Why is everyone in Iowa a "farm boy"?

[racerhawk]

I don't live in Iowa anymore, but was born and raised in Iowa. I'm an Iowa alum. Having said that, if you haven't been in Iowa for awhile, and you happen to drive through it, you realize that Iowa is nearly all farmland, which is beautiful. I think the farm stereotype isn't a bad thing at all, and Iowa is chock full o' farms. The Chicago metro area has three times the population of Iowa. I've lived in both places, and Iowa is a great place to live.

 

[papathawki]

Iowa? "Thats like, potatoes right?" Every time I go to California I get this...or "I bet youre going to be mad when Lebron leaves the Cavs" or some variation of OHIO sports comment...

Based on some of your posts, one wonders what YOU are growing.

 

[tm3308]

And I'm not trying to say that being a farmer is bad, I'm proud that our state is a farming leader. But there are other things here than cornfields and barns.

Now in NEBRASKA, on the other hand.......haha

 

[VintageHawkeye]

Someone on the old HawkeyeNation (current HawkeyeInsider) once referenced a shirt they bought, in Iowa City...not even sure when this was available, but it said...

"The University of Iowa, Idaho City, Ohio"

I wish I knew exactly where he snagged that one.

Shoot, that's an old one. They were selling these on campus back in my day, the early 80s.
You could prolly have one made up at a t-shirt store; superimpose the words over a state map, or a tiger hawk logo.

 

[Herkyalert]

Gotta love those ABC and ESPN farm shots whenever they come back from a commercial during home games.

 

[BellyButtonLint]

YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWW!!

 

[DuffMan]

What Spivey isnt a farmer?

 

[CAARHawk]

If you build it, he will pick you off and take it back for 6... Or something like that.

 

[Thawki]

iowahawkeyes89, while the vast majority of people AREN'T farmers...

...the vast majority of land IS farms.

I get a kick out of the fact that Iowa fans get offended at being regarded as farmers. As someone that grew up in Iowa, I get it, because we all aren't farmers. It is ignorance because everyone in Iowa isn't a farmer, far from it. But Iowa IS a farming state. NYC is known as the financial capital of the world in many ways, but not everyone works on Wall Street.

Why do people get offended by being labeled this way as opposed to just laughing and brushing it off? Do you feel like there is something wrong with being a farmer or just that the rest of the country might view you as a dumb farm hick when you are labeled this way?

I guess I kind of get annoyed by it too, but not to the degree that many do, I guess. Maybe it is because I am older or maybe it's because I don't live in Iowa and haven't for 20 years. But I do live in Kansas, so it's pretty much the same thing in terms of perception.

 

[GhostofBTT]

I don't think they literally beleive that these guys are farm boys. They are using farm boys as a societal archetype. Everyone knows what a farm boy is. He is sterotypically big, burley, and hard working.

GGGB, you surely have to see that this label is complimentary, rather than an insult. I am pretty sure that the gang at ESPN doesn't think everyone who plays at Iowa lives on a farm, but Iowa has an idenity, and the players at Iowa fit that identity.

I wear it as a badge of freaking honor, and my wife laughs at me whenever I say I want to buy a farm.

For more info, please read some of Carl Gustav Jung's writings on the collective unconsious

 

[Billso]

Someone on the old HawkeyeNation (current HawkeyeInsider) once referenced a shirt they bought, in Iowa City...not even sure when this was available, but it said...

"The University of Iowa, Idaho City, Ohio"

I wish I knew exactly where he snagged that one.

I bought mine at Iowa Book and Supply. In September 1980. Doesn't fit now, obviously must've shrunk in the wash....

My favorite Iowa stereotype story is also from the 80's. When the producers of "Field of Dreams" arrived and looked for wide establishing shots of cornfields, they didn't feel Iowa looked flat enough, like they thought Iowa should. So they filmed fields in Illinois instead.

The final aerial shot with all the cars extending in the distance, however, was in Iowa. They advertised for it in the local papers and a lot of friends drove up from Iowa City to participate.

 

[chadfrey]

It's all about stereotype and perception. As a native Iowan (Farm boy, according to the world) and now a Kansas resident, let me give you an example...
Kansas is Flat. We all know it is flat and boring because of a movie made 70 years ago we all love so much.
But here is the truth:

The state has a very varied topography as one travels from the east to west - and yes, the central portion is flat.

FYI, I have dated Dorothy once. Love that little dress and the pigtails, but since I backed over that mutt toto on the way home I doubt she'll ever call me again.