“I’m a Nebraska native, and when I first heard rumblings of a conference switch, I thought, well, it’s only a number; in my youth, the Big 12 was only the Big Eight. And it’s all about money, anyway.
“But this realignment disrupts rivalries that are central to the pleasure sports give to fans—especially Nebraska fans, who are inoculated with an unusually pure strain of fandom. As far as high-profile sports go, the Cornhusker football team is literally the only game in town. At school on Mondays after a Saturday loss, everyone was still a bit depressed. And I’m talking about elementary school. …”