When did Kinnick Magic start?

[CelticHawk]

Outside of The Wave.



I remember reading that Hayden said, if they will show up for a 1 win team, imagine what they will do if its a winner.


Old timers, tell us.

 

[Suterman]

I don't buy into it and I'm an old timer. I have seen waaaaaay too many losses in Kinnick over the years to bad teams to think there is magic. However.............night games in Kinnick if you are rated, you better be at your best or you are GOING DOWN.

 

[CelticHawk]

I don't buy into it and I'm an old timer. I have seen waaaaaay too many losses in Kinnick over the years to bad teams to think there is magic. However.............night games in Kinnick if you are rated, you better be at your best or you are GOING DOWN.

Been a season ticket holder since 02, and we had a long stretch of winning at home. It was tough, early, middle, and late.

 

[Herkmeister]

I prefer the Kinnick Curse.

Ames has their magic and I don’t want anything to do with their lame shit.

 

[spiderland]

For me, it was when Houghtlin’s kick went through those north uprights...

 

[Moorehawk]

I like kinnick voodoo over kinnick magic any day like herkmeister said magic is already taken by the clones..

 

[TheTruthTheWholeTruth]

68.8 home winning % starting from Fry’s first year through 2 games of 2018. Not too shabby.

 

[QChawks]

68.8 home winning % starting from Fry’s first year through 2 games of 2018. Not too shabby.

Meh.

The experience is better than anything. We’ve lost a lot of homes games in the last few years.

 

[chiphawk59]

I think it was in 1980 or '81 UCLA came to Kinnick rated like #6 in the country and the Hawks beat them 10- 7 and Hawkeye Nation started to believe that we could knock off any top team in college football on any given Saturday in the fall. It was the beginning of what has become 39 years of glorious Hawkeye football.

 

[tidhawk]

There was momentum all ready but the magic started with the 85 Michigan win imho.

 

[CelticHawk]

Meh.

The experience is better than anything. We’ve lost a lot of homes games in the last few years.

Its all good though. I think its back. Like 02-03

 

[TheTruthTheWholeTruth]

Meh.

The experience is better than anything. We’ve lost a lot of homes games in the last few years.

Nearly identical % the last 5 years. I think it’s the inexplicable losses that sticks in everone’s craw. Purdue and NDSU from last year for example.

 

[StormHawk42]

I’d be interested to see what the breakdown is of late afternoon/evening games vs early starts. When we lose some stinkers at home, it seems more often than not, they’re early in the day.

 

[KuwaitHawk]

I think it was in 1980 or '81 UCLA came to Kinnick rated like #6 in the country and the Hawks beat them 10- 7 and Hawkeye Nation started to believe that we could knock off any top team in college football on any given Saturday in the fall. It was the beginning of what has become 39 years of glorious Hawkeye football.

Nebraska was before that at 10-7 i 1981.

 

[VodkaSam]

I think it was in 1980 or '81 UCLA came to Kinnick rated like #6 in the country and the Hawks beat them 10- 7 and Hawkeye Nation started to believe that we could knock off any top team in college football on any given Saturday in the fall. It was the beginning of what has become 39 years of glorious Hawkeye football.

1981. I was a fraternity pledge at that game. Unfortunately had to leave at halftime for a well-coordinated active kidnapping with my pledge brothers. That was a great season with a win over Nebraska early and a late November beat down of MSU to go to the Rose Bowl.

 

[TheTruthTheWholeTruth]

I’d be interested to see what the breakdown is of late afternoon/evening games vs early starts. When we lose some stinkers at home, it seems more often than not, they’re early in the day.

Iowa is 30-12, if my math is right, since KF took over when the kickoff was 2:30 or later.

 

[M3 ME PLEASE]

I'm still pissed about that BS loss to Michigan in 2005 that broke the Kinnick win streak, one of the biggest screw jobs by refs next to the outback bowl

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

Kinnick Stadium, like all stadiums, is at its best at night. It's a living, breathing thing when the dark sets in. I'd put our atmosphere up against any in the country. And a lot of pundits, who have been to a lot of stadiums, agree.

 

[SoDakHawk]

The thing is that Iowa has thrown up some real clunkers in Kinnick that are embarrassing, NDSU comes to mind. At the same time, and sometimes in the same season, it's been a place where contenders dreams come to die.

That has really been the issue with Iowa football, can beat anyone but can lose to anyone. It's the "can lose to anyone" part that needs to stop.

 

[HawkeyeFever62]

There was no magic when I sat through that Central Michigan game in '12.

 

[iowa12]

For me, it was when Houghtlin’s kick went through those north uprights...

