by Jamie Koerner
     The four facets of a successful Husker tailgate are food, fun, friends and football.
     One specific tailgate, hailing attendants from across Seward County, is located in the parking lot of Immanuel Church at 10th and Charleston streets in Lincoln.
     The beginnings of this tailgate go back to 1994, when Denny Wullenwaber of Seward and Ron Tomes of Utica, long-time friends, took a bus trip to Oklahoma for the Husker game with their friends and family.
     "It was so much fun and we won," Deb Tomes, Ron's wife, said.
     After the bus trip, the Tomes and Wullenwaber families started tailgating in the park near the National Guard Armory in Lincoln.
     For six years now, the group that began with a bus trip is attracting Husker fans from the Seward County area and beyond to the tailgate on 10th and Charleston that would fill more than one bus.
     John Hughes, president of Hughes Brothers in Seward, stopped by the Seward tailgate around 4 p.m. Sept. 15 and said he was having a great time and would probably hang around until the game.
     He said all the options for food at the tailgate were great.
     "I've had the pork before," Hughes said. " It's just fantastic – a culinary delight."
     Wullenwaber said they have met new people from all over the U.S. at the tailgate in the last 10 years.
     "We treat everyone with respect," Wullenwaber said. "We may rib them around a little bit, but it doesn't pay to cause trouble."
     Wullenwaber said that is the Nebraska way and the Husker tailgates are different from those across the nation.
     "We do it right here in Nebraska," Wullenwaber said. "When you grow up in Nebraska, you get hooked on the football. I love competition and we have that here."
     Wullenwaber said an important part of their tailgate is respecting the property they use.
     In the church lot, each spot is $10. About a third of the lot was rented by the Seward tailgate group and a third by the family of Husker wide receiver Todd Peterson, who scored two touchdowns in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln versus University of Southern California game Sept. 15. The final third was rented by a group from Omaha.
     Joe Jensen, treasurer and lay leader of Immanuel Church, a 120-year-old church, said the volunteers have had little or no problems from tailgaters who use the lot.
     "Seldom do we come Sunday morning when there's trash," Jensen said. "[Wullenwaber] does a good job of making sure people abide by laws and take care of church property."
     He said the volunteers enjoy meeting tailgaters from across the nation and are thankful when they're offered a hot meal from tailgaters, which is now every Husker home game.
     "Years ago it was just park and go to the game," Jensen said. "Now, it's an all-day event."
     Set-up for friendly tailgate competitions started at noon – a bean-bag toss or corn-hole and a disc board game. The concept of both is to toss an object, a bean bag or a small metal disc, and sink it in a hole to score points.
     The Seward tailgate competed in the disc game and the Petersen family in the corn-hole competition that had targets displaying a red, white and black Husker logo.
     Joe Mueller, Doug Petersen's brother-in-law and former Notre Dame strong safety walk-on, said he made the corn-hole game and has one similar with a Notre Dame logo.
     He said the Petersen family tailgates in Lincoln for every home game.
     Tyler Petersen, Doug's brother, said the Huskers have started off well this year, but it's hard to tell the outcome of the season.
     "That's what we're here to find out," Petersen said.
     Tailgating is a part of the tradition, even with a chill breeze or a few clouds, he said.
     "Sometimes the weather is not condusive, but it's a part of the experience," he said.
     Clouds covered the sky in Lincoln Sept. 15, with the temperature remaining below 50 degrees and dropping around mid-afternoon.
     At tailgates across the downtown area fans sported red parkas and smiles. The weather was chilly, but that doesn't stop a Husker.