Hubbell woman wins contest, gets 'GameDay' crew visit
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Limos kept pulling up outside Vincenzo’s restaurant in the Haymarket District during lunch hour Wednesday.
Out of one stepped … Lee Corso? Somewhat disappointingly, he was without a giant mascot head. Out of another limo came Chris Fowler. And there was still another bringing Kirk Herbstreit.
What the heck? Inquiring minds want to know. Turns out the trio from ESPN’s popular “College GameDay” show were here to dine on some Italian fare in the company of a 65-year-old woman from Hubbell.
Nelva Deeke, retired air-traffic controller and resident of the southern Nebraska border town of only about 50 people, had won a contest.
It wasn’t an easy thing to do. About 65,000 people entered the sweepstakes last fall. The randomly drawn winner would have the chance to go to the Rose Bowl or have the “GameDay” crew come to them.
The winner was Nelva.
A big Husker fan, she wanted the ESPN boys on her turf. At first, the plan was to have a barbecue in Hubbell. “I think we have more dogs than people.” But she was told it would be difficult to pull off because of the guys’ airplane schedules.
So an alternate plan was hatched. A limo showed up and took her — along with some family and friends — to Lincoln for lunch. (She’ll also get a $1,000 gift certificate from Home Depot, which sponsored the contest.)
As her meeting with the “GameDay” gang grew near, she gave thought to ribbing Herbstreit about a recent newspaper article she’d read. It had mentioned how some Husker fans were calling him a whiner for not agreeing with a fan poll that had the 1995 NU team rated as the greatest ever.
Nah, better not.
“They were completely different than what you see on television,” Nelva said. “Very friendly and open and cared about you. They took time to listen to you.”
The analysts talked about how they loved “GameDay’s” trips to Lincoln. And Corso told her about his coaching days at Indiana. His Hoosiers twice visited Lincoln, losing both games handily. But Husker fans, as is a common practice at Memorial Stadium, clapped and stood for his players as they trudged off the field. The former coach hadn’t forgotten.
“He just thought Nebraska fans are the greatest,” Nelva said.
About halfway through lunch, Husker coach Bo Pelini popped in, visiting with the ESPN guys and having pictures taken with some of Nelva’s family, making her nephew’s week.
The lunch started at noon and went for two hours. By 4 p.m., she was back in Hubbell, discussing the day’s adventure with the friends at 80 Acres, the town’s steakhouse/meeting place/bar.
Lunch with Corso and a limo in Hubbell … yes, that’ll get the conversation started.
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
Most Commented news