It has happened. For the first time in my lifetime, and I guess, really ever, my Hawkeyes have won 12 games and completed an undefeated regular season. I’m not going to lie and say I saw this coming but I sure am going to enjoy the ride.
As Christmas in August came by way of our season tickets arriving in the mail, I was pretty neutral on the season. I had too much experience in years past getting hyped up for a great year, only to be let down in new and cruel ways.
With a busier than normal fall, I worked my schedule to attend three home games, plus one road game, visiting Camp Randall for the first time in Wisconsin. I joked with my husband when we were discussing a game his friend could go to that if Iowa went undefeated, I would want my Purdue ticket back. I never guessed it would come true, but I did hold up my end of the deal and let him go in my place.
As the weeks went by and we kept winning, it seemed like this team kept cool, calm and collected and just did their job on the field. Nothing was flashy, the scores weren’t in the 50s and 60s like a conference a little further south, but we did one thing only one other team in the country accomplished, not losing.
After clenching the B1G west championship, I got right on purchasing tickets for the championship game in Indianapolis. After another week of play, we found out our opponent will be Michigan State, my least favorite team in the Big Ten.
I know a lot of people don’t like Ohio State, Nebraska or even Michigan, but I hate Michigan State. They have been some of the meanest fans and I’m not fan of their coach, and some of the decisions he has made.
Since it is just the beginning of the week, I am feeling pretty good. But as the days roll by, I will begin to get more nervous and troll the many sports sites, many of whom like to write about my football team and how little they deserve to be where they are.
I am fully aware that I am just feeding into the rhetoric, but every time I see “weak schedule” or not passing the eye test, my blood pressure begins to rise, and I have to hit the X before I start in on a rant.
Besides staying away from the national opinion of my Hawkeyes, I couldn’t be more excited to head east and cheer on the team one more time. Should we win, a trip south will probably be in my future and vindication will flow through my veins. If we lose, it will still have been an awesome season, and hopefully, I will still head out over the New Year, maybe west to smell some roses.
As for now, I am just excited for the season we are having and cautiously optimistic of what the future holds. Go Hawks!
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at
641-792-3121 ext. 6534
or jpierson@newtondailynews.com