Forever Red

On any given workday, any little thing might send Steve Smith's thoughts spinning back to Saturday - last Saturday, Saturday two weeks ago, Saturday two years ago, back into the thrilling minutiae of game day - until reality reminds him: this is not how well-adjusted adults act. Steve Smith is not a well-adjusted adult. He's a Nebraska football fan, and this is his rollicking account of what it's like to be one of those legendary enthusiasts whose passion for the Cornhuskers bears a sometimes alarming, sometimes hilarious resemblance to obsessive-compulsive disorder.A journey into an obsessed Nebraska fan's soul, "Forever Red" immerses readers in the mad, mad world of Cornhusker football fandom - where wearing the scarlet-and-cream Huskers gear has its own peculiar rules; where displaced followers act as the program's ambassadors, finding Cornhusker subculture beyond the pale; and, where the team's performance can barely keep pace with its followers' expectations but sometimes exceeds their wildest dreams. Blending wit and insight, Smith's story of twenty-plus years following the team takes readers back to memorable game moments from 1980 to the new era under coach Bill Callahan, offering the uninitiated and the fellow fanatic alike a window on the world where fantasy and football meet, where dreams of glory and gritty gridiron realities forever join. Steve Smith is an award-winning journalist now working as online editor for the "Lincoln Journal Star".