No Rule Prohibiting Big 10 Night Games in November

INTIMIDATORHawk said:
I've had season tickets for a numbers of years, and I have attended 3 true night games at Kinnick: 2003 Arizona State, 2006 OSU, and 2009 Michigan.

There is one undeniable, indisputable fact regarding the night games: The crowd is TWICE as electric as they are during the day games.

There must be something about the anticipation and buildup to the game, but everyone is just on an adrenaline rush the entire evening.

There are obvious drawbacks to it. I understand the added costs to the University of Iowa. There are people who drink more than they should (but those people are at the games anyway, there are just a few more of them at the night games). The game ends late and the traffic congestion is a nightmare afterwards. I think it's because of how many people show up to tailgate that DO NOT have tickets. The number of people who do that is significantly larger for night games.

Overall, I think night games are more appealing to the fans. The atmosphere inside Kinnick is always more intimidating. The kickoff of the OSU game in 2006 sent shivers down my spine. It was absolutely amazing how electric that stadium was.

With all that being said, I think night games should remain few and far between. If there are more than 1 or 2 of them each year, the novelty will surely wear off. No need to exploit a good thing.
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I've had season tickets for a long time, and I totally concur.

The 2006 OSU game was probably the best atmosphere EVER at Kinnick. The PSU night game a couple of years ago was absolutely amazing. It was one of my all time favorite games. It was cold, but heck, it actually added to the experience. The Michigan game was pretty cool last year.

I think one game, maybe two, per year, is probably a good thing.

11am games (I know it's probably easier for players and TV) are somewhat lame. Morning? C'mon.

The old 1pm start time was pretty swell.
 
I think the people that whine about the cold, the dark, and the long drive should donate their tickets to others :p
 
11:00 kickoffs are great if you win, because then you sit back and watch everyone else play while in a good mood. Especially if 11:00 road wins watching on TV.

The November 2:30 (or 3:30 or so like Wiscy in 2004) are really cool too. Reminds me of the Rose Bowl - starting out during the afternoon, then twilight, then finishing at night.
 
I for one love night games in Kinnick and I live in Ankeny. To me, it doesn't matter that I get home late because if it's an 11 am kickoff, getting up at dawn is really no different. When it's a home game, my whole day revolves around it anyway, and the atmosphere is so much better
 
If I had my choice between 11, 2:30, and 7. It would be 2:30 every home game with one night game a year.

The 2:30 game give you the best of both worlds, plenty of tailgating before and after the game or the option of one or the other, plus traffic isn't nearly as bad as the 11AM games when everybody seems to get there around 7-9. The 2:30 games have a lot bigger window of people coming before and leaving after. On the other end of things the night games are great but after the game everybody leaves at the same time so all the roads around the stadium turn into parking lots.
 
I agree with Hoffa.

I also drive from Madison, WI for all of the home games, and that Sat am drive rolls around pretty early for an 11am start.

2:30 is ideal.

It never matters to me if we win, though
 
Concerning day games, noon to 2:30 p.m. starts are my preference. I think 11:00 a.m and 11:30 a.m. starts are too early.

A couple of night games played every year for national exposure and a change of pace from the day game routine would be nice. However, I discourage night games in November due to the unpredictable Iowa weather and extended darkness.
 
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masoncityhawkeye said:
Personally I am starting to like the 11 am games.

Don't have to wait all morning for the games and I can get back in West Des Moines by 4:30 or 5 pm Saturday to spend some time with the kids
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Agree.

I hate..hate...HATE night games. 2:30 games are almost as bad. As MasonCity said...with an 11:00 start I don't have to wait all day for a late starting game. I can be back in Des Moines in time to watch some of the 2:30 games and be able to watch the 7:00 games in their entirety.

With the late games you have the obnoxious stupid drunks (it's bad enough at 11:00). Traffic is MUCH worse than with the early games.

The atmosphere is NOT more electric. I've seen many an early game that was more "electric" than any night game I've seen at Kinnick.

No night games at Kinnick....PLEASE. And very few 2:30 starts, also.
 
I for one HATE 11:00am kickoffs. I don't drink on gameday, because I go to watch the game, not stand in line to go take a leak. I do my partying on Friday night when we roll into town with the camper. Waking back up at 7:00am to get ready for an 11:00am kickoff with a hangover blows. I absolutely love the atmosphere inside Kinnick for night games, and they are by far my favorite, but they need to stay reserved for the high profile games. I don't want to see the luster rubbed off of those from overuse. If I had my way about it, there would be 1-2 night games a year, and the rest would be 2:30pm kickoffs.
 
83Hawk said:
Agree.

I hate..hate...HATE night games. 2:30 games are almost as bad. As MasonCity said...with an 11:00 start I don't have to wait all day for a late starting game. I can be back in Des Moines in time to watch some of the 2:30 games and be able to watch the 7:00 games in their entirety.

With the late games you have the obnoxious stupid drunks (it's bad enough at 11:00). Traffic is MUCH worse than with the early games.

The atmosphere is NOT more electric. I've seen many an early game that was more "electric" than any night game I've seen at Kinnick.

No night games at Kinnick....PLEASE. And very few 2:30 starts, also.
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Please name an 11am game or two that was more electric than the 2002 Iowa State game, the 2003 Arizona State game or the 2006 Ohio State game. NOTHING matched the intensity or electricity of those games. And it's not even close.

Speaking of the '02 and '03 games I mentioned, those were both 5pm kickoffs and I absolutely loved that time for a game. They were both in September and the weather was very good and the game started in sunlight and ended at night. And the crowds were absolutely amazing. Plenty of time to tailgate and you didn't get home at a crazy hour. I would vote for 5pm kickoffs for every September home game if I could control the schedule.
 
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