchester.
I said to him, "My ex boyfriend was engaged to a woman from Dorchester who died of an asthma attack. "
It was his aunt. "
There are fun additional details to a few of these, but time doesn't permit me to write them all.
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Yes. Lol
His dad Tim played football at Kearney State.
I think it is especially so for those of us who are scattered all over the country. Living in California I had a new neighbor for a couple of years and neither of us had walked over to introduce ourself. One day he came over and asked me about my Husker flag which always flew during the season. Turns out we grew up only twenty miles apart and had many common acquaintances back in Nebraska. We are still neighbors and the best of friends.
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I went to high school with Dave Hoppen. Go Benson Bunnies. lol
I travel a lot around the country, and if I see someone in another state wearing NU gear, I will never fail to walk up to them and chat. Or at least give them a GBR!
For those of you who watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm", it's like Larry David's "Prius wave." LOL
For those of you who watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm", it's like Larry David's "Prius wave." LOL
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I took my fiancé, now wife of 40 years (in November) to the DONU-Syracuse game in 1984.
The morning after the game, we were eating breakfast in the hotel and someone came up to me and said: "didn't you live in Schram Hall?"
Well yes and no. I used to visit my ex-wife when she was my fiancé and I was in Medical School in Omaha and she was still in School in Lincoln. Would stay in her room in Lincoln over the weekends and sneak out (not very effectively obviously) on Monday mornings and go back to Medical school in Omaha.
Needless to say, my then fiancé was less than excited about my being recognized .........
The morning after the game, we were eating breakfast in the hotel and someone came up to me and said: "didn't you live in Schram Hall?"
Well yes and no. I used to visit my ex-wife when she was my fiancé and I was in Medical School in Omaha and she was still in School in Lincoln. Would stay in her room in Lincoln over the weekends and sneak out (not very effectively obviously) on Monday mornings and go back to Medical school in Omaha.
Needless to say, my then fiancé was less than excited about my being recognized .........
