You love the Hawkeyes..but what's your story?

One of my earliest memories in life was listening to the 1985 Iowa vs. Michigan game on the radio with my Dad in his car. At the time, I was too young to appreciate what was going on, but I vividly remember being parked outside of a hardware store and listening to the end of the game, cheering like mad men and having a great time.
 
My dad attended Iowa in the 50s. Remember listening to many a games on the radio Saturday afternoons in the Fall (since most games were not on television). Been a diehard for more than 30 years now ...
 
When I was very young I was at a Iowa practice and a ball happened to roll over to me. I picked it up and Hayden came over and got the ball from me, patted me on the head and said this kids gonna be a good football player......he was wrong. But thats a cool story.
 
Born, raised in Hampton. Parents were both Iowa grads.
Grew up listening to pre-, game, and post- with Jim Zabel.
Saw my first game at Kinnick in 74 vs Penn State.
Went to Iowa in 78. Saw Hayden coach his first game.
The rest is history.

p.s. When I was on campus, we had Fry, Gable and Lute coaching, with Bump Elliott as the AD. Quite a collection of talent.
 
Born in Iowa, both my older brother and I played football at Iowa (more-so with my brother), and also graduated from Iowa. Coach Fry has been in my house twice. Live in Mnpls but still have had season tickets since 2001. (Since 1988 for my parents.)
 
69 Hawkeye basketball team,Downtown Freddy Brown and JJ, Beat the Bear shows on Sunday nights with Jim Zabel, Hayden Fry, Lute Olsen and Ronnie Lester, addicted!
 
No Hawk fans in my family who are older than me. I don't know how I got started, but I remember listening to BBall and FBall games on the radio by myself. Lute Olsen, Hayden Fry, Vivian Stringer and Dan Gable all had quality teams for many yrs and I was hooked. I have been a passionate Hawk fan ever since. Now everyone in my family are Hawk fans.
 
My dad lived here when he was young. After he retired out of the military we moved back here and he started watching the games again. He used to watch the games back in the "knot hole gang" days when he was a kid. He is 87 now and never misses a game if he can help it.

When I retired I moved back here with my family. My brother introduced me to tailgating. I had been to some pro sports games but never a college game. I try to make it to at least one game every year.
 
Became a fan in the late '60s. My dad worked for a bread company and delivered the hotdog and hamburger buns to the Fieldhouse and Iowa Stadium. My brother and I would often go along. I saw a lot of the '60-'70 BB team (Stick Vidnovik is still my favorite Hawkeye BB player) and many a pasting of the football team.

We'd be at the FB game hours ahead of time and my brother and I used to crawl under the South bleachers. I found a transistor radio shaped like an STP can once, and I also found an "official" Iowa football in the stands.

One day we were throwing paper airplanes from the top of the west stands when one of Iowa City's finest promptly escorted us out (via the press box elevator). My brother and I pooled our money for him to buy a knothole ticket so he could go get my dad and get me back in.

During the game we liked to sit in the end zone. We would switch each quarter to whatever end zone the opposing team was driving to (since Iowa didn't score much) in order to try to catch the XP or field goal. Caught one one time, but they made you throw it back.

My brother claims I threw a snowball at Woody Hayes and knocked his hat off, but I don't remember doing that.

Otherwise, I listened to Ron Gonder call the FB and BB games on the radio.

I am an Iowa alum and so is my son.
 
Love this question and all of the answers.

I grew up a Chicago kid and looked at Iowa for school. I distinctly remember stepping onto campus and knowing within two minutes that this was the place I should be. Never took another campus tour to another school.

I knew nothing about the Hawkeyes, but bought football tickets anyway, and was hooked after my very first game. I only missed one game (for a funeral) in 5 years. I came back to Iowa City to live a few years later and my fandom has just increased since then. My kids are all brainwashed. My son's first word was "Iowa." The rest of my Chicago family has been sucked in as well.
 
I grew up in a Missouri Tiger family. Both parents went to Mizzou. My mother's family was originally from Waverly, Iowa. Her mother's brother, my great uncle, who I adored as a kid, lived in Osky and was a huge Iowa fan. We visited him often. After high school, I had a high school buddy who had gone to Iowa after graduation. He was in the marching band. I had to check out Iowa, so road tripped to Iowa City, went to Iowa vs. Indiana, 1997, and immediately fell in love. I had always loved college football, and that was even BEFORE I ever saw Kinnick on a Saturday. Promptly transferred and graduated, 2000. Saw the three losingest football seasons since the 70s, but loved every minute of it. Side note: Charged the field when we won our 3rd game in 2000 to go 3-8. Expectations were alot lower then, and frankly, I wonder if we were happier as fans too.
 
