Stray Hawkeye

Is it just me, or do the red powerade coolers that you can see behind the benches at the NCAA Tournament / March Madness basketball games look like they have corset lacing on them?

I suppose you could say shoe laces too, but for some reason that wasn't the first thing to spring to my mind. Maybe because they're vertical instead of horizontal. Maybe because I've been single way too long.

In case you’re having a hard time getting too excited about the Iowa vs Minnesota game this weekend, you’re not alone.  The Gophers have been horrible and even fired their head coach half way through the season (a danger here in Minnesota apparently).  The Hawkeyes, though bowl eligible (my goal for every year) and not a bad season, have been a bit disappointing given the expectations coming into the season, which was basically to go to the national championship game, and as it stands a BCS game is pretty well out of the question, by a fair margin.  Beyond that, (knocking on wood until my knuckles bleed) it’s a reasonably safe bet we know how the game will turn out, we hope.  Minnesota has no chance of a bowl game.  Iowa more or less knows where it’s going as much as one ever can until they announce it.  It’s right after Thanksgiving.  And it’s going to be outside and cold.  And basically every other Big Ten game is of more consequence.

So, now that I’ve got you sufficiently hyped up, there are at least two points of interest for the game.

Iowa has shut out Minnesota back to back the last two years (55-0 and 12-0), which has only happened once before (1955-1956) in the series.  So if they do it again, it’s a first (and great salt to pour in the wound).

The other thing is, it’s the 75th anniversary of Floyd of Rosedale.  Who is Floyd of Rosedale you ask?   Only the best rivalry trophy in college football:

Floyd, right where he belongs

I may be a bit biased in saying a 98 pound bronze statue of pig is the best college football trophy, but really, the story behind it is about as good as they come.  MPR has a great recounting of the origins of the trophy (which admittedly I’ve pointed out before, but it’s worth the repost).  Totally worth the read.

If there’s a better back story for any trophy in college football, I’d love to hear it.  I mean really, compare that to the Heartland Trophy – a statue of a bull with a giant head it can’t lift off the ground (why a bull?  who knows!) that Iowa and Wisconsin have played for since the distant history of… 2004, when someone said, hey, this is a always a good game and an incredibly even rivalry, there should be a trophy for this.  A rivalry so bitter in fact that a former Iowa player with a Tigerhawk tattoo is the head coach at Wisconsin and feelings have gotten so harsh they’ve decided to suspend the rivalry for at least two years because the new divisions resulting form the Big Ten conference expansion suck so bad to let things cool off.

So, happy birthday Floyd.  And Go Hawks.

Iowa Hawkeye Football 2008 – The Year in Photos from HFM Ride on Vimeo.

Via Black Heart, Gold Pants

In other news, it’s a sad, sad day in Iowa football… they’re putting astroturf in Kinnick.  You can’t have 3 yards and a cloud of dust if there is no dust.  Next thing you know, we’ll be running a damn spread offense.

I wonder if they’ll sell the turf like they did the bricks when they redid the South end zone and press box.  How cool would it be to have a little square of Kinnick grass growing in a pot.  That would be the best house plant ever.  I’m serious.  Do you think they’ll sell the turf?

So it’s official.  The Game Which Must Not Be Named* will be played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.  I’m quite happy about this.  What’s that you say?

“But Kearn, you don’t care about pro football, only college football.  And aside from Mike Humpal (Steelers) and Kenny Iwebema (Cardinals), there’s not even a strong tie to Iowa football here.”

And that’s where you’re wrong.

In case you haven’t noticed, the Steelers’ uniforms bear a striking resemblance to those worn by Iowa.  Though both teams have always worn black and gold, when Hayden Fry started at Iowa, he had the Iowa uniforms redone to more closely mimic those of the Steelers.  At the time, the Steelers were winning The Game Which Must Not Be Named left and right, and the Hawkeyes were, well, not.  Hayden thought it would help psychologically to look like a great team, and it did.  This is also when the Pink Locker Room came into existence.  Hayden was big on psychology.

Fast forward to the present day, Iowa has been in January bowl games 5 of the last 7 seasons, most recently winning the Outback Bowl (against a red bird themed team no less).  And the Steelers are in The Game Which Must Not Be Named against the Cardinals.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Iowa is just returning the favor to the Steelers after all these years.

Better yet is the opponent, the Cardinals.  Who wear red and white.  And have a cardinal for a mascot.  Can we think of any teams Iowa plays that look like this?  Perhaps an intrastate rival?  Perhaps a team that has a Cardinal for a mascot?

That’s right, it’s Iowa vs Iowa State in The Game Which Must Not Be Named.

What more can a Hawkeye fan ask for?  Except perhaps Iowa beating USC mercilessly in the National Championship game, at the Rose Bowl, ending with all USC fans collectively hanging themselves upon realizing what total assholes they are.  Have I mentioned I don’t much care for USC or their fans?  In case I haven’t, I don’t much care for USC or their fans.

*Because the NFL is super-douchebagy when it comes to references made to the superlative soup container.

Every year, the Iowa and Minnesota football teams play for a bronze statue of a pig called Floyd of Rosedale.  However, most people don’t know the back story of Floyd, or if they do, just something to the effect of “the governors bet a pig”.  I came across this article on Minnesota Public Radio’s website after last year’s game, and have been waiting to share it since.  It has to be one of the most interesting stories of a college football trophy out there.

As a preview, it dates back to the 1930′s and centers around Ozzie Simmons.  Ozzie was a great Iowa running back, and a black man in a time of rampant discrimination.  The story also features Ronald Reagan, a real pure-bred Hampshire hog, an amputated finger, and threats of mob violence.

As a side note of interest, the trophy weights 98.3 pounds.

For any of the Hawkeye fans out there looking for good blog dedicated to irreverent coverage of Iowa athletics (and by athletics, I basically mean football and basketball), try out Black Heart, Gold Pants (occasionally, or somewhat frequently, NSFW).

A relevant post for the upcoming Minnesota game this weekend.

For a general flavor of the site, Celebrity Jeopardy with Sarah Palin, Burt Reynolds, and Joe Paterno.  (Visually fine, but definately not for reading aloud at work.)

Black Heart, Gold Pants actually used to be The Hawkeye Compulsion.  I mention the fact only so it makes sense to link to this post on The Hawkeye Compulsion from August 2007, on the topic of if each Big Ten team was a car, what car would they be.  It’s outdated, and shows just how much the Big Ten can change in that amount of time.  But, if you remember the traditional position of each team in the conference, and specifically where they were at the start of that season, it may be the best blog post ever.

This weekend, my Hawkeyes knocked off the number 3 team in the country.  In the pregame, the announcers were not even discussing if Penn State would win, but if they would do so with sufficient “style points” to make a case for being in the national championship game.  Lets see how that worked out for them…

The ending still comes up short of the all time best ending of a football game ever in the history of ever (which of course goes to Iowa vs LSU at the Capital One Bowl 2005), but one of the better overall games I’ve seen in a long time.

Go Hawks!!