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Sports
October 25, 2009
September 07, 2008
The Cy-Hawk Trophy is lame
Well, it's rivalry week here in the state of Iowa. It is without question the most electrified, exciting time of the year to be an Iowan.
To say that football is big in Iowa is an understatement. Iowa is fairly unique in that we only have 3 state universities here and two FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) schools in Iowa and Iowa State and one FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) team in Northern Iowa. While I personally love UNI Panther Football and would consider myself a fan their small fan base and placement in the FCS places them in a very distant third when it comes to football in our state.
The state of Iowa is effectively polarized between the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State University Cyclones. Anyway this game is huge. You will be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't have a favorite going in to the game in Iowa City this upcoming Saturday. It is the topic that everyone is talking about, that people are excited about and eagerly awaiting. So why does an annual event with such significant cultural impact have a trophy that most would expect to be handed to the winner of parks and rec flag football league? It's terrible. Shouldn't the spoils of the most relevant sporting event in the state of Iowa demand grandeur? This think looks like it was built by a junior high shop class with pieces they bought at a flea market.
The name is bush-league. The hyphenated concatenation of the two schools nicknames? In a sport that lays claim to the Old Oaken Bucket, the Civil War and Paul Bunyan's Axe can't we come up with something better? Iowa's rivalry with Minnesota even has a more creative and inspired trophy in Floyd of Rosedale. Iowa State has the Telephone Trophy with Missouri. Both of these awards are won in far less contentious, bitter affairs. This rivalry demands a better effort from the Greater Des Moines Athletic Club, the schools involved and the fans involved.
I would suggest renaming the trophy to the Corn Cup due to the natural affiliation with our state and America's favorite grain. I know that after the marketing disaster that is the Iowa Chops that many people will see the a football trophy named the "Corn Cup" as an insulting reference to Iowa's agricultural heritage. Let's be honest with ourselves, it's undeniable. And I don't see anyone in
Washington State upset about the Apple Cup being an association with that state's most famous crop. Put the Cy-Hawk Trophy to bed and give the trophy and the series an overhaul. The vicorious teams and fans have earned it, and the state as a whole deserves it.
August 26, 2008
Behold, the bus!
We are a mere two days away from Iowa State Football and tailgating. This is the bus that we tailgate at in Ames before, during and after Cyclone football games. Look for us in Lot D4 and say hello!
Tags: IowaState Cyclones, Football, Tailgating, "Kappa Sigma
August 24, 2008
August 07, 2008
July 10, 2008
Good times at Barnstormer's VIP Party
My brother Chris and I were in Des Moines at the Iowa State Fairgrounds last night for the first-annual Barnstormers VIP Party.
While I felt that it was overtly targeted "family-oriented" with a lot of inflatable games which are not my bag, it was cool to hang out with the players, Coach Gregory, ownership and the cheerleaders. I was shocked to see nearly all of the people who sit by us at games there.
Thanks Barnstormers for making us feel like big corporate sponsors.
Iowa Chops?
Well, after a few weeks of speculation and debate it's official.
The Iowa Chops
The new name of Iowa's AHL Franchise.
A lot of people are hemming and hawing over the fact that it reinforces stereotypes about bucolic Iowa. I am seeing a lot of chatter on DMR site posing questions about "what will people from other states think?"
First of all, I think Iowans are inherently over sensitive about being from Iowa and being maligned with an association with anything agricultural. We are perpetually in fear that we will be perceived as "uncool" because we are from a very rural state. I would fight to say that most of the good things about living here that we have seen in recent months with the flooding here are attributable to our rural roots and farm work ethic. If someone considering a job in Des Moines did a double-take due to the fact that our minor-league hockey team was named after a meal then I would say that individual had some messed up priorities in life.
I don't particularly care for the name "Chops" I think it's just not a smoove nickname. It's abrupt.
Does it matter? No. I am going to buy "Chops" tickets because I am a hockey fan and I am going to squeeze the most I can out of AHL level hockey here for as long as possible.
Iowa Chops Hockey: Sign me up.
July 09, 2008
Barnstormers VIP Party 2 Nite!
I'm heading down to the Iowa State Fairgrounds tonight for the Iowa Barnstormers VIP (Season Ticket Holders) Party with my brother Chris.
It's one of a the nice things that the "new" Barnstormers have done for season ticket holders.
As a little background information, I bought season tickets for the Barnstormers as a gift for my brother Chris who lives in Des Moines. I have never been a particularly big arena football fan, but I thought it would be a cool gift. I went to my first few games with a raised eyebrow not knowing exactly what to expect.
Now as we near the end of the AF2 season, I will say that this has been one of the best experiences I have had as a ticket holder of any sport. Wells Fargo Arena is new and comfortable, the game is fast paced and exciting and the management puts fans first. Our tickets were inexpensive $150 a piece and we are 7 rows up for the action. hard to beat.
What had initially been a one-time purchase, after a lot of discussion with my brother we will be buying tickets again. Even without the ingratiating gesture of the party tonight, my brother and I will make Barnstormers football a yearly tradition.
