How/why did you become a Hawkeye fan?

and I had an great uncle that played at Isu under Johny Majors that gave me Cyclone clothes for Christmas every year. My dad would return them for Hawkeye stuff every time! Hell yes !
 
Granddaddy was a Hawk fan, old man was a Hawk fan, I am a Hawk fan. Old man moved to Omaha and is now a Nebraska fan, but I think it's bogus to turn your back on the Hawks just because you move to a town with a different college team.
 
Born and Raised a Hawkeye. I remember watching 56 Rose Bowl on our 12" circular B/W Philco TV. The 50's were a great time for Hawkeye football and basketball. The 1920's, 1950's, 1980's, and now 2010's. It looks like a pattern of great football to me.
 
Born at the UIHC. My dad got his masters from Iowa and mom was a nurse at the UIHC. Grew up around Iowa City. Had Hawkeye stuff throughout the house. We got season tickets in Hayden's second year. Had season hoops tickets for a couple of Raveling seasons. Honed my hoops skills at the Field House in high school. Attended Iowa for a couple years, but did not graduate from there, but instead from St. Edwards here in Austin where our football team is undefeated since the 40's.
 
okeefe4prez said:
Granddaddy was a Hawk fan, old man was a Hawk fan, I am a Hawk fan. Old man moved to Omaha and is now a Nebraska fan, but I think it's bogus to turn your back on the Hawks just because you move to a town with a different college team.
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Exactly, it would be like someone moving to Evanston and becoming a Northwestern fan.
 
Born in Northeast Iowa, lived there until I was 7 when my family moved to Omaha. Being amongst the Nebraska fans I was instantly put off by them. Maybe it was to be different but I never even considered becoming a Nebraska fan, always a Hawk fan. Plus, its kind of nice being one of the few hawk fans around.
 
Was a fan because of my dad, but was really sold when Michigan came to town the same weekend my grandma was sent to IC for cancer. All my family was in IC, so my two uncles took me to Kinnick to try and scalp tickets. No luck getting in, but it looked like a million people were packed into that stadium. Hooked ever since.
 
An acquaintance from high school who is 3 years older than I enrolled in fall 1980. I heard good reports and began to pay attention. Enrolled in 1983 and cemented my Hawkeye Forever status.
 
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VintageHawkeye said:
An acquaintance from high school who is 3 years older than I enrolled in fall 1980. I heard good reports and began to pay attention. Enrolled in 1983 and cemented my Hawkeye Forever status.
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In other words, you didn't get into Princeton, Harvard, U of C, NIU, Northwestern or Illinois.
 
My parents didn't really care much about football. However, my Grandma is a rabid fan. She's been going to games for 75+ years now. Remembers when Nile Kinnick played, and when he died.

She said the games cost $0.10 a ticket when she was a young girl. I honestly can't remember the last game she missed.

Hearing her tell stories is what got me hooked on the Hawks.
 
okeefe4prez said:
In other words, you didn't get into Princeton, Harvard, U of C, NIU, Northwestern or Illinois.
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Stanford was my first choice, actually. But I had neither the class rank nor the GPA for teh cardinal.
If Iowa had rejected me too, my backup school was Drake.
Thank god that scenario didn't play out.
 
My dad went to Iowa in the 50s. As a kid, most games were not on television when I was growing up in the 70s. I remember many a fall days listening to Zabel on our massive radio in the garage as my dad tinkered in the garage. And for those rare games on television, I remember my dad, my brothers, and me ... all sitting around yelling at the television. We did not have a lot of money growing up and with four boys you can imagine why. I never made it over to Kinnick until I was 18 but it was a game I will forever remember. We were playing OSU (I think it was 1987). I remember it raining cats and dogs. I purchased this big, heavy Hawkeye poncho with the old-style Hawkeye helmet on the back (with the narrow face mask) and I still have that same poncho. That sucker is heavy duty and looks as good today as the day I bought it. Walking into Kinnick for the first time is a moment that will stick with me forever.

I still remember the moment in our living room when Houghtlin made the winning kick to beat Michigan in the battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. Funny how many Hawkeye moments stick with me to this day. The Hawks have definitely been a very big part of my life for 30+ years now ...

