How/why did you become a Hawkeye fan?

My father attended University of Iowa and I started attending games in 1981 with him. I then graduated from the University of Iowa as well and will be a life long fan.
 
My Dad took me to my first game in 1962. I was 7. We defeated Oregon St on a breautiful, sunny day at Kinnick. The whole experience was just overwhelming. I was hooked for life.

It was a long wait for Hayden and Kirk, but boy has it been worth it. What a great ride -- I'm hoping for more bowl seasons!!!
 
This thread really is amazing - the passion of Hawkeye fans for this program is quite extraordinary.

Can anyone explain it? Are all college football fans this way? Is it something about Iowans? Is it the time of year?

I think it may have something to do with the fact that family members are usually involved or around you during an Iowa game. It is a shared experience. You forget yourself and your troubles on those saturdays and get involved in the game and the day. Everyone is happy and having fun and that leads to great memories, particularly if the Hawks are doing well.

Am I right on this, or am I missing something?
 
ChosenChildren said:
This thread really is amazing - the passion of Hawkeye fans for this program is quite extraordinary.

Can anyone explain it? Are all college football fans this way? Is it something about Iowans? Is it the time of year?

I think it may have something to do with the fact that family members are usually involved or around you during an Iowa game. It is a shared experience. You forget yourself and your troubles on those saturdays and get involved in the game and the day. Everyone is happy and having fun and that leads to great memories, particularly if the Hawks are doing well.

Am I right on this, or am I missing something?
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It's like this everywhere.
 
Grew up 40 miles from Kinnick (Iowa Stadium), My dad had been accepted to the college of engineering after WWII, but decided to stay home and get married. I grew up listening to Zabel, Brooks, Gonder, Mitchell, on the radio.
When in High School the U had high school bands march in the Homecoming parade, then they got to go to the game, thats the first games I remember going to.
I applied to Iowa and got in(YEAH!). I really had nowhere else that I wanted to go. I was fortunate enough to be there when the stadium was christened Kinnick.
I was there for the renewal of the Iowa-ISU wrestling series, basketball series and football series. I have seen the worst of Iowa Football (FXL) and the best of football(Fry & Ferentz).

Only one thing I can say "GO HAWKS"
 
Both of my parents went to the U of I along with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and my sister. My grandmother (on my Mom's side) has lived in Iowa City for 50+ years, so I have been visiting there since I can remember. My first Iowa game was in the late 80's and have bled black and gold since. I was accepted to Iowa in 02 and graduated in 06. During that time, I was Herky the Hawkeye for the 2003 and 2004 sports seasons and my love for all things Hawkeye has been amplified 100 fold. It is my goal to convert everyone I know into a Hawkeye.
 
Stood alone on a mountain top,
Starin' out at the great divide
I could go east, I could go west,
It was all up to me to decide
Just then I saw a young hawk flyin'
And my soul began to rise
And pretty soon
My heart was singin'

​
Roll along Iowa, Roll down the field,On to victory!Roll along Iowa, Don't ever yield,Always a winner be!Get that ball, Give your all, For dear Old Gold,Raise her banner high!With firm endeavor, Roll on forever,U of I.
 
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I grew up about 20 minutes from iowa city, and my grandpa was a high school football coach and a very good player in his day (played at Iowa Weselyan). He always took me to his high school practices when I was a kid and he had Iowa season tickets and took me to my first game when i was 4. I went to multiple games every year and was hooked. I went to ISU for school and nobody could figure out why I was an Iowa fan. Well when you have 18 years of Iowa football drilled into you (loved every second) there's no way you can change.
 
I grew up in southwest Iowa where I was surrounded by Nebraska fans. All I heard about was how great Nebraska was and I grew to hate them. I decided that since I lived in Iowa that I would cheer for Iowa. Now I live in Iowa City and can't get get enough of the Hawks.
 
When I was young - I remember listening to them on the radio - they were going to the Rose Bowl - 1956. No one in my family was much of a fan of college athletics, but I was hooked. Been a fan ever since - I never dreamed that I would have season tickets for football, basketball, and wrestling. I've been very fortunate to have enjoyed the Hawks for so many yrs.
 
Born and raised Hawk fan here. Born and lived in eastern Iowa all my life. Been going to Hawk games since I was 2 (According to my dad), who took me and my brothers. He has had season football tix for 30+ years.
I ended up going to Iowa and graduating from there. Lived on Melrose Place for 2 years in 02-03 while I finished up school. It was excellent times.
Now I have my own season tix and have taken my son to several games already, he is 3 and been to 3 or 4 games. So I have started the tradition all over.
Damn its good to be a Hawkeye!!!
 
