Remembering Iowa's 1980 Final 4 Team

UncleHawk said:
I remember being one of those fans at the Fieldhouse.
Click to expand...


Hey, UncleHawk, I was there, too. My wife and kids and I attended the festivities and it was really wild. Seems like we waited forever for the team, but it was worth the wait. We had season tickets that year, as well. Great team to watch!

The article was really well written; brought back a lot of memories.
 
What a great ride. I was a fresh in college and what a blast it was getting together with friends, drinking beer and watching all the games but VCU game. Not sure it was on TV.
 
HuckFinn said:
Hey, UncleHawk, I was there, too. My wife and kids and I attended the festivities and it was really wild. Seems like we waited forever for the team, but it was worth the wait. We had season tickets that year, as well. Great team to watch!

The article was really well written; brought back a lot of memories.
Click to expand...
Like your moniker- my dad read that to me as a kid.
Yeah, that year and NCAA Final Four run was what made me an Iowa fan to this day.
 
OK, since it's my birthday and all...I'm gonna play the old alum card.

I was the drummer for that pep band...and the night Darsee refers to.... remains one of the greatest Hawkeye memories I have. I was there for the Rose Bowl clinching victory against Mich St in 1981, the Houghtiln field goal to beat Michigan in 1985, the 2004 victory over Wisconsin to cinch the Big Ten title.

But that Sunday in late March 1980 was something else. When Steve Waite (the least likely guy to hit a big shot) hit the driving layup and free throw to beat Georgetown... students streamed out of the dorms...and all, somehow ended up on the Pentacrest...and the steps of the Old Capital. People cheered and sang the fight song...alternately celebrating the National Championship of Gable's wresting team...and the Final Four berth. It was right out of a movie...better than Hoosiers.

A couple of hours later...the impromptu celebration at the Fieldhouse began to form. Keep in mind..this is long before cell phones...so it was no small feat to put this together in a couple of hours. A rag tag pep band was thrown together...and sometime around 7:00PM the field house started filling up. Students and locals streamed in...with little or no plan. It was all spontaneous. And it was something special....in today's parlance.. completely organic.

By the time the basketball team rolled in after Midnight...it was like a rock concert that had been extended with endless encores. The best line of the whole night.... after the team found it's way through the crowd to a makeshift stage...Lute took the mic. Once the crowd quieted enough for him to speak....he said: "Don't you people have class in the morning?!". The place erupted.

I will never forget that night.
 
I too was at the Fieldhouse that night...a school night as I recall (I was a soph in HS then). I still get goosebumps thinking about it. Awesome.
 
StatelineHawk said:
What a great ride. I was a fresh in college and what a blast it was getting together with friends, drinking beer and watching all the games but VCU game. Not sure it was on TV.
Click to expand...

I was a freshman in college too. In Iowa, but not at U of Iowa. (Harvard). Pretty sure, I was on Spring break that March, at home.

I remember watching every game with some buddies and Partying it up.......FUN Times

But, I remember the Sunday afternoon game, at Mom & Dad's house, when Steve Waite
took it to the rack and sent the HAWKEYES to the Final Four !
 
atomicblue224 said:
That was fun wasn't it!
;);)
Click to expand...

I was there at the Spectrum in Philly when we beat Syracuse Friday night and Georgetown and Sleepy Floyd to get to the final four. One of my greatest Hawkeye memories. Never forget telling Orange fans on the subway on the way to the game on Friday night to watch out for #40...Kevin Boyle and his baseline jumpers. Sweet stroke.
Flew out there in a private plane and didnt get back in time for the party at the fieldhouse.
 
Does NObody remember Vince Brookins catching fire in the tourney, as well? He started hitting from the wing and the announcers seemed to know something big was going to happen for the Hawks.

I just remember (I was a senior in HS, but already "sent in the money" to attend UI in the fall) sitting at home watching the game when Ronnie got injured. The thunderstorm that formed above my head followed me the rest of that weekend.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top