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 is at once irresistible and hilarious. A journey into an obsessed Nebraska fan’s soul, Forever Red immerses readers in the mad, mad world of Husker football fandom—where wearing the scarlet-and-cream Husker gear has its own peculiar rules; where displaced followers act as the program’s ambassadors, finding Husker subculture beyond the pale; and where the team’s performance can barely keep pace with its followers’ expectations but sometimes exceeds their wildest dreams. Revised, updated, and expanded from the 2005 edition, Smith’s story of thirty-plus years following the team takes readers back to memorable game moments from 1980 up through the roller-coaster ride of recent years. Blending wit and insight, Smith offers to 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. This edition features a new afterword bringing it up to the dawn of the Scott Frost era.  

“Forever Red is a perfect blend of humor and insightful commentary.”—Lincoln Journal Star, "I'm not sure better prose exists on what it's like to be a Nebraska football fan."—Brandon Vogel, Hail Varsity, "Football fans everywhere will enjoy this book. It is a very good read."—G. Louis Heath, AETHLON, "A wonderful ride of emotion and history."—Jorge Iber, Sport in American History, “Steve Smith, a self-described ‘serial contrarian,’ has updated Forever Red in such a way that it should be looked at as volume 2 in a set, with additional insight into what it means to be a Cornhusker football fan. Except that this isn’t just about football. No back-of-the-cover blurb will do the book justice. It’s one of a kind.”—Mike Babcock, editor of Hail Varsity

Steve Smith is an award-winning communications professional who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.