No, Herbie, Nebraska is not No. 1

The University of Nebraska Corn Huskers are changing their mascot…’s hand. Currently, Herbie is holding up a “👌” emoji, which was adopted by white supremacist groups once they learned what emojis were. Ruining a perfectly good mascot and a bunch of apparel that I personally own, the three raised fingers are meant to symbolize a “W” for white, and the lowercase “d” formed by the thumb and index finger makes a “P” for power when you flip it around.

I knew this was a thing but found it hard to take seriously like the news that they coopted Kermit the Frog. Thanks, white supremacists, now not only do I have to buy new gear (twist my arm) but Herbie is holding up the No. 1 sign?

If we’re talking about bowling and occasionally volleyball, yeah, that’s acceptable, but the football team has been closer to winning one game than it has been to being No. 1 under Scott Frost.

How about just a good ol’ fashion thumbs up? Let’s keep it positive but not be too arrogant.

I understand the cancel culture side of it, too, but who cares? It’s not like Herbie is going anywhere. And we all know overalls Herbie is the real Herbie. I don’t know what’s going on with the brown-haired guy in the dad polo who looks like he has a plastic surgery-induced perma-smile, but Herbie in overalls with a corn husk in his back pocket is the true Herbie.

Lil’ Red gets a pass because he looks like a little Herbie and does the adorable stand on his trick because he’s inflatable.

My other suggestion for that hand was the “W” for west side, but that’s more because I went to Westside High School in Omaha, Neb., and too specific of a reference to please the whole fanbase. And hard as you might try, you can’t placate everyone, so you just have to be selective about who you want to piss off, and the white supremacist portion of our fanbase can go to hell, so good job, Nebraska! You finally did something right!

However, I’ve already heard whining from some non-racist disgruntled fans, but I feel like we’re in a constant state of disgruntlement so anything but winning pisses us off. Whatever, guess I’ll have to stop at Husker Hounds the next time I’m in O-town for some new Herbie garb. Maybe some Don & Millie’s, too. I don’t know. We’ll see if I have time.

Go big red! Long live Herbie! Figure it out, Scott!