Observational Essay

The place of hopes, dreams, and failures. A place that some may call home while others may call it their life. The place I am talking about is Memorial Stadium. It’s hard to imagine that a place like this, even with the people absent, can still have so much energy. Memorial Stadium has more tradition then nearly any place in this country. Not because of the location or structure itself, but because of the players, coaches, and fans that have come through this amazing place.
For my observation I decided that it would have more of an impact to observe this place without people interference and observe it for what the stadium is and what it represents. As you look at Memorial Stadium the first thing nearly anyone will notice is the giant “N”. It stands with pride and hope. It’s so large and massive. It’s bright red shining through for everyone entering town to see and observe. But this “N” stands for more than just Nebraska, it means so much more.
When I see the “N” on the side of the stadium I think of pride and tradition. It is the trademark for Nebraska football. It is a whole different feeling when you see this, almost as if you’re a part of the tradition here and gives you a feel of importance being from the state that displays the “N”. It stands tall and proud just like we as fans do when we say that we support the great Cornhuskers even when times are bad for the program.
Inside the stadium you can see the football numbers below the north press boxes of retired players and players who have been honored in some way. They are on display for everyone to see and not hidden in shame. They are in two different colors, red and black. They range all the way from seven to ninety-eight, but even at this there are not very many on display. All these players have done something special for this program and in some way made it better.
These numbers being displayed at Memorial Stadium send chills down my spine. Seeing the number seven of Eric Crouch not only represents the heisman trophy he possesses, but so much more. From the ninety-seven yard run to the National Championship game of 2001. These numbers represent the program proud and will always be there for everyone to see. There’s nothing to be ashamed of or hide here in this stadium.
As far as smells of the day it’s just fresh air and nothing else. I can imagine the smells of the stadium during a game, but none such today just the air swirling all around and maybe a few exhaust fumes from the passing cars.
I wish I were to engulf in the smell of a football atmosphere at the moment, but no such luck. I know I would smell the food of the game from the Valentino’s pizza to the hot dogs of Fairbury. You are able to enjoy the smell of the grass games although, this resulting in the turf that the play on, but just being around any stadium I can smell it in the air and even catch a taste of it.
Standing outside of the stadium I can hear the Saturday fans cheering and heckling. Even with them absent you can still hear them. The emotion surrounds the structure and to some people this is their church and place of worship. I can see the balloons streaming out of the building, not literally, but they are there. This is the pride and joy for many Nebraska fans.
True to this day, the college football team of Nebraska is why some people wake up on Saturday mornings. It is a big part of what goes on around this area and nearly everything revolves around the games on Saturdays. All of this can’t even begin to explain how important what goes on in Memorial Stadium really is. The stadium is the home of something special and people take great joy in this. On Saturdays all a lot of people want to do is just be “home.”
On the North side of the stadium I can see the second largest screen in any college stadium. The screen is absolutely massive; it has to be nearly thirty feet tall and ninety feet wide. It is a sight like nothing else, but even with its massive size it almost looks small compared to the size of the stadium. It is just a very small portion of what the stadium has to offer. The screen is black and simple, but just by looking at it you know when it is turned on it is something special.
This screen is perfect in my opinion and is not what some may call a waste of money. No it may not be necessary, but its part of the recently renewed tradition and will continue to be in the years to come. It will be part of something new and special as well as part of the technological change that everyone today is experiencing. My hope is that the technology in stadiums, especially Memorial, will never become too advanced and ruin what it is suppose to be all about.
The stadium is lit up with several large lights and many small. It almost looks like a trophy in a trophy case, standing tall and proud for what it represents. Lit up for everyone to see from miles away. Not hiding in shame or disgrace, but there for people to dream about and envision all day long.
The stadium is a trophy to many of Nebraska. Some take more pride in this trophy then some of their own. They want it to be on display and aren’t going to be ashamed of it. It’s an amazing thing to see at night, almost more interesting to view then during the day. You realize so much more about it without all the distractions.
Memorial Stadium is a thing of beauty, even to those that aren’t sports fans or Nebraska die-hard fans. People observe something special every day whether they realize it or not; whether it be from just driving by or being at a game, it’s something special.

