MINNEAPOLIS — The start of the Gopher's season brings happiness to Minnesotan hearts.
Fans in gold flocked to Huntington Bank Stadium Thursday for the season opener against Nebraska.
"I'm super excited," said Nawassa Logan, the mother of defensive lineman Jalen Logan-Redding.
Along with fan excitement came nerves as well.
"These boys have been working really hard," said Logan.
"There's a lot of good energy," said fan Josh Buffie. "It's the best day of the year. This is better than Christmas day for me."
While It's a big day for many Gopher fans, for one family, it's bittersweet.
Brendan Kukowski was manning the grill at his family's yearly opening tailgate party.
"As long as we can remember, we've had season tickets," said Kukowski. "Our dad went to the University of Minnesota. I went to the University of Minnesota, my brother went to the University of Minnesota."
"Our dad passed about a month ago," said Courtney Kukowski, Brendan's sister. "He was sort of the backbone of this whole thing. He got everyone together."
Tim Kukowski loved his Gophers. His kids loved their dad's spirit.
Tyler Kukowski, another one of Tim Kukowki's sons, talked about a time he and his siblings surprised his dad with concert tickets.
"It ended up being during a Gopher game," said Tyler. "And he said we had to basically sell the tickets to watch the Gopher game."
One of Gopher's best fans was missing from the stadium tonight. But in Tim's place, was his family cheering on his favorite team.
"It's exactly the way our dad would want it," said Brendan.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: