Divided we stand
Coach Earle Bruce’s Iowa State football team would finish 8-4 in a season that included a victory over Nebraska and a trip to the Peach Bowl. Iowa, coached by Bob Commings, would end up a modest 5-6. But in one important historical sense, the season went to the Hawkeyes — they beat the Cyclones, 12-10, in the first meeting of the two teams in the modern era.
Or maybe the most important thing about the fall of 1977 took place in the weeks leading up to Sept. 17, when the residents of this peaceful state found out just how much they care about this stuff.
It’s hard to imagine now, but for 42 college football seasons, this state didn’t have the equivalent of Michigan vs. Michigan State or UCLA vs. Southern Cal. The state’s two biggest schools didn’t meet from 1935 through 1976, and then the Iowa Legislature – urged on by then-senator and former Iowa fullback Bill Reichardt – threw them back together. Iowa didn’t really want to resume the series, but Iowa State won an arbitration showdown.
All of that pent-up pressure burst loose, and now the game is the unavoidable big deal of the season.
We checked in with a few fans to put the whole colorful, overblown, fascinating and outlandish tradition into perspective.
Kevin Grimm
The owner of Rhino Materials LC and co-owner of Wexford & James LLC comes from a football family. His dad, Dan, went on from Roosevelt High School to play ball at the University of Colorado and then in the National Football League, including a stint with the Green Bay Packers.
Faithful follower: I have attended all but a couple of the games in this series over the last 20 years. The game always provides an exciting college atmosphere at both locations, and it’s great to expose opposing fans to what “Game Day” feels like at the each of the universities.
Preparations: In Iowa City, our game-day ritual generally centers around allowing for plenty of time to visit a number of tailgates in the medical and dental school parking lots; sometimes the law school lots have great parties. For the away games, we tailgate in one of the open fields around Jack Trice Stadium with some friends.
The next generation: I have three daughters and a neighborhood of kids that I would describe as “walking Hawkeye memorabilia” — except for the Sullivan girls, who proudly wear their “cardinal and gold.” In my office, you will find a photo of Nile Kinnick, a national hero, Heisman Trophy winner and an example of what the term “student athlete” truly stands for.
Most memorable moment: The first game, 1977, in Iowa City, when Iowa beat heavily favored Iowa State, 12-10…a very surprising upset.
Ryan Uetz
Uetz, an account representative with State Farm Insurance, soaked up the Cyclone atmosphere while growing up in Ames. Now he’s the president of the Greater Des Moines Cyclone Club. As for the annual showdown, “don’t buy into the hype,” he says, “when you hear a Hawk fan trying to tell you that they would love to go 10-1 every year with a loss to us and play in a New Year’s Day game.”
The proper venue: I have probably attended 10 ISU-Iowa games, but only one in Iowa City. Once was enough.
Game-day ritual: Getting to the tailgate party before sunrise. Watching the team get off the bus at Jack Trice Stadium.
Game-day attire: Anything cardinal. No gold when we are playing Iowa, as I don’t want to be mistaken for one of them.
Unnecessary roughness: My wife doesn’t let me watch at home. She is afraid that the big screen might be in danger in the unlikely event that things go awry.
Lots to look at: I have a large amount of memorabilia at home. As soon as the basement is done with a remodel, it will be all Cyclones all the time.
A memory to savor: The ‘Clones storming back from a huge halftime deficit in Iowa City in 2002, providing the Hawks with their only loss of the regular season and quite possibly costing them a shot at the national title game.
Doug Reichardt
The CEO of Holmes Murphy Associates Inc. was born to be a Hawk fan; his dad, the late Bill Reichardt, was named Most Valuable Player at Iowa back in 1951.
Memories: “When it comes to the big game, I mostly think about my dad, who had to push … to make the two teams play each other. Looking at the popularity of the rivalry today, it seems silly that it took such an effort.
“His hope was for all Iowans to come together and enjoy two great teams and for Iowa to keep the vast majority of the proceeds in the state. From an economic standpoint, this is a winner!”
Constant reminder: I have a 4-foot-by-7-foot picture of Kinnick Stadium in the TV room from 1950 — which is before it was called Kinnick.
Pregame traditions: I get really fired up on game day and have a sequence of getting dressed for the game that goes back to my days in Little League football. It starts with everything going from left to right; left sock, right sock, left leg, right leg; left shoe, right shoe. Then it’s all about the hat (a ball cap).
One cup of coffee, and I cannot get to Iowa City soon enough. Once there, I have to see the band before they go into the stadium. One more decaf and it’s go time.
Donna Allen
It can’t be easy being an ISU fan at Liberty Bank – the boss is Hawkeye superfan Bill Krause. But Allen is not only a security/Community Reinvestment Act officer there; she’s also the treasurer of the Greater Des Moines Cyclone Club. When it’s game time, she likes to be with her own kind; Allen’s on hand for Iowa’s visits to Ames, but she hasn’t made it to a game at Kinnick Stadium yet.
Game day: I usually arrive a couple of hours before the game and tailgate with old friends and usually meet new friends — the whole tailgate atmosphere is like one big family reunion.
Not superstitious, but … I always wear Cyclone gear, but if we lose, I never wear that outfit to a game again.
On the home front: . Turn on the big-screen TV and have a pot of chili on the stove and brats on the grill! Also have to put the dogs outside, as they don’t quite understand all of the yelling that is going on.
Total dedication: What kind of fans would we be if we did not have a dog named Cy and a cat named Clone!
I’ll never forget: There are so many [memories], but at the top of the list has to be the comeback game with Seneca Wallace at Kinnick Stadium.
Games before the game: Our office, like many, has a friendly rivalry on the Friday before the game. We have competitive games such as tossing a football through a small hole and trying to get field goals by “kicking” a paper wad with the fingertips. We also have a potluck and try to have food with the school colors in it.