OSU 38 -- IOWA 17

A couple of weeks ago, my husband, my son, his friend (our adopted son) and I headed to IOWA CITY to help cheer the OSU Buckeyes to victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes. This was such an exciting trip for all of us especially since we would also be visiting our oldest son who happens to be an Iowa Hawkeye! The game was so exciting and to add to the excitement my Hawkeye son and I sent text messages back and forth throughout the game just to jeer at each other which added to the frenzy. Of course, we had a fabulous time primarily because OSU played a great game and won but I also started to realize that a lot of the fun was being generated from being in Hawkeye country. This might sound strange coming from a Buckeye but I quickly realized that the University of Iowa had something special that I do not experience at the Ohio State games and it was the way the fans REALLY, REALLLY enjoy their school, their team and their surroundings.

My observations of this experience was that the University of Iowa students played a prominent role in the Hawkeye's fan base. They not only had excellent seating but they seemed to be in lock step in their support for their team. I believe this attitude even filtered over into the seating that OSU students and Alumni were provided; which were seats that were better than we have ever experienced at the Shoe. We also saw tailgaters AND Motorhomes EVERYWHERE (even approaching Kinnick stadium) which never happens at Ohio State (since they are relegated to tailgating a hidden distance away). There were even real street vendors with all sorts of goods (even Big Ass Turkey Legs) lining one of the main streets leading to the stadium. What a festive and truly enjoyable event this was with real people taking part in it!!! This experience made me realize that the University of Iowa and their students and fans still had something very special that has long been SOLD OUT at the Ohio State University.

I have a few more pix to show you from the trip but I cannot get them to load properly right now so I will post later.