The bad news: Hayden Fry didn't make it to Evanston for Iowa-Northwestern Saturday. We heard from some people close to Coach Fry who said he has struggled with travel and had other plans for the weekend.
The good news: Just about everything else. There were plenty of Hayden sightings in Evanston, even if the real Hayden wasn't in attendance.
.@HS_BHGP The unofficial HMB section is all Fryed out. pic.twitter.com/mwajWLVJDi
— Christopher Dockum (@TheChrisDockum) October 17, 2015
The Hayden mask being discussed in the original thread also made an appearance, in an interesting location.
@HS_BHGP men's room in Evanston. pic.twitter.com/o7VSm6WSFW
— Ben Brown (@bennybrown_1) October 17, 2015
Iowa won convincingly, regardless of all of the 1995 stuff being thrown at them by Pat Fitzgerald. And most importantly, the BHGP community, and Hawkeye fans at large, hit the $2000 request in less than a day. With additional donations after the fact, we collected $2,141 which, after GoFundMe takes their fees, means $1,947 donated to Iowa Touchdowns for Kids and the University of Iowa Children's Hospital in Coach Fry's name. Not in a million years did we expect that sort of response, and we're overwhelmed and grateful for it. You guys rock.
We were able to get Hayden's address, and we'll be sending him a letter on behalf of BHGP's readers letting him know what happened and wishing him well. Thanks again to all who participated by donating, sharing the GoFundMe page on Facebook and Twitter, or just cheering for Iowa this weekend.