do you feel kinnick isn't the same?

[tm3308]

Thoughtful post(-s), KCP. I totally agree. I hadn't factored the movement of the student section to the S endzone in to my equation/response.
Of course it's made a huge difference, for all the reasons you've cited.
Quite frankly, I'd hate to be a student now, having to sit in that S endzone pie slice. When I was a frosh, my tix were in the N endzone, and I think maybe my soph tix were too, but by JR year, I was in the choice seats in the S stands.

I am a current student at Iowa, and I actually really like the seats I get. I prefer to sit right above the tunnel to the concourse at Sections 220/219. I sit there for just about every game. It's a spot that gives me a pretty good view of the whole field (I don't lose a chunk of the sidelines because of the Iowa bench like people who sit lower), and there's never going to be anyone standing in front of me. Plus, I can sit if I need to (my knees and ankles aren't great, so when the aches start to really annoy me I sit for 5-10 minutes before standing again).

The only negative from that spot is that you don't get a very good look at the other side of the field, but that's case for anyone who sits outside the 25's. The Jumbotron works just fine for north endzone goalline plays.

 

[COLAHawk]

How much of this, do you suppose, has to do with actually moving out of the student section? Naturally, the student section is going to be the loudest because everyone is standing and screaming their lungs out (often hurling obscenities), meanwhile the 70-something-year-old donors might stand if there's a touchdown, and the people with families (or at least families around them) are going to tend to keep it clean and reasonable. In short, I'm saying that it's all relative.

 

[tm3308]

How much of this, do you suppose, has to do with actually moving out of the student section? Naturally, the student section is going to be the loudest because everyone is standing and screaming their lungs out (often hurling obscenities), meanwhile the 70-something-year-old donors might stand if there's a touchdown, and the people with families (or at least families around them) are going to tend to keep it clean and reasonable. In short, I'm saying that it's all relative.

That's a logical conclusion. However, there are fans who never sat in the student section who say it was louder before the renovation/moving of the student section.

 

[EddyP]

tm - i agree and have wondered if the south endzone changed the loudness, as i don't think it is as loud as it was before the remodel. not to say it isn't loud, but i think that and the move of the student section has lowered the overall loudness. just what i've thought at some games recently.

loudest, and i mean the loudest i've ever heard it was the 1990 (i think 1990) game v. OSU when they scored with seconds to go to move ahead and eventually win that game. Coincidently, after that TD was the quietest i'd ever heard it..........

Wasn't there for that one but when Michigan punched in the winning td in OT 2005 you could hear a pin drop. And the crowd just stood there for like a half hour. God I hate Michigan. Their fans chanting "we own Kinnick" after that one.

 

[Thawki]

Actually, HawkKCP...

...I was at Iowa as a freshman for the 1983 season and was a student for four years. I don't recall any disinterested fans...especially among the students, while I was there. And I still go to one game every year. I don't think there is a difference, although I guess there was never a lack of people in any section at the start of the games when I was there. So maybe that counts as a difference, since it seems that the top corner student section in the end zone doesn't always fill up by kickoff.

That's just my two cents. As far as the noise, I see no difference.

 

[tm3308]

Re: Actually, HawkKCP...

...I was at Iowa as a freshman for the 1983 season and was a student for four years. I don't recall any disinterested fans...especially among the students, while I was there. And I still go to one game every year. I don't think there is a difference, although I guess there was never a lack of people in any section at the start of the games when I was there. So maybe that counts as a difference, since it seems that the top corner student section in the end zone doesn't always fill up by kickoff.

That's just my two cents. As far as the noise, I see no difference.

Could this be because you don't SEE noise, rather you HEAR it? Lol

 

[iowahawkeyes89]

I think its July and people need something to talk about.

 

[HawKCP]

You don't think that three years of **** basketball has had anything to do with the student section being dead? You can't really compare the two.

I'm not trying to be snide, I just think it's apples to oranges.

If you would have read the post you would have noticed that I said that even though the basketball team has been down...one section goes nuts and the other section is about like the rest of the stadium.

To take it one step further...I had tickets in the student section for the '05-'06 season when we went undefeated at home...my friend and I made it a point to always get there before the doors opened in order to sit in the section on the side of the court. That section was absolutely bonkers!

One of the games that year where they were selling student tickets for ridiculously cheap (something like $5 IIRC) my girlfriend got a ticket and went with us...since I had to pick her up etc...we got there late and had to sit behind the basket...not too high but not on the floor. My friend and I tried yelling and cheering and got looked at like we were out of our minds...about like you do when you sit amongst the "normals".

I've experienced it during the best of years and worst of years and the effect is the same...students on the side are exponentially louder than those behind the basket.

I have also experienced the same effect in football as the student section was entirely on the sideline on the NW side when I was in school and I've sat in the student section many times since the renovation. Students on the sideline go crazy and those in the endzone only stand because they pretty much have to.

A good example is if you look at how much faster the student section filled up when everyone was on the sideline vs. now.

I once sat in the South endzone a couple of years ago and was making as much noise as possible and the guy next to me kept giving me the stinkeye throughout the first half...then he made a comment to his girlfriend about how I was obviously wasted (one of the few times I've been at a game sober)...I told him I came to cheer on the Hawks and not sit on my hands...he and his girlfriend moved to a quieter portion of the student section at halftime.

Long story short...I got hassled for making too much noise in the student section at a football game. That did not happen before the renovation.

 

[hawkyle]

Long story short...I got hassled for making too much noise in the student section at a football game. That did not happen before the renovation.

Absolute blasphemy! Keep up the great work HawKCP, you cant leave a game without loosing your voice first. Thats un-American and Stanzy would certainly not approve!

 

[MNHawkeyeFreak]

I sit in the south end zone opposite side of the students... So I guess that's near the east sidelines. I am basically ground level and I actually like my seats. The last three years there, seem pretty loud to me. I was there as a student from 84-87 and sat in the north stands up high and really can't remember if it was all that much louder than where I am at now. I stand the entire game usually, and most of the people around me do too. I scream until I am hoarse. Surprisingly I haven't had anyone tell me to sit down.. But maybe I didn't hear them.

Maybe there should be fan try outs for the good
seats...those that show the most enthusiasm should get the better seats!

 

[bhawk326]

I was in school at Iowa for the 2002 - 2005 seasons and completely agree with the difference in the student section as it relates to crowd noise. My college buddies and I spent the entire 2003 and 2004 seasons meeting up outside of the Kinnick gates anywhere from midnight to 6 AM depending on the game to get 3 rows of seats behind the Iowa bench on the 25 yardline. For our senior year (2005 when they moved the student section), we would show up a little before the gates would open and sit in the 219/220 sections like tm3308. Not terrible seats, but nothing like we use to have. Our previous seats allowed us to chat up a lot of former players who would come to the games. The student section was pretty lackluster in 2005 and I've seen the same quieter student crowd in games I've gone to since then.

Now another thing to consider is that Iowa had 1 home loss for the 2002 - 2004 seasons. Heck, there was a 22 home game winning streak between ISU 2002 to Michigan 2005, so that may be clouding judgement. Also, the 2005 Michigan, 2006 Northwestern, 2006 Wisconsin, 2007 WMU, 2008 Northwestern and 2009 Northwestern losses at home were particularly tough.

I have to admit that the 2006 OSU game before kickoff and 2008 PSU game after Murray's kick were probably the loudest I've ever heard it in the 8 seasons I've been going to Iowa games. Also, it was pretty darn loud when Iowa blocked the second FG attempt by UNI in 2009.

I think this year's awesome home schedule will put to rest whether or not things have changed.

 

[SDK46]

It sure has changed....(from the late 70s)....you can no longer...

#1--openly bring in bota's with wine, screw-drivers

#2--openly smoke doobie in your seats or in the grass corners

#3--be openly drunk and stupid and not get hassled

#4--tailgate with kegs of beer on school property

#5--smoke either inside Kinnick or on school property

it's a travesty I tell ya!

 

[tm3308]

I was in school at Iowa for the 2002 - 2005 seasons and completely agree with the difference in the student section as it relates to crowd noise. My college buddies and I spent the entire 2003 and 2004 seasons meeting up outside of the Kinnick gates anywhere from midnight to 6 AM depending on the game to get 3 rows of seats behind the Iowa bench on the 25 yardline. For our senior year (2005 when they moved the student section), we would show up a little before the gates would open and sit in the 219/220 sections like tm3308. Not terrible seats, but nothing like we use to have. Our previous seats allowed us to chat up a lot of former players who would come to the games. The student section was pretty lackluster in 2005 and I've seen the same quieter student crowd in games I've gone to since then.

Now another thing to consider is that Iowa had 1 home loss for the 2002 - 2004 seasons. Heck, there was a 22 home game winning streak between ISU 2002 to Michigan 2005, so that may be clouding judgement. Also, the 2005 Michigan, 2006 Northwestern, 2006 Wisconsin, 2007 WMU, 2008 Northwestern and 2009 Northwestern losses at home were particularly tough.

I have to admit that the 2006 OSU game before kickoff and 2008 PSU game after Murray's kick were probably the loudest I've ever heard it in the 8 seasons I've been going to Iowa games. Also, it was pretty darn loud when Iowa blocked the second FG attempt by UNI in 2009.

I think this year's awesome home schedule will put to rest whether or not things have changed.

I also liked the NW section, because of the former players. My first game as a student (Maine 2008), I was within 10 feet of Chad Greenway because I didn't know that the student section had been moved. There were a lot of college-aged people in the old section, and I thought that's where the security guy pointed, so I found a seat 7 or 8 rows up. I spent the entire first half there. Then a couple old ladies came and told me I was in their seat. I moved (after all, I had no case for myself if they went to security), but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why you would even bother buying tickets if you're only going to SHOW UP at halftime to a game (Maine) that most people are LEAVING at halftime. Blew my mind.

