Harty nails the trophy discussion.

[thejumper5]

First I am unsure the game deserves to have a traveling trophy. When you try to manufacture a rivalry outside of a conference it is a dubious idea. I can think of no Big Ten University that has a trophy game with an out of conference opponent. I'm unsure any Big XII team has one outside of conference.

I, err We, can hope that sensible heads reconsider this design.

Actually, every annual game between non-conference foes from that same state that are both from BCS conferences has a trophy. There isn't a huge sample size, but I think there is ample precedent for Iowa and Iowa State having a travelling trophy.

Clemson-South Carolina
Georgia-Georgia Tech
Florida-Florida State
Purdue-Notre Dame (more or less fits the criteria)
Kentucky-Louisville
Iowa-Iowa State

Other intra-BCS-conference/intra-state rivalries that are semi-annual/sporadic:
Miami-Florida has the War Canoe.
South Florida has no trophy for their intra-state "rivals," Florida, Florida State, and Miami.
Penn State and Pitt do not have a trophy.
Ohio State and Cincinnati do not have a trophy.
Notre Dame and Indiana don't play each other.

 

[BlckNGldHwk]

I've said this before - ditch the corn!

Traveling trophies are meant to be timeless - sponsors change.

Should the trophy be redesigned whenever the sponsor changes as to reflect the agenda/interests of the new sponsor? NO.

Thank you. This is the best comment I've read regarding this whole thing.

The trophy is about the game. Nothing else. The sponsors shouldn't even be designing the trophy to begin with. It should be designed by the two universities, irrespective of corporate interests. Anything else is just a gimmick.

 

[MisterLucky]

Given the universal sentiments regarding this monstrosity of a trophy, a better design would be an Iowa and and Iowa State fan taking a crap on a bushel of corn.

 

[silvanthalas]

its sponsored by iowa corn. i'm assuming they will want something that has to do with corn represented on there.

And this is why Iowa and ISU messed up in the first place: by allowing a sponsor to have any input whatsoever.

I can't wait to see what happens when Iowa Corn is no longer the sponsor though. Another new trophy!

 

[ThunderHawk]

Trice and Kinnick alone on the pedestal would be fitting. They don't need to be walking out of a goddamn field of corn. There could be some subtle "corn accents" elsewhere on the trophy, or preferably nowhere at all. Really...Iowans don't need to be reminded that this is a corn state.

We know already.

 

[BryceC]

The problem is, what could they have done that would have been WORSE? A huge gold ear of corn would be better than this.

 

[gnfnr]

Geez, those Gophers were a bunch of racist bastards back in the 20-30's,clearly,with the Trice incident and the Floyd incident.

I do not get too caught up in trophies,as I just want to win the game,but I wish they would go back to the drawing board and incorporate some football/Iowa/ISU history into the corn theme.

Corn should only be on the part of the trophy that states "Sponsored by the Iowa Corn Growers Association." Then, when the sponsor changes in 3, 5, 10, 20 years ... all they have to do is remove the sponsorship logo and replace it.

Of course, none of it really matters. I would bet the people playing the actual game do not give a crap about the trophy. And since it doesn't actually affect me, it's toward the bottom of my own list of worries. I do greatly wonder; however, how in the world this came to be. I am extremely curious about the entire process from ideation to the press conference. Who designed it? What was the "theme" given to the artist(s)? Was there a corn mandate? Did the artists even know it was for a football game, an assumption I wouldn't necessarily make? What were the other options? Were there other options or was it a commissioned thing? Who selected the final choice? Did it get in front of any focus group (I'd be real surprised by that)? Did anyone along the timeline offer any bit of negative feedback? And if so, was it rebuffed? How many people had a chance to see it prior to the public release? Did none of them speak up about it? Or was it a super secret where 2 people (or so) knew?

This is just all very strange. Worrisome? No. Strange and oddly fascinating like a car wreck? Yes.

 

[ThunderHawk]

Corn should only be on the part of the trophy that states "Sponsored by the Iowa Corn Growers Association." Then, when the sponsor changes in 3, 5, 10, 20 years ... all they have to do is remove the sponsorship logo and replace it.

Of course, none of it really matters. I would bet the people playing the actual game do not give a crap about the trophy. And since it doesn't actually affect me, it's toward the bottom of my own list of worries. I do greatly wonder; however, how in the world this came to be. I am extremely curious about the entire process from ideation to the press conference. Who designed it? What was the "theme" given to the artist(s)? Was there a corn mandate? Did the artists even know it was for a football game, an assumption I wouldn't necessarily make? What were the other options? Were there other options or was it a commissioned thing? Who selected the final choice? Did it get in front of any focus group (I'd be real surprised by that)? Did anyone along the timeline offer any bit of negative feedback? And if so, was it rebuffed? How many people had a chance to see it prior to the public release? Did none of them speak up about it? Or was it a super secret where 2 people (or so) knew?

This is just all very strange. Worrisome? No. Strange and oddly fascinating like a car wreck? Yes.

In the grand scheme of things yes, this is meaningless.

But it's fun to speculate like you did about WTF! these probably intelligent people were thinking.

 

[Palpatine]

In a related story, the Heroes Trophy design has been released...

 

[PJHawk]

Geez, those Gophers were a bunch of racist bastards back in the 20-30's,clearly,with the Trice incident and the Floyd incident.

Racist bastards is right. They also had a very ugly racial incident in 1920 when three black circus workers were attacked and lynched by a mob in Duluth, Minnesota.

 

[ThunderHawk]

Racist bastards is right. They also had a very ugly racial incident in 1920 when three black circus workers were attacked and lynched by a mob in Duluth, Minnesota.

Man...you don't get much more pasty white than Duluth, Minnesota.

The Trice tragedy is just one more reason to hate the Rodents. Like that's needed.