We Need Some Good News
by Oops Pow Surprise on Feb 28, 2008 2:38 PM CST
in News
31 comments
Allow me, if you will, to step outside the double-third second person or whatever it's called when I speak on behalf of JHC and HS. This is about the best game that I've ever been to, and if I find out if they too were at the game, that narrows down the field of who they could be to 15,498, and we've all agreed that identification is dangerous to the integrity of BHGP. We write this site on condition of anonymity and penalty of death. We're like the Fight Club of sodomy jokes.
Anyhoo. The best game I've ever been to. It's not Iowa taking out a Top 10 team or anything like that. No, no, although I've seen those, they don't speak to my sense of victory. I like inhumanely lopsided fistfights, and Northwestern at Iowa on January 4, 1998 was most certainly that. I was a junior in high school, fresh off a breakup with a young lady who--well, I won't bore you with specifics, but I thought I'd met gravity's greatest enemy. Let's continue.
I lived in Des Moines, a lifelong Hawkeye fan. That proximity afforded my father and me about three Iowa games a year: one football, and two basketball. Sure, people can claim more, but to me, it was the coolest shit in the world, so thanks for that, Old Man. Our judgment had been poor in years past; we had watched Matt Sherman throw four picks to the Illini in 1995, and we'd witnessed Darnell Autry perform a cold, brutal murderation to the Iowa defense in Kinnick in 1996. So the decision to go to a Northwestern basketball game was, uh, measured.
And what a fortunate decision it was. Both teams were dry out of the gates; with 8 minutes left in the first half, it was just 17-7 Iowa (which is more than the football team can say since 2002, ba-ziiiing). Then all hell broke loose.
First, it was the full-court press. Then it was the inside game. Fucking Guy Rucker was killing them. Life As A G himself. He had like 11 points in the first half. So at the break, bam, 41-17.
In the second half, It didn't matter who shot the ball. It went in. Always. Everything that came out of Kyle Galloway's hands was Pure Staple Sisters AM Gold; he went 4-4 from downtown, and he was scarcely the only offender that night. Ricky Davis, Ryan Bowen, and Ryan Luerhsmann were knocking them down. By the end of the game, they started trotting out the worst of the backups to see what happened when they jacked threes up. Someone named "Kerry Koberg" splashed one down. Greg Helmers, a legendary stiff unmatched in Hawkeye history, stepped behind the arc and hoisted a shot up. Boomshanka. The crowd was in hysterics.
The end result? Iowa went 15-20 from downtown; both the volume and efficiency are team records. Oh, and they won in a 91-57 squeaker.
Best of all was the ensuing radio show. As my father and I sat in an Iowa City parking ramp (parking at the UIHC: not so sneaky), the host asked Tom Davis about the wild, insane, lose-your-job-worthy decision to have Helmers take the shot from behind the arc. Davis responded that yes, we're looking for more contribution from Helmers from long range, and this was the first step in that measure of progress. Greg Helmers' final 3-point stat line for his entire career: 1-1.
Then there's Kyle Galloway. I had run static on Kyle for years, being that he was a walkon who looked like this and specialized in jump shots. Take your voice and raise it an octave and a half. That's the way my friends and I treated Galloway, because we liked to believe that he got unnecessarily fired up for "getting in the paint!" or "crashing the boards!" Say those in your Galloway voice. It's fun.
As we soon found out during the radio show, Kyle does not, in fact, speak like a 12-year-old wrought by puberty; his voice was (and presumably still is) pretty low. Needless to say, that made the deliberate mischaracterization all the more hilarious.
Let's stop the story before it spirals completely out of control now. What's your favorite Iowa game you've ever been to? Basketball, football, whatever. Let's talk about anything instead of that unconscionable hatchet job the refs pulled on Iowa last night.
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Iowa 10, Nebraska 7
- I would've been 9. For a young Hawk fan from Omaha, that was pretty much it. I've been to some great football games since, but that was still the best, and I was probably too young to truly appreciate it. The only other game that comes close was the home basketball game against Michigan and the Fab Five, right after Chris Street's death. That must've been spring of '93. CHA was defeaning as Dr. Tom's boys pulled off the win. 88-80, if I remember correctly.
by telepathetic on Feb 28, 2008 2:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Nice
The best hawkeye hoops game that I ever attended was when we upset Illinois at home Evans and Recker's junior season. Carver was rockin! Soon after, Recker and Hogan got hurt, the Hawks ended up losing like 10 of 11.
I was sucked into this Penn State game last night and boy did the refs screw them at the end. A bigger call was Freeman losing the ball with the Hawks up 5 with like 1:20 left. He was creamed and no call. Penn St goes down and drills a 3.
Gorney could not stop Cornley either. The Virus fouling out was huge. Penn State might have less home fans than the Hawks draw. Pathetic.
by MacG on Feb 28, 2008 3:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
It was the Hairgel Era
You don't need to say we finished by losing 10 of 11. In any season in the Steve Alford era, that is assumed.
by Hawkeye State on Feb 28, 2008 4:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I've been to enough football games that its hard.
