Last month, Nebraska Cornhuskers starting QB Taylor Martinez signed autographs at a Nebraska mall for about 90 minutes. Security had to come and bring order to the mass of people, and have them form a line to meet and greet Taylor Martinez.
People are insane.
People in Nebraska are insane about college football. This is not exactly breaking news. Cornhuskers fans are beyond obsessed; we’ve known that for awhile, but you don’t realize how obsessed until you have an exclusive with Taylor Martinez, QB1, four years running in Lincoln.
And T-Magic, the nickname of Taylor Martinez lives life in a fish bowl.
“I think Nebraska has the second most fans in the country to the Green Bay Packers and with how crazy the fans are and how crazy the media is, wherever you go, you’re going to get recognized,” Martinez said yesterday in Chicago.
“Especially being a four year starter, and it’s exciting, but you pretty much have to watch what you do. And just be careful. It’s been fun. But it’s also been tough at times, you can’t really do anything at all.”
I’m not sure if that’s true: Nebraska having the second most fans in America. It could very well be so. I also have no idea what metric Taylor Martinez is using to measure the number of fans. Just remember “fan” is short for “fanatic.”
T-Magic was probably the second most iconic player at Big Ten Media Days. Braxton Miller of Ohio State is the first. The reigning Big Ten MVP will probably get a good battle with Martinez for the award this year. Taylor Martinez can relate to what Johnny Manziel goes through.
“I’ve been going through that since my freshman year, just because of how big Nebraska is; we probably have the craziest fan base in the country, so I’ve been dealing with what he’s been dealing with,” he said.
And it’s not just the fans who are ridiculously focused on Nebraska football and Taylor Martinez. It’s the media too:
“You guys will write stuff when we’re doing good, and you guys will write stuff when we’re going bad, so it’s a roller coaster ride and it’s pretty much what the fans want to hear. That’s pretty much what it is.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan, he also writes on Chicago sports media for Chicago Now. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)
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