Lifelong Hawkeye Fan (40+ years) and I never thought I would be saying this; but little brother has not only caught us, they are now beating us often in many categories, both on and off the field.
I have seen a lot of highs and lows over my time; Bob Commings with terrible uniforms, to Hayden Fry, the Tiger Hawk and Rose Bowls. Lute Olson, Ronnie Lester and a Final Four, to Todd Lickliter and ‘little Lick’ parading around Carver-Hawkeye in front of 5,000 fans.
I also recall the days of 15 in a row against Iowa State where you could name the score, to us losing 5 in a row to the Clowns which 20 years ago seemed like a Cyclone pipe dream.
But let’s face the facts, it’s not 1985 or even 1995 anymore. Its 2015 and hopefully in the coming years I will be eating my words, but the next 18-24 months are key to Iowa maintaining the upper-hand against Iowa State both in-state and out of state from a fan support and casual observer perspective.
Here are examples we are getting beat;
Fan Support- Iowa State is opening up its revamped stadium and will sell out its first 2 games, albeit against UNI and Iowa. That said, when was the last time Iowa State outdrew Iowa for a home football game? Has it ever happened? It’s likely to happen in 6 short days as I think Kinnick will be lucky to have 60,000 fans. Keep in mind, this is an Iowa State team coming off a 2-10 season and hasn’t had a winning conference record in 15 years! What other perennial doormats can expand a stadium based upon its consistent lower division finishes?
Marketing- Living in the Des Moines area, I am constantly reminded that Iowa State is 30 miles up the road. TV, billboards, radio ads, grocery store banners, etc. Does Iowa even market in the Des Moines area? I rarely see anything marketing or PR related to the University of Iowa or Hawkeye Athletics. Last time I checked, worst case scenario it’s a 50/50 split of ISU/Iowa fans in the metro area.
Alumni Loyalty- Iowa State has a strong alumni loyalty and fan base. While most end up residing in Iowa after graduation versus Iowa alumnus, they are loyal and loud & proud, win or lose. Example-Iowa fans eat their own after a loss disagreeing on why we lost or stink as bad as we did. Example-I volunteered for the Des Moines Marathon a couple years ago after Baylor 70 pointed Iowa State. I literally saw hundreds of Iowa State t-shirts the next day either runners or race supporters. Iowa fans would have burned their Hawkeye shirts after that type of loss.
Student Support- Whether it be basketball or football, Iowa state has strong and loud student sections. Student sections are boisterous in both Hilton and Jack Trice. In the past couple of years, Iowa Students can’t give away their tickets (assuming they buy them anyway) which is an increasing trend nationally. Sadly, they would rather spend the day getting blasted & the Ped Mall or tailgating than watching the game. Students at Carver are almost non-existent.
Game Day Atmosphere- We lose again, sadly by a wide margin. Iowa State tailgating before its games has become very good. I attended both the UNI (wife is a grad) and the Iowa game the year prior. Proximity has a lot to do with it, but Iowa tailgating is too spread out, too controlled by the Police/University and has become a deterrent to many fans. In basketball, we all know ISU has a top-5 home court advantage. Carver can get loud, but unfortunately isn’t even in the top half of the Big 10 for home court advantage.
Athletic Director- Whether you like him or not, Jamie Pollard (aka-PT Barnum) listens to what the fans are saying and takes action. Is Gary Barta deaf or blind and not see we are getting passed by in the areas I have called out above?. Pollard=man of vision and action, look at where ISU was before he arrived to where they are now. Barta=Empty Suit who is only concerned with the 5% (big donors).
Coaching- Ferentz is in his 17th season. I realize the program is a bit stale right now and losing to Iowa State 3 of the last 4 and a losing record to them overall is embarrassing considering the overall comparison of the respective programs success over the past 15 years. But all things considered….Kirk has had a successful tenure at Iowa. In my opinion, he deserves a chance to get us back into the top 25 and top 3 of the Big 10 in the next 2 seasons or consider cutting bait. Rhoads is a local guy and gets much less scrutiny than Ferentz even though his results have stunk and his contract is arguably worse than Ferentz from a buyout perspective. Fans are behind him despite his dismal overall record, right, wrong or indifferent. He will likely not see the end of his contract at ISU, but what coach ever has at Iowa State. All the reasons to be more embarrassed we continue to lose to them.
On the basketball side, after the Alford and Lickliter mis-steps, Fran has Iowa basketball back on the map. He has shown progress year after year in his 5 seasons by doing things the right way through recruiting and developing players. Meanwhile, Pollard had the perfect hire in Hoiberg. Despite his leap to the NBA, they landed a young up and comer. Time will tell if he succeeds to the level of Hoiberg or not, but he is still getting quality recruits.
It’s a rivalry-Spin it all you want, we need to play Iowa State and we need to beat them regularly in all sports. I see messages posted on these boards all of the time to stop the football series with ISU to play a ‘bigger name’ opponent. The series is good for both programs and the state. Yes, it stinks to lose to them, but we should be winning 7 out of 10 in football, PERIOD. Their fans care about beating Iowa and sadly, their players always show more emotion when playing us. Quit the Super Bowl talk, they don’t want to lose the game, I hate losing the game as a fan and it’s embarrassing when we do (case in point-last year where Iowa State gave up more yards in a quarter to many teams, then we gained the entire game).
Cyclone Track & XC @CycloneTrackXC 3h3 hours ago
Great addition for ISU...nicely done. As far as being worried? I subscribe to the notion both athletic departments can do just fine and fill their respective venues...Iowa is fortunate to be represented in the Big12 and BIG10. People should enjoy and support it...that's all.
