Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen with the Broken Chair Trophy before the 2023 Minnesota vs. Nebraska game.
This year’s edition of The Broken Chair trophy was really something. Nebraska fans were in high anticipation of the start of the Matt Rhule era of Nebraska Football. The Team Jack staff was feeling confident, perhaps overly confident, that the Huskers would defeat the Gophers and this would be the year that Nebraska would get to host the Broken Chair Trophy! While we had won the fundraising piece of the challenge each of the past five years, the last time Nebraska had beaten Minnesota was in 2018. We were hungry to bring the trophy back home and were making mental notes about where we would display it throughout the year! Then we did….ALMOST…win the game and host the trophy!
Unfortunately, the ball bounced the wrong direction, and Minnesota came out on top. We were crushed. But only for a minute as we don’t have to look very hard to be reminded of the fundraising purpose of the Foundation and the Broken Chair Trophy. Kids are dying of brain cancer, and two-thirds of survivors are left with lifelong side effects from the harsh treatments. Kinder, more effective treatments are so desperately needed.
This is why this Broken Chair fundraiser is so awesome. It combines Husker fans’ never-ending enthusiasm for their team with a very important purpose: to improve the lives of children with brain cancer. And as always, our fans did not disappoint raising $18,625. While the Huskers did not find victory against Minnesota, the fans did! Minnesota raised just shy of $18,000 for Team One Four, so we did come away with one victory! What’s even better, or should we say “bettor,” is that Team Jack picked up an additional $5,000 donation from BettorEdge. This was the prize for winning a voting contest sponsored by BettorEdge! The highest-voted foundation would receive $5,000 toward their Broken Chair Trophy total while the second-place foundation received $1,000. It was a $4,000 swing for Team Jack!
So in the end, while our beloved Cornhuskers couldn’t quite seal their end of the deal, kids with brain cancer wound up with the best of the best anyway! Since the fundraising began for the Broken Chair Trophy, over $160,000 has been raised for the two “charities”! That’s something we can all be proud of!
Special shoutout to all who donated, shared, and retweeted for Team Jack! We are truly grateful and do believe that we have the best fans in all of college football. Until next year, GO BIG RED! If you missed it and would still like to contribute, visit https://brokenchairtrophy.com/.