I am an Iowa Hawkeye fan. I bleed black and gold. I spent four years at the University of Iowa getting my degree in journalism and visit several Saturdays during the fall to sit in Kinnick Stadium and cheer on my team. The Hawkeyes haven’t always been good to me, but have left me with memories that I will never forget.
I am first and foremost a football fan. My husband and I have season tickets that started my freshman year in Iowa City and we have maintained them, even during the bad years. The little corner we call home is full of characters and usually a lot of the visiting team. It has provided us the view of two blocked field goal attempts against UNI, a made field goal against Penn State and countless other highlights of touchdowns and intercepted passes for a score.
Before my kids came along, we made several trips to Michigan, where my husband has family, and got to witness the catch in the end zone by McNutt against Michigan State and a victory in the Big House at Michigan. My Hawkeyes were good to me in the beginning, besides leaving me on my last nerve. We even celebrated at the coldest Orange Bowl on record in Miami, hearing the forever quotable Ricky Stanzi say “If you don’t love it, leave it.”
The past few years have been a little more difficult. After having two kiddos, the trips to Kinnick aren’t quite as regular and victories have followed in that direction as well. I never plan on giving up my seats, but with the home schedule planned for next year and our pitiful performance during the 2014 reason, I was happy when they through in a few perks with the price tag.
With the resurgence of Iowa basketball and wrestling, the end of football season isn’t quite as painful as it used to be. I always loved basketball growing up, paying far closer attention when I was in elementary and middle school when Dean Oliver and Luke Recker were playing to anything that was happening on the football field. I forgot how worked up I can get when there is a bad call or how heart-breaking a last second shot for a loss can be.
Although we are on the upswing, the current team can leave me pulling my hair out as they lost to Northwestern but beat Ohio State during both meetings. I am cautiously excited for the NCAA tournament, but really just happy we didn’t get put into another play in game. I might have to find a babysitter for the night to watch without constant distractions.
I didn’t start paying attention to wrestling until I was in high school and decided to be a cheerleader. I don’t know if it is the one-on-one aspect of the sport or how physical it is but I am just fascinated. Iowa has had a long history of success in wrestling with more than 20 national titles. Cael Sanderson, former Iowa State wrestler and coach became a thorn in my side when he moved to Penn State and went on to dominate for several years. Only recently has the Iowa team got its swagger back and I am looking forward to nationals in the coming weeks.
As a Hawkeye fan in any sport, there will always be good and bad years and a lot of years in between. I would love for us to become a national contender but I don’t set the bar that high. I just enjoy when we exceed expectations. Perhaps sometime they will take me on another trip to somewhere warm during the winter — Pasadena maybe?
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at
641-792-3121 ext. 6534
or jpierson@newtondailynews.com