While it would have been cool to chat up Bob Sanders, Brad Banks and the like, I liked the seats I have now just because the view is better. The hardcore partiers/screamers can have the field level seats. I'm going to cheer my a** off, but I'm there to watch a game. Otherwise I could just paint my chest and scream at the wall (you won't miss much more of a game doing that than you would sitting front row in the West grandstands).

 

[bhawk326]

tm3308, that's a pretty good story on the Maine game. I was a first row guy who didn't mind the view, but being 6'4" might have been the reason why I didn't have a problem seeing the game. A lot of the girls that went with us sat in the 3rd row (we had a group of about 20 of us that sat together at every game) and they thought the view was really good from there. I didn't mind the view from the corner, but I felt so removed compared to when we were sitting in the front row. The other thing that I don't think has been mentioned in this thread so far was the 1st row pad banging with the old student section. On almost every defensive 3rd down we would be hitting those pads getting everyone riled up. My arms were normally numb by the end of the game. Does the new student seating's 2 sideline sections even have pads to bang? I don't have a recollection either way during the last few years.

An extra note is that the culture of even our group and me changed from 2002 - 2004 v 2005. Before 2005, when we use to have to get up before dawn and stand outside of Kinnick, it pumped me up so much. There was such anticipation and then you had to run through the concourse and down the bleachers to get seats saved for the rest of the group, so the adrenaline was pumping! In 2005, I would sleep in or stop at a tailgate and casually walk over to join our group for the game. That isn't to say we didn't cheer our heads off in the new section, but the old way just got me so jacked up for the game.

 

[herkeye]

I have to admit that Kinnick does seem a little quieter since 2005. My freshman year was 2002 and I was always half naked and all painted up in the front row. Anyway, I distinctly remember the Purdue homecoming game as being deafening. During the 03 and 04 seasons, I had the privelage of being Herky. 03 home slate included ASU, Michigan, Penn State, Miami (OH), and Minnesota. All games were extremely loud. The 04 schedule included Akron, ISU, Mich St., Purdue, Wiscy, Ohio State. Again, on the field is completely deafening and the student section was situated a lot better on the northwest corner of the field. Anyhoo, The last few years have been rather docile (save a few games like 2006 OSU, 2005 Mich, 08 OSU). Oh well. I think the Hawks should start another home game win streak. Or maybe I should just be Herky again....

 

[DuffMan]

just seems kinnick has gotten quieter the last few years... idk

Try this.

Loud N Clear As Seen On TV Sound Amplifier

 

[TerminatorHawk]

Just my 2 cents worth on a good July topic: I don't think things have changed dramatically in my 25 years of going to games in Kinnick. It remains one of the toughest places to play in the country, no question about it. I do believe, that from game to game the noise level can vary based on a few factors:
1: Start time
2: Importance of the game
3: The flow of the game
However, I think the biggest factor that is not usually talked about is the wind direction in relation to where you are sitting. I have found in talking to people following games that your perception of the noise level can be very effected by the wind direction. Wind in your face = much more noise your direction than wind at your back. Seems odd but I believe it.
For the record: Ohio State night game was the most electric atmosphere I have ever seen at a sporting event, anywhere, possibly followed a close second by the Orange Bowl game buildup and opening kick off vs. USC.

 

[whammer33024]

kinnick is usually pretty quiet in july

 

[Clark]

I also liked the NW section, because of the former players. My first game as a student (Maine 2008), I was within 10 feet of Chad Greenway because I didn't know that the student section had been moved. There were a lot of college-aged people in the old section, and I thought that's where the security guy pointed, so I found a seat 7 or 8 rows up. I spent the entire first half there. Then a couple old ladies came and told me I was in their seat. I moved (after all, I had no case for myself if they went to security), but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why you would even bother buying tickets if you're only going to SHOW UP at halftime to a game (Maine) that most people are LEAVING at halftime. Blew my mind.

While it would have been cool to chat up Bob Sanders, Brad Banks and the like, I liked the seats I have now just because the view is better. The hardcore partiers/screamers can have the field level seats. I'm going to cheer my a** off, but I'm there to watch a game. Otherwise I could just paint my chest and scream at the wall (you won't miss much more of a game doing that than you would sitting front row in the West grandstands).

Couldn't agree more.

 

[CAARHawk]

I actually wrote a op ed in the Daily Iowan about my concern about the student section leading up to the Michigan Game in 2005. In my mind there had been a decided dropoff in student participation that year. While there had been spots open in the student sections previously, the new configuration seemed to bring about more noticeable holes. It also seemed quieter. I remember from 2002 through 2004 there where a lot of times when the crowd noise disrupted the visiting team's offense. Not sure how much that has happened since that time.