I grew up in a Missouri Tiger family. Both parents went to Mizzou. My mother's family was originally from Waverly, Iowa. Her mother's brother, my great uncle, who I adored as a kid, lived in Osky and was a huge Iowa fan. We visited him often. After high school, I had a high school buddy who had gone to Iowa after graduation. He was in the marching band. I had to check out Iowa, so road tripped to Iowa City, went to Iowa vs. Indiana, 1997, and immediately fell in love. I had always loved college football, and that was even BEFORE I ever saw Kinnick on a Saturday. Promptly transferred and graduated, 2000. Saw the three losingest football seasons since the 70s, but loved every minute of it. Side note: Charged the field when we won our 3rd game in 2000 to go 3-8. Expectations were alot lower then, and frankly, I wonder if we were happier as fans too.

I have a picture of MissouriHerk carrying the goal post at the Metrodome in 2002. Although the look on your face was that of someone suffering from severe constipation, I think you were happier then.

I grew up in Chicago and was deciding between Iowa and UMass (my Mom is from Boston and we spent a ton of time back east.) Basically chose Iowa because I couldn't bare to think that I would go to college and not witness big time college football.

First game, I woke up at 6AM to go wait outside the stadium, could hardly sleep the night before. Got to the front row and then waited for that clock to tick down. By the time the game started, I was in complete awe. Tavian Banks took the first play and promptly ran for a 66 yard TD. That was it. I missed one game in my 5 seasons in Iowa City. KF's first home win against Michigan Stata.

Never missed a basketball game either. Friends hated Steve Alford. One wore a T-Shirt to a game that said, "Mr. Davis's teams had heart, Stevie has the Slut's Nest."
 
My folks went down to an Iowa BB game when I was about 5 or 6 back in the 80s. They brought me back a small Iowa pennant. So I started to watch Iowa BB on TV. I was hooked at that point. My first recollection of Iowa BB was watching Marble, Moe, etc on TV.

I still have the pennant.
 
Grew up in Chicago area, son of NW alums. One of my sisters was a pom-pom girl at NW, and my little brother and I spent our youth playing one-on-one football int he front yard. I was always Northwestern. He was "all-star team". Lived/breathed NW until age 12, when I saw UNDERDOG Iowa, Qb-ed by Butch Caldwell, "upset" NW. IOWA, for some reason, became "second favorite team".

Junior year of high school went on Midwest college tour with parents. Knew after 15 minutes I wanted to go to IOWA.

Fast-forward to junior year at IOWA where, living around the corner from me, was ColoradoHawkeye! Roomed with ColoradoHawkeye and The Beast at the Dog House that following summer. Did some crazy stuff (we have both settled down, of course!). I attended his wedding, he attended mine.

We now text-and-call every Saturday in the fall, as well as intermittently throughout the rest of the year. We got mildly giddy before and after The Catch, agonized over Stanzi's injury in 2009 and b*tched and moaned through the second half of last season.

Ahh...The people you meet and then call "friends"...LOL...[Going to see some of those guys from the Dog House this weekend at Indy game. You need to come up next year for sure. I am also sure we will toast one to you]...

...I just wanted to add, if you remember, that you and I (and Sandy) also literally "held up" my brother so he could face the field, as we stood just behind the goal post of the '85 Haughtlin KICK. I think that is when he was hooked, but he just doesn't remember it (even if he was the first one on the greased goalpost crossbar)!!
 
My folks went down to an Iowa BB game when I was about 5 or 6 back in the 80s. They brought me back a small Iowa pennant. So I started to watch Iowa BB on TV. I was hooked at that point. My first recollection of Iowa BB was watching Marble, Moe, etc on TV.

I still have the pennant.

Tavernhawk :)
 
Born in Iowa, both my older brother and I played football at Iowa (more-so with my brother), and also graduated from Iowa. Coach Fry has been in my house twice. Live in Mnpls but still have had season tickets since 2001. (Since 1988 for my parents.)

I thought you must be related to Doug. That dude could hit. Safety, right?
 
Grew up in a small town in NE Iowa. Everyone in my neighborhood used to have what we called "Hawkeye Nights". Whenever the Hawks were on TV we'd all gather and watch. Earliest memory is Houghtlin's field goal and my neighbor jumping so high he broke our living room light.
 
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