Like many others on this board, I grew up in a blue collar family in small town Iowa. My father was a ‘farm carpenter’ and would do whatever kind of building or, more likely, repair that was needed to keep the farm running and food on the table. He taught me that no matter how smart or talented I was that hard work was a requirement for any kind of success and that ‘getting an education’ was not optional!
I did go away to college, first to Drake and after four years of military service to Iowa for an MBA. I paid for my education by earning carpenter’s wages working with my Dad, summers & Holidays, and on weekends in Des Moines. When I first got to Drake, I was a bit intimidated by some of my fellow freshmen who hailed from exotic places like Chicago, St. Louis and Minneapolis. They all, quite obviously, came from families with far more in material wealth than we ever dreamed of having and exuded a kind of confidence because of this.
After a month or so, I learned that I could compete, academically, athletically and socially, with all of these ‘rich kids’ and many of them became life- long friends.
I love the Hawkeye football program because, in many ways, it mirrors my experience as a blue collar kid venturing off into the world of higher education & life beyond.
The Hawkeyes are not, and likely never will be, one of the ‘haves’ of college football getting the pick of the available high school athletes. Oh, we’ll pick up some highly recruited players here and there, but it will never become common place, no matter how we lament this fact.
Instead, we will continue to get talented and usually underrated athletes that are overlooked by the ‘blue bloods’ and who come to Iowa with a chip on their shoulder (and maybe a bit of self-doubt) about not being more highly thought of by ‘the experts’. The staff at Iowa takes these kids and turns them into talented D1 football players who, when the stars align, can put together years to remember, just like this one.
How do they do it? By teaching these guys that hard work and determination is a pre-requisite for long-term success! By teaching them that running the football requires a bunch of hard-nosed linemen willing to do the dirty work in the trenches who ‘want it more’ than the guys across from them! By teaching the D linemen exactly the same thing! By having ‘special teams players’ who are willing to bust their ass to make a key tackle or key block to gain a seemingly small edge in field position and to do it over and over again without any recognition, other than the respect of their teammates! By teaching them to battle through injuries when ‘smarter men’ would call it quits!
In short, I love Iowa Football, because they embody the same values that my Dad taught to me in small town Iowa and that I and many other Iowa kids grew up with!
We may not win at Northwestern this Saturday, but I know that we will never quit because of the values that are at the very core of Iowa Football.
I did go away to college, first to Drake and after four years of military service to Iowa for an MBA. I paid for my education by earning carpenter’s wages working with my Dad, summers & Holidays, and on weekends in Des Moines. When I first got to Drake, I was a bit intimidated by some of my fellow freshmen who hailed from exotic places like Chicago, St. Louis and Minneapolis. They all, quite obviously, came from families with far more in material wealth than we ever dreamed of having and exuded a kind of confidence because of this.
After a month or so, I learned that I could compete, academically, athletically and socially, with all of these ‘rich kids’ and many of them became life- long friends.
I love the Hawkeye football program because, in many ways, it mirrors my experience as a blue collar kid venturing off into the world of higher education & life beyond.
The Hawkeyes are not, and likely never will be, one of the ‘haves’ of college football getting the pick of the available high school athletes. Oh, we’ll pick up some highly recruited players here and there, but it will never become common place, no matter how we lament this fact.
Instead, we will continue to get talented and usually underrated athletes that are overlooked by the ‘blue bloods’ and who come to Iowa with a chip on their shoulder (and maybe a bit of self-doubt) about not being more highly thought of by ‘the experts’. The staff at Iowa takes these kids and turns them into talented D1 football players who, when the stars align, can put together years to remember, just like this one.
How do they do it? By teaching these guys that hard work and determination is a pre-requisite for long-term success! By teaching them that running the football requires a bunch of hard-nosed linemen willing to do the dirty work in the trenches who ‘want it more’ than the guys across from them! By teaching the D linemen exactly the same thing! By having ‘special teams players’ who are willing to bust their ass to make a key tackle or key block to gain a seemingly small edge in field position and to do it over and over again without any recognition, other than the respect of their teammates! By teaching them to battle through injuries when ‘smarter men’ would call it quits!
In short, I love Iowa Football, because they embody the same values that my Dad taught to me in small town Iowa and that I and many other Iowa kids grew up with!
We may not win at Northwestern this Saturday, but I know that we will never quit because of the values that are at the very core of Iowa Football.