"Video of Lincoln"

I had no idea that Lincoln has been that prosperous lately. It seems like Lincoln has been that same size to me for quite some time. They are growing more rapidly then I’d realized, but that’s good news for the city. The city needs the growth and prospers. Also, I wasn’t aware that the job opportunities in the city were so high.
I do agree that Lincoln is the town for families. As far as I’ve seen it is a very safe and clean city for people to live in. There is a very low crime rate and yes there is occasional crime, but that is inevitable. There are quite of few things to do here in Lincoln and to keep you entertained. It is one of the heartier cities in the state in my opinion.
Lincoln is expanding rapidly and it is showing. Besides the obvious of the increase in population, there is an increase in housing and businesses. There is more “life” (not in the literal sense) in Lincoln. I would like to see Lincoln continue this trend and flourish even more. On top of this the school system in Lincoln is one of the bests. There are a wide variety of schools to choose from to meet people’s needs whether it is education or location.
Obvious I think this video is a little biased. It’s all about the ups to Lincoln and doesn’t show any count-arguments, but that only makes sense when you make a video claiming how your city is on the rise.

Memorial Stadium

I chose Memorial Stadium as my place to view for this assignment. The stadium seems so calm without the thousands of people there for the big game. There is not a sound except for the few cars passing by. Since it is not a game day I’m not able to go in, but I can visualize what it would be like to be in the facility on a day such as this. There is no particular smell in the air just the feeling of greatness.
There are statues all over the sidewalks outside of previous greats to play at the University. They are legends for us to remember and to help us remember our tradition. Even it being empty inside and out it, I can feel the excitement surrounding the building. The feeling never leaves this area, not even in the winter, spring or summer.
I chose this place because it is relaxing to me. It is something I enjoy and is one of my passions. I can hear the crowd from the earlier days still cheering and shouting, but in my head. Even then it seems so real. The large “N” imprinted on every part of the stadium, standing proud for what it represents. When Memorial Stadium is empty it is more a visual phenomenon, but when the place is packed it’s all about what you hear.
Many amazing things happen at this facility and many people are proud to be a part of it. The structure is massive and is very intricate, even as a football stadium it has amazing things about it. The big screen in the stadium is something that and sports fan would marvel at. Years and years of greatness are packed into once structure like this. A place I would enjoy spending a lot more time at.

"Post II: Museum Response"

For my weekend visitation I chose the Tugboat Gallery. I’m not much of the artistic type myself, so this was definitely an experience for me. The people of the gallery were as I expected, the artsy looking people that devote their time to knowing each specific detail of every painting, but that is their job. The first exhibit that I viewed was a whole collection of paintings from two women, Peggy Gomez and Sandra Williams. It seemed as though they enjoyed developing pieces of work that involved extraterrestrial life, chickens, or submarines. I can’t say that I really have a style when it comes to art, but If I did I don’t believe that these paintings would make my list. They were almost a little too crazy for my taste.
The next exhibit was referred to as the Emergency Room. I never got the courage to ask why it was called this or how it got its name. The works in this exhibit were a little more to my liking. There were calmer, subtle pieces that weren’t so out there. My favorite painting was that of Martin Luther King Jr. by I believe Jason Miller, possibly Justin Miller (I wrote it down somewhere). I found it interesting that many of the paintings in the gallery were done by more local artists. I must say though my guide knew his art and was very knowledgeable in what he was doing.
All in all I had a great time on my visit. You don’t really know what else is out there until you have to do something like this. Art can be an amazing thing as I saw this weekend. There are a lot of stories behind each piece of work and it is shown. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Tugboat Gallery.

"Post I: Discourse Surrounding the Essay."

“As we progress into the twenty-first century, it will be natural to speculate on how an essay will change. Will essays be shaped in new, surprising ways by the digital revolution?”
-Robert Antwan in “The Essay’s Future.”

I found this quote to be very relevant to the way society is now. Most everything has some way of becoming digital and what would stop essays? It is hard to say whether this will be a good thing or not for people such as editors or publishers of the future. Will they get the credit that they deserve or will their writings appear on underground sites as stated in the reading. It seems as though it has taken over a large part of the industry already. An example that is relevant would be blogs. These sites are there for people to share their information and could revolutionize the way essays are designed and posted.
It is hard to say that there will be no books in the future. I do not think it will come to that for if that were to be the case, it would be very inconvenient for readers across the world. That also is an issue. Other countries around the world not as technologically advanced as we are here in the United States. I believe that this will keep down on essays being completely taken over by the digital world. People need to realize that there is nothing that they can do about the digital revolution and accept it in some form. There are plenty of benefits to come from this aloes that you will be able to enjoy.
I believe that the digital world does have its perks in the essay world, but I think that reading a book beats listening to an audio text any day. The digital revolution will never completely take over the industry of written essays, but will become an increasingly large factor in the future. Love it or hate it, its here to stay. This portion of the piece was very relevant to society today.