After college I moved away and lived in Oregon for about five years. One of the big reasons I moved back to Iowa was my love for the Hawkeyes and missing the chance to see them in person. Since 1997, I think I have only missed about 10 home games. And now, I am a regular season ticket holder and loving every Saturday in Iowa City.
 
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The 1997 Michigan game. That is the game that really turned me into a Hawkeye. My grandfather use to have season tickets and I went to the Central Michigan game in 1994 and saw Tim Dwight's first touchdown. I also went to the Penn State game in 95 when they thumped us, but up until the 97 Michigan game I was a bandwagon jumper. I remember clearly that I was watching that game with my dad and was wearing a Michigan t-shirt. Around halfway through the game I began rooting for the Hawks and I have never stopped. I've also never owned another piece of Michigan apparel since then ;). I remember watching the Cap One bowl by myself and nearly hitting my 8 foot high ceiling with my head after Tate to Holloway. My sister has attempted to make my niece and nephews Huskers but I buy them Hawkeye stuff for their birthdays and took my 9 year old nephew to his first game at Kinnick last year, which is the same age I was for my first game.
 
I remember it well...I was sitting in a tavern, eating pizza and drinking an ice cold coke (I was 11) as my dad was getting lit up on well drinks and chain smoking and on the grainy tv above the bar, a team that looked like the Steelers was kicking the ever lovin' crap out of a team with really REALLY ugly uniforms that looked like mustard...and my dad said, "Who ya rootin' for, kid?" and I shrugged and said, "I dunno...who's playing?" my dad laughed and said the team in black was "Iowa" and the team in the ugly uniforms was "Iowa State"...

I looked at the score and said, "I'm going for Iowa!"...my old man back handed me off of the bar stool and said,"YOU CHOOSE IOWA STATE!"...(who knew it would someday become a slogan for the Clones) but to me, back then, my old man wasn't going to tell ME what to do ANYMORE! I said, "NO! I hate you! I like Iowa!"...my dad just laughed and said, "Ok, sing me the fight song then!"...well, I had no idea what the fight song even was or how it went and then he said, "I thought so! You've never even been to Kinnick Stadium and you don't even know the fight song...you're the worst type of fan there is!"...I started crying in that tavern, cuz despite his mean words, I loved the Hawkeyes now...it was as if they chose me instead of me having to force myself to choose them...
 
I graduated from the University of Iowa in 1985. To me it's truly hallowed ground. Lived in Des Moines for 15 years and went to all the home games. When a business opportunity came up for me to move to Cedar Rapids, Iowa... I took it. I am now only 20 miles away.

On Iowa, Go Hawks!
 
VintageHawkeye said:
Stanford was my first choice, actually. But I had neither the class rank nor the GPA for teh cardinal.
If Iowa had rejected me too, my backup school was Drake.
Thank god that scenario didn't play out.
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Iowa rejects native Iowans? If you go to Iowa HS, I thought all you needed to get into state schools was to pass shop. If you were worried about getting accepted to Iowa, maybe that should have told you that you weren't Stanford caliber.
 
MultipleDundieAwardWinner said:
Iowa rejects native Iowans? If you go to Iowa HS, I thought all you needed to get into state schools was to pass shop. If you were worried about getting accepted to Iowa, maybe that should have told you that you weren't Stanford caliber.
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Nah, it doesn't reject native Iowans. Vin is from the Grove o'er to Illinois. He's just trying to dig at Drake. Everybody knows Iowa's the safety school for all the kids from the Chicago 'burbs who can't get into Illinois.
 
okeefe4prez said:
Nah, it doesn't reject native Iowans. Vin is from the Grove o'er to Illinois. He's just trying to dig at Drake. Everybody knows Iowa's the safety school for all the kids from the Chicago 'burbs who can't get into Illinois.
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Oh, that really clears some things up. I didn't apply to Iowa, but I did take a campus visit (free day out of HS), and when I was there, they were like "You have to aplly for a room early, or else you have to sleep in dorm lounge floors", and then they showed us these poor bastards sleeping on floors, and sheeling out good money for the honor.

I was like "Why on Earth do you show this on the tour?", and she laughed and continued on. Now I know, it was Illinois rejects.
 
My old man was a huge Cyclone fan and used to get drunk and burn ISU on my chest with lit cigarettes. I became a Hawkeye fan to spite him.
 
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