More than 100 people were on the Nebraska Union Plaza ready to show school spirit today before the sun even began to peek through the clouds.
CNN Headline News’ “Morning Express with Robin Meade” brought its “Rivalry Express” bus tour to Lincoln with a live broadcast from 5 to 9 a.m. on the north side of the Nebraska Union.
UNL was the production’s third stop on a college tour that goes until Nov. 9.
“We’re trying to stop at a lot of the big football programs and Nebraska is a big one,” said Meridith Edwards, senior producer of HLN. “We love the Big Ten.”
Headline News sports anchor Carlos Diaz and meteorologist Bob Van Dillen anchored the show accompanied by Husker cheerleaders, the Scarlets dance squad and plenty of fans. Nebraska also brought out the first mechanical bull to appear on the show, Diaz said.
Senior Lacy Keilig came sporting her costume for the Nebraska Alumni Association’s annual Homecoming fan competition.
“I did trivia and they asked us the last year we played Illinois and how many national championships we have won,” she said.
The pair got to take home HLN hats for playing.
There were also a handful of musical performances from students in the Glenn Korff School of Music including the Cornhusker Marching Band, Rocktavo, Graduate Jazztet, UNL Vocal Jazz, the Bathtub Dogs, Boots and Cats and Pitch, Please.
Scarlet Guard members made up much of the morning crowd as they waited in line for their free “Beat Illinois Shirts” from the Alumni Association. But overall, the NU crowd was one of the biggest the HLN crew has seen, Edwards said.
“They all had amazing spirit,” she said.
The tour’s next stop will be Dallas for the Oct. 12 Texas vs. Oklahoma game at the state fair.
