HNMitchSmith
Active Member
I recently spoke with former Iowa assistant coach Don Patterson to get his memories of past Iowa Rose Bowls. Patterson served in a variety of coaching roles during Hayden Fry's 20 years as Iowa's head coach. Story can be read here: http://hawkeyenation.com/2015/rose-bowl-reflections-don-patterson
Now the associate head coach at UConn, Patterson shared a number of stories from the three Rose Bowls he coached in, but I particularly enjoyed his response when I asked what advice he'd give to the 2015 Iowa football squad:
"My advice would be to avoid getting caught up in all the hoopla. It’s a wonderful experience, and there is going to be a lot of things you get to do and need to do in terms of the Rose Bowl experience. Soak it all in, but never lose sight of the fact that the strongest memories you have will be related to the game. Never lose sight of the fact that there is a game with Stanford, and you need to find a way to have one more point than Stanford. The next step for this team is to go out there and find a way to win this game. Enjoy the full experience, but don’t forget there is a game to be played."
Go Hawks!
Now the associate head coach at UConn, Patterson shared a number of stories from the three Rose Bowls he coached in, but I particularly enjoyed his response when I asked what advice he'd give to the 2015 Iowa football squad:
"My advice would be to avoid getting caught up in all the hoopla. It’s a wonderful experience, and there is going to be a lot of things you get to do and need to do in terms of the Rose Bowl experience. Soak it all in, but never lose sight of the fact that the strongest memories you have will be related to the game. Never lose sight of the fact that there is a game with Stanford, and you need to find a way to have one more point than Stanford. The next step for this team is to go out there and find a way to win this game. Enjoy the full experience, but don’t forget there is a game to be played."
Go Hawks!
