Trying to use a point that Iowa fans debate clown fans everyday does not make the game a rivalry. That is silly.
Eastern Iowa fans might know and debate less Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan St, Illinois fans on that part of the State, but they truly dislike those teams MUCH MUCH more than the clowns.
The clown game means nothing in the scheme of a football season. THAT is what makes the game less of a rivalry...simply because the game means NOTHING in the long run.
Which bragging rights would Iowa fans rather have---Beating the clowns or winning the Big 10. Which bragging rights would Iowa fans rather have---beating a Wisconsin team for the Big 10/Divison title in a series that is something like 43-43-1 (or very similar) or beating the clowns preseason?
Which bragging rights would Iowa rather enjoy--winning Floyd of Rosedale with all the history that encompasses THAT LONG series or beating the clowns preseason?
Which bragging rights would Iowa fans rather enjoy--beating the hated Illini (at which in one point of their series the series was banned) and knocking them out of contention for a Big 10 title or beating the clowns preseason.
Who would Iowa rather beat the most--osu, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska, NW, Minnesota, Illinois, or any other Big 10 team OR the clowns? THE answer is quite obvious to Iowa fans.
Which game would clown fans rather win---the Iowa game because their program is SO overshadowed by the Iowa program. Beating Iowa gives importance to their program. Beating the clowns means little to nothing for the Iowa program.
And don't forget, many State of Iowa fans want the clowns to win when they don't play Iowa. How many Iowa fans want Wisconsin, Illinois, Mich St, Minnesota, or any other Big 10 team to win...NONE.
The Iowa/clown game is simply a preseason game that many State of Iowa fans enjoy to watch. THAT does not make the game the premier rivalry of Iowa.
Another point is that Iowa fans are very very disappointed that we don't get to play Wisconsin this year. Most Iowa fans would like to see the Iowa/clown game go away so that Iowa could play someone else, like Pittsburg or some other team.
Iowa fans would have been greatly disappointed if they could NOT play Nebraska this year (and the last game of the year). Again, most Iowa fans could care less if the clown series is cancelled.
Iowa fans would be shocked and very angry if Iowa could never play Wisconsin, Minnesota, Mich St, and so on again, and so would those fans.
If the clown series were cancelled, Iowa fans would shrug their shoulders. Some would feel bad but those feelings would be quickly changed when Iowa played a team like Pittsburg (just an example) in place of the clowns.
The ONLY true fan base that would hate to see this series end are clown fans because they KNOW they would have NO other rivalry in college football, even if their rivalry is down the list on Iowa fans.
THAT is why clown fans are really disillusioned when it comes to the clown/Iowa series. JUST because clown fans think this game is the biggest game for both fan bases does not make it so...it simply is not true.
If the series ended this year, the ONLY program that would be truely hurt would be the clown program. Iowa would simply schedule someone much better than the clowns. AND the fanbases of both programs would look forward to that game.
The clowns could schedule someone else, but THAT game would just be another game and the other team would be EXPECTED to beat the clowns (like Iowa is). Other than the clowns playing a team like Wyoming or some other likewise team, there would be NO expectations from the clowns playing on the opposing teams field. A BCS team would expect to win the game and the game would be a warmup for that team's season play.
Iowa would be much more than a warmup for an opposing team to play. Oh sure, the clowns might win on occasion, but most programs fans would not take playing the clowns very seriously. They would Iowa.
