It’s nearly three hours before kickoff, and Mike Case is right where he is almost every Husker home game day — shoulder to shoulder with Big Red faithful, standing on the sidewalk outside Lincoln’s Cornhusker Hotel.
On the street, three red buses wait, surrounded by security and ready to carry the team to its Unity Walk into Memorial Stadium. Families and fans snap photos with the buses in the background. An alumni pep band stands at the ready.
Case and his longtime friend, Scott Allgood, hold their usual spot by the door to Bus One — reserved for the offense and Head Coach Matt Rhule.
The hotel’s conference center doors swing open. A security team stretches out loops of plastic chain, parting the crowd and creating a clear path to the buses. A few coaches and staff members step out, loading gear into the luggage holds.
“Here we go,” Case says.
The doors open again. The band strikes up “Hail Varsity,” and the first Husker players emerge — greeted by cheers, fist bumps and the first surge of game day energy in Nebraska.
Case stays locked in, offering encouragement to the players, snapping a photo when the moment allows.
“We want to be among the friendly faces they see as they depart for the game,” Case said. “Before they even hit the bus, we’re here letting them know that we’re with them.”
Once the team pulls away, Case and Allgood duck into the hotel’s restaurant for a quick bite before heading toward campus — timing their walk to trail behind the Cornhusker Marching Band on its way to the stadium.
It’s ritual rooted in passion, a slice into how deeply Case lives and breathes Husker pride as a superfan.
True blue
Case doesn’t just show up for football. If there’s a Husker game happening, he’ll be there — basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, whatever. If there’s a red “N” on a jersey, he’s in the stands cheering.
“Any chance to see the Huskers, I’m there,” he said. “It could be underwater basket weaving — if there’s a Nebraska team doing it, I’ll try and get a ticket.”
He brings others along, too. Family. Friends. People who’ve never been to a game. Scrapbooks made by his wife Laurie are packed with tickets and photos from across the sports calendar. Row 1, Seat 1 at Memorial Stadium may be his most prized perch, but he cherishes every seat that lets him witness Husker athletes compete.
“You don’t have to win a national championship to be worth supporting,” Case said. “These student-athletes work hard. They represent this state. That’s enough for me.”
We’ll all stick together
Case’s love for Nebraska athletics was born at home. He grew up in Lincoln, where Saturdays revolved around the Huskers and his father, Dr. Cecil C. Case. A College of Dentistry professor, Dr. Case was a fan with encyclopedic knowledge of rosters, stats and scores.
Case didn’t inherit that stat obsession — his sons Matthew and Joshua did — but he absorbed something else. A need for the energy.
“I like the energy more than anything,” he said. “When ‘Sirius’ plays, those players run out and the crowd explodes — it’s goosebumps every time. I’ve heard it for more than 50 years and I still get juiced.”
That feeling was only amplified when Case enrolled at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln after military service, using the GI Bill. A nontraditional student, he was warned early on that he may not be “university material” due to poor high school grades.
“They put me on academic probation and told me to take just two classes,” Case said. “I got A-pluses in both. Next semester? Straight As. I kept going back to show them. I told them: I’ll be here every semester until I graduate.”
He kept his word. Case went on to graduate from the university — a moment of pride he still carries. That degree launched a decades-long career in the printing industry, where he built a life doing work that mattered, and doing it his way.
“I proved I belonged,” he said.
No place like it
Today, Case works at Dear Old Nebraska U, managing printing infrastructure — thousands of devices across campus, from copiers to wide-format and label printers. The job keeps him moving, but for Case, it’s not just about machines. It’s about being connected to the place that shaped his future.
“I’m proud to say I work for the University of Nebraska,” he said. “When I told my dad I’d been hired here — that look in his eye, I’ll never forget it.”
It’s also an opportunity to give back.
“I get to be part of what keeps this place running,” he said. “That means something to me.”