This x 1000 although it really started with Hayden’s huge upset win over Highly ranked Nebraska in I believe 81. There was a buzz in the stadium during the Hayden years. Looked forward to games all week and held onto every word he said all week. You never saw Hayden upset at home and if we trailed at half, you always had confidence he’d scheme something to give us a chance

 

[CUHawkeye91]

I would say in 1981 with victories over Nebby and UCLA prior to the big ten season.

 

[Hawk and Awe]

I don't buy into it and I'm an old timer. I have seen waaaaaay too many losses in Kinnick over the years to bad teams to think there is magic. However.............night games in Kinnick if you are rated, you better be at your best or you are GOING DOWN.

I think the crowd builds/supports momentum which can also fuel a collapse. You start to feel the tension in those crappy losses and it can weigh a team down. Especially when the crowd gets into this “here we go again” mode.

I think some of those crummy home loses would have been avoided on the road.

It happens to everyone, but KF teams seem especially vulnerable. Team comes out flat, crowd becomes restless, nobody takes control of the situation and all hell breaks loose.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I don't know about magic, but Kinnick has always been a special place thanks to the fans that pour into it every Saturday. In the 60's and 70's, it was far from a great venue, but the fans showed up every week during 20 years of non-winning seasons. Some of those Iowa teams were simply bad, but many of them were pretty good.

The crucial ingredients -

Hayden Fry - 1979. The swarm and black & gold everywhere!

In 1981, HF and the boys defeated Nebby & UCLA, and the fans started to realize that Iowa didn't have to lose all the time. Against MSU in the last regular season, the Hawks pounded Sparty to go to the Rose Bowl. It was simply surreal. Hundreds of fans doing push up's in the endzone!

Then Chuck Long showed up and Iowa not only won games, but they did it in thrilling fashion. They stayed at a high level for the next 15 years.

When KF arrived, the program was down, and fans were not terribly excited about the hire. Many fans, including myself, wondered if someone other than HF could lead Iowa back to glory. But then Brad Banks, Nate Kaeding, Robert Gallery, Bob Sanders and a lot of tough, talented guys showed us Iowa could be great again.

Finally, the stadium renovation in 04-06 made Kinnick a great looking stadium, worthy of a great team and it's great fans.

So many great memories!

 

[hawk halen]

November 21,1981, Art Schlichter's last-minute touchdown in Ann Arbor turned Kinnick into a madhouse.

 

[ichawk24]

The crowd shows up for big games turned up to 11. A top 5 team at night and the place is insane.

CMU or Ball State at 11am. People sit on their hands.

The dichotomy of Kinnick.

 

[Feldbush]

 

[keosauquahawk]

I feel like it started with Hayden. I had attended Hawk football games for a long time but we went knowing we were not very good but we loved the game day experience. We could set anywhere in the stadium we wanted and it was easy to meet friends and family before and after the game.
It changed when Hayden showed us that we could be a good football team. I remember after one of the games we were setting outside of the stadium (where the parking garage used to be) and Hayden came walking by. He stopped and talked to us and told us he was going to get our program shaped up. He was very genuine and sincere. It all took off for Hawk fans. I can remember things being crazy in Kinnick many times after that. One of my favorite memorys was when Bo brought the Michigan team in when they would get ready to snap the ball we would scream so loud that he would have his center not snap it until we quieted down. It would take a long time for them to get us to tone it down (and have to tell us they would assess a penalty on the hawks if we didn't shut up).Hayden changed he Hawkeye culture. Before him we knew we probably wouldn't win and starting with him we learned to expect to win.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Kinnick is an amazing venue with some great fans. When it really cranks up the excitement is for night games. That's when things get absolutely insane and I think it does help the team. Some of the amazing night games I've been to include:

Penn St. '08 (started earlier, but dark early, so felt like a night game)
MIchigan '09
PSU '10 (not a wild game, but the first black and gold spirit game)
Pitt '15 (again,I think 2:30 but felt like night game...I think the 1st ongoing I-O-W-A chant)
Minny '15
Michigan '16
PSU '17

Others of note:
tOSU '17 (my son had tix for us, but his employer mailed them from CR on Thursday afternoon )

I'm not sure, but I think Miami in the early 90's might have been the first night game at Kinnick.

Iowa wins more than they lose by a significant margin playing in Kinnick at night. I would not want to be coming into Kinnick at night as a ranked team.

 

[LincolnHawkeye]

I've seen many old videos of Iowa games from the 80's and 90's. And it seems to me that back then, people just wore any color they wanted in the crowd (white, green etc.). Now it seems like, even during games without a color theme, people pretty much stick to black and gold exclusively in the crowd. Does anyone else notice this?