My grandpa is the biggest hawk fan I know. His basement is enshrined with hawkeye gear. He never went to Iowa but whenever the hawks play we talk after the game about what we liked and didn't like. My dad went to Iowa and is a big fan and has season tickets. There is a picture in my dad's office of him and I outside of kinnick in the tailgate parking lot when I was maybe 1. So I have been a hawk fan since before i can remember. The first season I can remember is when we won the Alamo bowl on a kaeding kick against Tex. Tech. My whole family was in the basement and we were going crazy. Now I go to Iowa and can't wait to pick up my student tickets.:D
 
Nothing too interesting here - I just grew up in a household that watched Hawkeye basketball religiously, so I guess I ended up a Hawk fan by default. We watched some football, but basketball was the true passion.

My absolute earliest memories are of guys like Steve Carfino, Greg Stokes, etc. But I really became a huge Hawkeye fan during the BJ Armstrong, Roy Marble and Ed Horton days. And the rest is history.
 
I'll never forget the day I knew I was a Hawkeye.

I was probably about 5 years old. I was at the neighbor girl's house and she had her sister give me a piece of paper that said "do you like me? Check yes or no". I thought...well I think I do. So I went for it.... I kissed her. And I liked it! I liked girls! That was when I knew I obviously wasn't a Cyclone fan. She smiled at me and said "So, what do you think?" I said.. "GO HAWKS!"
 
Born into it I guess. Grew up in Waverly and my dad was a taxidermist for many years (nice little side job), and so I helped him quite a bit. He always had Zabel/Gonder on the radio for football games. He used to work with a number of ISU fans and we always giving dad crap. So, that's trickled down to me and my family....hate ISU and love the Hawks. Used to go down to games as a boy scout and rope off the field after the games. Loved being on that field...those were very lean years (70'S)...thank God for Hayden. When in college (UNI) we had friends that went to ISU and Iowa, so we would go down when they wrestled each other....The old Fieldhouse was awesome and those wrestling matches were every bit as entertaining....the Banach's, Randy Lewis, etc...I once ran into Dan Gable (literally). Before the meet started he was in the crowd, looking at all the crazies. We were trying to find our spot and turned around right into him...best day of my life....Lots of great memories of Iowa....Chuck Long, BJ Armstrong, the list is endless...we have all seen some great games, and lost some heart breakers, but it's in your blood, and you just can't break that bond. Besides, it doesn't matter where you go in this great USA we live in...there's always a Hawk fan right around the corner to say "Go Hawks"...
 
NEIChawk said:
the list is endless...we have all seen some great games, and lost some heart breakers, but it's in your blood, and you just can't break that bond. Besides, it doesn't matter where you go in this great USA we live in...there's always a Hawk fan right around the corner to say "Go Hawks"...
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Born and raised in Eastern Iowa. I was a farm kid who used to listen to football games on the tractor radio......those memories run deep. We were able to go to a few games as kids and couldn't sleep the night before. We were just excited to get to see our Hawkeyes. This of course was during the lean years, before Haydon so wins were far and few between. It didn't matter though, we still enjoyed getting to the games and certainly enjoyed our Hawkeyes in person.

Now, I live in Arizona. It is so true.....the Hawkeye Fans are all over the place. It is pretty cool to go to a sports bar and watch the Hawks with a ton of fellow Hawk Fans. You are correct in saying the Hawkeye's are in your blood. Or, perhaps it is growing up in Iowa that stays in your blood and the Hawkeyes are simply a real part of those memories that come to life every fall when the Hawks come on that field.
 
I was born in illinois ... mom remarried, and we moved to iowa when i was 5.

So, in first grade, I became a Hawkeye fan. Can't tell you if it was to fit in with the kids at my new school, or to rebel against my new stepdad (cool as hell) who took me to an Iowa-Purdue game with all his college buddies (he went to purdue).

Then, at age 10, I moved to south of chicago. There, I was "the kid from Iowa," so being a Hawkeye fan was natural.

In short, being an Iowa fan has helped me fit in and stand out at strategic times in my life -- I never really thought about it until now.

Anyway, long story short, went to iowa, graduated in 2000 (1999 season, ugh). Been a fan forever.

When my sons answer this question, they'll probably say, "I was born liking them because my dad went there ... it never seemed like a choice to me."
 
justwinbaby said:
I grew up in southwest Iowa where I was surrounded by Nebraska fans. All I heard about was how great Nebraska was and I grew to hate them. I decided that since I lived in Iowa that I would cheer for Iowa. Now I live in Iowa City and can't get get enough of the Hawks.
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Same story here, fellow SW Iowan. A lot of people around here became traitors, but constantly having to hear about the Huskers made me hate them. Of course, these traitors thought they were better than you, because they liked a team of young men from a school from another state which they did not even attend.
 
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