We Must Protect This House!

Home field advantage can never be underestimated. Since 1929, Kinnick Stadium has been ground zero for all things Hawkeye. It has gone under some major renovations since then, but it’s still the same location that it’s been. Until 1972, it was actually named Iowa stadium (that’s original...). After a campaign to honor Iowa’s only Heisman trophy winner though, it was changed to Kinnick Stadium.

It holds up to 70,000 people, and is one of the twenty largest university owned stadiums in the nation. Supposedly, it’s almost always sold out, but I’ve heard many people comment that there are empty seats to be seen once you get inside.

The fan atmosphere and energy reportedly ranks up there pretty well with some of the best atmospheres in the nation. Whether its college students making the short walk or fans from across the state making the drive to Iowa City, weekends in Iowa City are dominated by Hawkeye fans who are ready to rumble.

I’ve found Iowa fans take it seriously too. I think the lack of major professional sports within the state of Iowa contributes to this die-hard devotion. Not saying this is bad, not saying this is good, but it’s a different attitude than what I grew up with on the east coast. With all the New York City and New England teams within a day of driving, the importance of college football games was not as potent. Syracuse had its share of die-hards, but it was not as widespread as what I see here.

I’m excited to experience this all for myself. I plan on going to one or two homes games myself this year. We’ll see if Kinnick Stadium lives up to hype.

Player Reviews

Looking forward to the 2009 season, I thought I’d highlight some of the players expected to make an impact on the season. This is not exhaustive, but these are the ones that caught my eye.

QB, Ricky Stanzi, 6’4” 220, Junior
-Came on last year and surprised many by replacing Jake Christensen as the starting QB
-Did well moving the ball, but had a lot of help from Shonn Greene
-Played his biggest statement game against Penn St last year
- “Stanzi is the Manzi” t-shirts were all the rage last year, let’s hope it doesn’t turn into “Stanzi is a Pansy”

WR, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, 6’1” 200, Junior
-Nicknamed DJK
-Top receiver from last year with over 600 yards

RB, Jewel Hampton, 5’ 9” 210, Sophomore
-Played 2nd fiddle to 2008 Big Ten MVP Shonn Green last year, but showed signs of explosiveness
-Seems to be more of a quick, shifty running back, but still has the muscle to pound it through, should be good for some “Oh my!” moments this year
-If the past is any indication, injuries will be an issue. If that’s the case, expect to see some talented freshman splitting time
-Jewel? Are other teams supposed to be scared of a guy named Jewel?


TE, Anthony Moeki, 6’4” 250, Senior
-Had a huge game against Syracuse 2 years ago, went for over 100 receiving yards
-Has the size, athleticism, and receiving ability to make a huge impact on a game
-Struggled with many injuries the past two years

OLB, AJ Edds, 6’4” 245, Senior
-potential NFL prospect
-great at covering slot receivers and penetrating through blocks
-saw a slight drop in production last year, he’s sure to be hungry with a possible NFL paycheck looming

Captain Kirk

With the early part of football season only weeks away at this point, I thought I’d better familiarize myself with the main players in the football program. Might as well start at the top with the man himself.

That’s right, the highest paid state employee in Iowa…Kirk Ferentz. From what I’ve seen from a distance over the past 7 years, Ferentz seems like a classy guy. His composure and professionalism have impressed me. I didn’t really know much about the man though.

After digging into some of the details of his situation, it pretty obvious he’s a legit coach. He played his own football career at UConn. He was a captain and was on the All-Yankee Conference academic team.

He got the chance to study coaching from some of the best. He was the O-line coach under the legendary Hayden Fry (the guy they based the 90’s sitcom “Coach” off of – but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post in itself). He also spent some time working under Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns. He’s proven himself at every level. It definitely seems like Iowa’s Athletic Director, Gary Barta, is happy with the man he’s got.

So happy in fact, that he recently agreed to extend Ferentz’s contract until 2015. The new contract states that he will earn at least $3.02 MIL per year for the next 7 years. It also includes perks such as 35 hours of usage for a private jet (this does not include recruiting trips) and there are undoubtedly opportunities for endorsements and bonuses to supplement his income (he’s got to feed his family after all) This is all great for Kirk. He’s getting one of the best compensation packages in college football. In fact, last year he was on the top ten list for the highest paid coaches in the nation.

This leaves me asking one question… Really? As a new Hawkeye follower, I gotta ask “How does this stack up against other coaches across the nation?” Relatively speaking, Florida’s head coach, Urban Meyer, just barely made more money that Ferentz last year. Florida, you know, the team that has won two national championships in the last 3 years and is in contention to do it again in 2009. The team that attracts 5 star recruits like nerds to a Star Trek convention.

I don’t blame Kirk for taking it, but I do wonder why the athletic department feels the need to compensate so highly compared to the rest of the college football world. It seems to me that there is a real lack of perspective here. In most jobs, you have to have success first and then the money follows. Iowa’s had some success, but not the kind of dazzling seasons that you would expect for this much money.

Anyway, I look forward to closely watching how the Hawkeyes perform this year. I wanna see if Ferentz is earning every penny or pulling a fast one on “us” hawk fans.

Trading Orange for Black and Gold

Welcome to my Blog! I’ve decided that for the next 12 months I will closely follow Iowa Hawkeye athletics. I was not born in Iowa, and honestly, there isn’t much that makes me want to cheer for them, but here’s the issue…

I really enjoy college sports. Everything about them. It’s fun to be into a game on TV or to anticipate a good recruit suiting up for your school the next year, and I miss being close to that action.

As a kid, I grew up in Upstate New York about 45 minutes from Syracuse University. Some of my favorite memories are going to football and basketball games in the Carrier Dome to watch the Orangemen (for all you feminists out there, it will never really be just Orange). I got to see the likes of Donovan Mcnabb, Marvin Harrison, Dwight Freeney, John Wallace, Gerry Mcnamara, and of course, Carmelo Anthony in person. That is some great talent over the years. I’m 25 now, and I still have a strong emotional attachment to the ‘Cuse. But it’s just too hard to follow the teams and truly be a fan so far away.

Some “die-hard” sports fans would say I’m being a fair-weather fan and some sports writers look down on a transplant. But I disagree…I want to take my kids to games and cheer for the home team.

I don’t think the Hawkeyes are a perfect program. In fact, there are a lot of things that I don’t like. No one likes an arrogant winner, and that’s exactly how most Iowa fans come across to me. But there are some bright spots that make me think I could live as a Hawkeye. The legacy of Nile Kinnick is a great example. I want this to be brutally honest look at the past, present, and future of the Black and Gold.

We’ll see if this sticks at the end of 12 months...