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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

NIU edges Bowling Green 16-13

By STEVE NITZ | October 24, 2008

Coming into Saturday's contest with Bowling Green, the NIU football team was facing a must-win situation. Beat the Falcons, and NIU was set for a first place showdown with No. 20 Ball State in Muncie, IN on Nov. 5. A win against the Cardinals would put...

Huskies look to bounce back from loss to Northwestern

By ANDREA BRADLEY | October 23, 2008

Head coach Jerry Kill and his football team won't be the only ones looking for a win over Bowling Green on Saturday. The NIU men's soccer team will square off against the Falcons at noon as NIU head coach Steve Simmons and the Huskies look for another...

Thunderstix are back again

By ANDREA BRADLEY | October 23, 2008

"You were loud when we needed you to be - now two weeks in a row," said NIU head football coach Jerry Kill in a mass campus e-mail. "Because of your continued support, we are building something special together." Kill believes the team and its fans have...

Football ready to prove critics wrong

By STEVE NITZ | October 23, 2008

At the beginning of the season, NIU was picked to finish sixth in the MAC West at the league's media day. That being said, most people are surprised to see the Huskies in the thick of the MAC West race seven games into the season. The Huskies (4-3, 3-1...

Bowling Green football defensive breakdown

By BEN GROSS | October 22, 2008

At 3 p.m., Saturday, NIU will take on Bowling Green State University in the final of three straight home games. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Chicago (ESPN GamePlan/ESPN360.com) and can be heard on WSCR AM 670 (Chicago), WLBK AM 1360...

Bowling Green football offensive breakdown

By STEVE NITZ | October 22, 2008

At 3 p.m., Saturday, NIU will take on Bowling Green State University in the final of three straight home games. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Chicago (ESPN GamePlan/ESPN360.com) and can be heard on WSCR AM 670 (Chicago), WLBK AM 1360...

A look back at the 1983 Huskie bowl bound football squad

By STEVE NITZ | October 21, 2008

The year was 1983; most current NIU students weren't even born yet. It was also the year when the NIU football team earned a trip to its first major bowl game; the 1983 California Bowl in Fresno in which NIU won 20-13 over Cal State Fullerton. This Saturday...

Huskie’s Football Quiz

By NORTHERN STAR STAFF | October 21, 2008

1. NIU's record in their last five games? 2. Huskie defense - legit or quit? 3. Which running back is going to get the most carries this week? 4. Biggest surprise so far? 5. Final score? Steve 1. 4-1 2. Legit 3. Me'co Brown 4. Me'co Brown 5. NIU 27, Bowling...

Harnish excels in unexpected situation

By BEN GROSS | October 21, 2008

He wasn't supposed to be in this situation. Coming into 2008, redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish expected to compete for NIU's back-up quarterback position. He anticipated being named second to senior quarterback Dan Nicholson. Yet, on Aug. 29 Harnish...

Men’s rugby performance could take them to playoffs

By JERRY BURNES | October 20, 2008

Perfection in sports is hard to achieve, especially in the unpredictable world of college football. On Saturday, the NIU men's rugby team took its season to the brink of perfection with a 57-0 win over the University of Chicago, giving the team a clean...

Huskies football chances look promising

By STEVE NITZ | October 20, 2008

Coming into the 2008 season, I wasn't really sure what to think of NIU's chances this year. The team went 2-10 last season, one of the worst seasons in recent history. Joe Novak retired after 12 seasons as head coach, and Jerry Kill arrived from Southern...

Tuesday Commentary

By BEN GROSS | October 20, 2008

Many sports fans argue that college athletics are better than professional sports because college athletics are more pure; they don’t have the mess of player trade and free agency and the athletes play for the love of the game. To me, the biggest difference is the fans.

For example, when you go to a Bulls game you will usually find your seat, sit down and watch.

You may get on your feet to cheer at crucial moments, but you’re mostly there to watch the game.

Compare that to college basketball.

During the Michigan State game this weekend. Fans were not only on T.V. before and after commercial breaks, but cameras found their way into the crowd even during the action on the court.

Why then, do college sports place so much more emphasis on the fan? It has to be the amount of fan involvement. That’s what college athletics have over professional sports.

When you go to a college game, you rarely sit - except for halftime. The whole game, fans are on their feet yelling, chanting, dangling keys, jumping and more.

And then there are the winning celebrations after the games. That is the true difference between college and professional sports.

When a professional team wins a game, you see the guys on the court high five each other - maybe hug - and then head to the locker room.

When college teams win, fans rush the field or court. Both players and fans are united in a exuberant celebration for the team and school. But wait, we don’t do that at NIU.

I’ve seen a few fans try to get the festival started after a win. When NIU clinched the MAC West title one fan jumped down from the stands and ran on the field - but was quickly tackled by the cops.

At men’s basketball games, three die-hard fans have made a habit of running onto the court to celebrate with the team when it wins, but recently security has been there to stop the fans’ festivities.

The football team had a magical season in 1983. That year, a less than full Huskie Stadium turned into a mad house of college students rushing the field.

I’m not saying fan involvement and rushing the field led to success that year, but it didn’t hurt and it certainly got the student body excited about going to home games.

For some reason we don’t celebrate victories like other major programs, or even like we did in our past. I don’t know why we don’t do it anymore. I just wanted to point it out. It’s up to you to decide why.

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