 

[Johnsoda123]

I think it was in 1980 or '81 UCLA came to Kinnick rated like #6 in the country and the Hawks beat them 10- 7 and Hawkeye Nation started to believe that we could knock off any top team in college football on any given Saturday in the fall. It was the beginning of what has become 39 years of glorious Hawkeye football.

81. Beat Nebraska that year too. Took my Pops to that game.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Not sure about Kinnick "magic." But, I will say Kinnick is a special place. I've long said it's like the Wrigley Field of college football. The history, the closeness of the field ... the architecture ... A day at Kinnick is magic in my book ...

 

[HawkIDrummer]

I prefer the Kinnick Curse.

Ames has their magic and I don’t want anything to do with their lame shit.

I've been to Ames. There's nothing "magical" about it.... at all.

 

[HemiHawk]

Outside of The Wave.



I remember reading that Hayden said, if they will show up for a 1 win team, imagine what they will do if its a winner.


Old timers, tell us.

There is no Kinnick Magic. A good team should win the vast majority of their home games. Okay maybe a little when playing top 10 teams at night.

 

[iowa12]

Kinnick is an amazing venue with some great fans. When it really cranks up the excitement is for night games. That's when things get absolutely insane and I think it does help the team. Some of the amazing night games I've been to include:

Penn St. '08 (started earlier, but dark early, so felt like a night game)
MIchigan '09
PSU '10 (not a wild game, but the first black and gold spirit game)
Pitt '15 (again,I think 2:30 but felt like night game...I think the 1st ongoing I-O-W-A chant)
Minny '15
Michigan '16
PSU '17

Others of note:
tOSU '17 (my son had tix for us, but his employer mailed them from CR on Thursday afternoon )

I'm not sure, but I think Miami in the early 90's might have been the first night game at Kinnick.

Iowa wins more than they lose by a significant margin playing in Kinnick at night. I would not want to be coming into Kinnick at night as a ranked team.

To me, being loud and having a buzz over the stadium are two entirely different things. Haydens team had that buzz and it made it feel like magic. He won a ton of big games there and rarely if ever got upset

 

[kceasthawk]

To me, being loud and having a buzz over the stadium are two entirely different things. Haydens team had that buzz and it made it feel like magic. He won a ton of big games there and rarely if ever got upset

People seem to gloss over how much the landscape has changed since Hayden first came to Iowa. Yes. you have to give him credit for throwing a monkey wrench into the dominance that was the Big two, and little eight at the time. At the same time, many of our conference opponents were simply no where near as good as they are now. Back in the 80's Nwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, all sucked, not to mention a horrible ISU program once Bruce left. Purdue, and MSU were up and down, and other then a few years, Illinois was well, Illinois. The MAC level teams are much more competitive today then they were back then as well. There's just WAY more talent spread out through the college landscape now at all levels, which has led to upstarts like Boise State, and unthinkable upsets like App State, and NDSU, who has won their last five road games against power five schools.......

 

[Herkmeister]

I've been to Ames. There's nothing "magical" about it.... at all.

I met a Korean girl there once. That night was magical.

Respectfully submitted,
Herkmeister

 

[LAhawkeye]

Just ran the numbers on all the home games since Fry's first year in 1979. Here's the stats...

Fry's home record (1979-1998): 77-38 66.9%
Ferentz's home record (1999-2018): 91-38 70.5%
Overall: 168-76

From 2002-2005 Iowa won 22 straight home games. (After the loss to Iowa State on Sept 14, 2002, Iowa did not lose a game in Kinnick Stadium until the Michigan game on Oct 22, 2005 - they lost in overtime) 5 of these wins came against ranked teams.

Here's all the night games(5PM kickoff or later) played at Kinnick since 1999, ranked teams in parentheses...

1999 Northern Illinois - W
2002 Iowa State - L
2003 Arizona State(16) - W
2006 Ohio State(1) - L
2007 Syracuse - W
2009 Michigan - W
2010 Penn State(22) - W
2011 Northwestern - W
2012 Penn State - L
2015 Pittsburgh - W
2015 Minnesota - W
2016 Iowa State - W
2016 Michigan(2) - W
2017 Penn State(4) - L
2017 Minnesota - W

Overall record in these games since 1999 is 11-4 (73.3%). Against ranked teams it is 3-2.

 

[JupiterHawk]

There was no magic when I sat through that Central Michigan game in '12.

 

[justinjdry]

I've been to Ames. There's nothing "magical" about it.... at all.

I've driven past the Ames exits on I-80 at least a hundred dozen times and never even once bothered to stop and see Jack Trice. That's how much I care about the Clowns.