But, for sheer awesomeness, the 2000 Northwestern game is hard to beat.
I also attended both the 2002 Northwestern game(watching the OL come off the field together was goosebump-inducing), and the 2002 Minnesota game at the dome where 8-0 was clinched. 2002 was an unbelieveable ride for sure, but I always come back to 2000 Northwestern. The 1991 Illinois game at Kinnick where Iowa came back from, IIRC, a 21-10 halftime deficit was also very memorable. That was my junior year at Iowa.
by DonnyDonovan on Feb 28, 2008 3:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
One Home, One Away, One Bowl (football)
2002
Iowa at Michigan: 34 -9
Winning at the big house decisively. Two teams near or in the top 10. Experiencing the silence of >100,000 wolverine fans.
2003
ASU at Iowa: 21-2
Electric atmosphere for that night game at Kinnick. Both teams ranked with pretty high expectations.
2005
Iowa vs LSU:
Tate to Holloway. Enough said.
Those are three off the top of my head. Maybe I am missing others if i thought a little harder about it.
For some reason my recollection of sporting events is pretty horrible, while the rest of my memory is pretty good. Any others have this affliction?
by Eubanks on Feb 28, 2008 3:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Hmmm...
Well, I've only been to one BB game (Iowa vs.... Drake?), and that was back when frickin' Al Lorenzen was still playing.
So that leaves FB. Again, I've not been to a ton of games, but I guess the best was probably in what, 1990? I would've been in like, 6th grade.
Anyway, it was against Purdue, and we won to clinch the Rose Bowl. Storming the field afterwards was fun. I remember leaving Kinnick and talking trash to the Boiler's mascot, and he took a swing at me! Well, it was really more of a lunge-y type thing, but whatever. It was still a full-grown college kid pissed enough to make an aggressive move at a 12-year-old.
Also, I've been to two Iowa-Illinois games at Illinois, in 2004 & 2006, courtest of my father-in-law, the World's Largest Illini Fan.
We all know how those turned out. :)
by Bucketochicken on Feb 28, 2008 4:06 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I have to pick nits.
The 1990 Purdue game did not clinch the trip to Pasadena. While it improved Iowa's record to 6-1 in the Big Ten, the Rose Bowl trip was not clinched until the following week when Michigan knocked off OSU. This happened during the Iowa-Minnesota game at the Metrodome, a game I attended, and a game Iowa lost.
This all came to pass because of the WORST Iowa sporting event I ever attended (and it ain't close), the 1990 Iowa-Ohio State game at Kinnick stadium. It's been 17 1/2 years and I still hate even brining it up. It was that brutal.
by DonnyDonovan on Feb 28, 2008 4:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Oh God,
I remember that game. I was a freshman in college at St. Louis U. I was so despondent afterwards, I drove aimlessly around St. Louis for hours.
But since this thread is supposed to be an upper, I had the pleasure of making my first and only trip to Champaign earlier that year. I think Illinois was ranked #4, tons of "Fuck Iowa" t-shirts everywhere, and Iowa scored on their first five possessions to take a 35-0 lead. That was a great game. Definately in my top five.
by telepathetic on Feb 28, 2008 6:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I've said it before
and I'll say it again...
Beating minnie in the thunderdome for an undefeated B10 season.
I was there with my brothers and couple of other friends. My family comes from MN, so I take a special delight in any victory over them. And I HATE that dome. Any sport, any time it is a special layer of hell. In the convoy streaming over the border, this was a must win. Not for the victory in itself, but this was about crushing a team that you were supposed to crush. About walking into enemy territory, actually claiming it, and then charging rent to the former occupants.
As the fans stormed the field (being in the upper level, we couldn't get down there easily. And I'm a wuss), I just kept thinking, when has this ever happened, when has the visiting teams fans ripped down the goalposts? How awesome is it that they didn't have enough fans at the game to prevent us from tearing them down. Well, sad for them, I guess, but awesome for us.
We just sat back and watched as the posts were paraded around the field. We started laughing when we realized that they were going to try to take them out.
When the PA announcer started blasting Sinatra (I think. I was slightly drunk at the time) to make the fans leave the field it was the funniest thing I've ever heard.
Good times...
by chitownhawkeye on Feb 28, 2008 4:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
The Best game I've ever been to
It was, in my opinion, the unquestioned peak of Recker's time as a Hawkeye (yes, better than the buzzer-beaters in consecutive days during the next year's Big Ten tourney), and I'll always wonder how great he and that team could have been if he hadn't gotten hurt.
by Adam on Feb 28, 2008 4:19 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I was at that game as well.
Incredible. I remember the rumor that Recker actually dislocated his kneecap falling off a barstool at the field house bar or something. Or was that fact?
Anyway, it was a great game.
by Eubanks on Feb 28, 2008 4:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I dunno
I was like 14 and not really plugged into the Iowa City rumor mill at the time. I'm almost positive he did it fairly early in the first half of that game, but I really don't remember.
by Adam on Feb 28, 2008 4:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Off the top of my head...
My top 4 in Chronological order...
2000 vs. Northwestern
It's been pretty well discussed above, but I grew up an NU fan, but then attending Iowa converted me. This was the game that cemented my love for the Hawks. What an awesome game and sign of things to come.
2001 vs. Michigan
Now, I know Iowa lost this game, but it is arguably the best game I've ever attended. It was the 2:30 game on ABC, packed Kinnick and it was back-and-forth the whole way. It ended with that amazing Marquis Walker catch over Benny Sapp. But it had my favorite Iowa call. Chris Oliver and CJ Jones ran a reverse on a punt return for a touchdown. Best play call I've seen Iowa ever make... ballsy and perfectly timed.
2002 vs. Purdue
Dallas Clark's 95-yard TD reception where he hurdled the defender and outran the entire defense. The Brad Banks 50+ yard scramble late in the 4th. Followed by Dallas Clark catching the game-winner with only seconds remaining in the game. Easily the best game of '02.
2003 vs. USC
My first and only bowl game. I had an amazing trip down to Miami. One of the top 5 tailgating experiences for me. And lucky for me the only thing I remember from the actual game is the opening kickoff. (Well, that and the USC fight song.)
by Buddy Light on Feb 28, 2008 4:34 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
The USC Game
by BradBanks4ever on Feb 28, 2008 5:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
2001 Michigan
It was my 21st birthday.
I don't remember much of it.
by Hawkeye State on Feb 29, 2008 12:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Every home game the 1997-1998 football season.
My freshman year of college and I went to every single home game. They were all dominating home victories, so I really can't pick one (and the pre-game tailgating sort of makes them run together in my mind anyway).
by BradBanks4ever on Feb 28, 2008 5:12 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
ASU @ IOWA in 2003
For the sheer awesomeness of the tailgating, weather, and outcome -- I have to go with the visit by the Sun Devils. It was a twilight kickoff but the tailgating still started at 6 am. Great time, great people, and awesome defensive performance from the Hawkeyes.
by jebushchrist on Feb 28, 2008 5:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
What, no mention of Iowa's 6-4 win at Penn St?
Oh, you're talking about best games. I think that game blinded me with its awfulness.
by PSU Nick on Feb 28, 2008 6:03 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Nick
I sincerely hope you didn't attend that game. It was so terrible that even Kirk Ferentz was moved to tears by the end of it, and his team won.
by Oops Pow Surprise on Feb 28, 2008 6:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
the only thing more painful than winning that game
That being said, I loved watching Kirk order them to take the 2nd safety. That's ballsy, and totally justified, play calling there.
by chitownhawkeye on Feb 28, 2008 6:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Hell yeah I was at that game
The string of profanity that was spilling out of my mouth when Iowa took the second safety was shocking to all those surrounding me. Children gotta learn those words sometime, might as well be well it was appropriate and justified. Damn Ferentz and his strategy, the only squad that could possibly score was the Penn State defense and he had to go and put the ball in the hands of our offense. A sad, sad day
by PSU Nick on Feb 28, 2008 6:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
GT vs. Iowa
I've been to just one football game, the homecoming slapfest against Indiana this past year...the best part of that day was rediscovering my talents of flippy cup after 7 dormant years since college.
The best basketball game I've ever been to at Carver, as someone also experienced above, was an Iowa loss...and also the last time I set foot in Carver. It was the NIT game against Georgia Tech in the spring of 2003. It was back and forth the whole game and Iowa scored with just a few seconds remaining to take the lead by 1, but left enough time for one final Tech posession.
Jarret Jack hit a floater in the lane that seemed to hang on the rim for an eternity. I'd never head Carver louder than that and it was only half full. I was so proud to be a Hawk fan that night even though we lost. We were all behind that team...save for it's Captain of course.
by MissouriHawk on Feb 28, 2008 6:55 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I was at the 2007 IU game too
That was the worst game I've ever seen in person in any sport at any level.
by Bucketochicken on Feb 28, 2008 9:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
It was...
my first experience at Kinnick. Ever. Needless to say, when I go next year, I'm expecting a little bit better outing from the black and gold.
by MissouriHawk on Feb 28, 2008 9:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
The '07 IU game was bad,
but the '06 Northwestern game at Kinnick was worse. I've never seen an Iowa team look so disinterested in being on the field. NU just kept running that draw out of the spread, over and over...
by telepathetic on Feb 29, 2008 10:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
On the plus side,
I got to have my first Big-Ass Turkey Leg. Highlight of the day, actually.
by Bucketochicken on Feb 29, 2008 10:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
That is
on my list of things to do next fall in Iowa City.
by MissouriHawk on Feb 29, 2008 4:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't doubt it for a second
Neither do I doubt that opponent goal post razing has happened before. But it was the first time I'd see it.
And you're right, the PA announcer was a moron. We only found out about the night game later that night when we heard that they had to raid a local college field for replacements. Which may or may not be true.
by chitownhawkeye on Feb 28, 2008 8:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
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