The Orange Bowl

In 2002 the opportunity to play in the Orange Bowl seemed distant. Many Iowa fans were had their bags packed for Pasadena following a Big Ten Co-Championship with Ohio State. The Buckeyes each went 8-0 in conference play, did not play each other and the Buckeyes were awarded the opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl due to a better overall record (OSU was undefeated while the Hawkeyes lost to Iowa State). Being undefeated the Buckeyes were chosen to play in the BCS Title Game and the Orange Bowl used an obscure rule to their advantage and chose Iowa.
Following the 2003 loss to Southern California on a humid night in South Florida, an opportunity to re-visit South Beach seemed yet again distant, but the Hawkeyes will play the ACC Champion, Georgia Tech in the 2010 game and Hawkeye Nation will once again travel to Land Shark Stadium. It may be fitting that I find myself participating in this bowl game yet again.
Before I was a year old, my family escaped the Iowa winter and visited relatives located in Miami. My Dad, along with one of the relatives, bought tickets in conjuction with his local home town bank with the help of the parent branch in Miami for the National Championship match-up between Nebraska and LSU. The game was played in the stadium that bore the name of the bowl game, the Orange Bowl. Not located in the best of neighborhoods, my dad would recall the story of the drive to the game. Once parked in a stadium parking lot, he began the walk to the stadium. A young African - American boy came up to him and offered for $10 to watch his hub caps. A strange request for the Iowa High School Principal, he was told by a local on their way to the stadium it was a wise investment--otherwise they may not be there after the game.
Once inside the seats the bank provided would make many a fan jealous. His view was in the upper deck at the 45 yard line. In front of him and five seats over was the newly signed coach of the Miami Dolphins, Don Shula. On that night the Huskers went on to win their first of two consecutive national championships for Head Coach Bob Devaney.
My first trip to the Orange Bowl Stadium was in 1990. Game 3 of the Hawkeye football schedule was against the Miami Hurricane. My first time on a road trip to a culture of fans other than Big Ten. After arriving at the stadium on Friday and getting the locker room set up for Saturday night's affair, we were advised to hire a security guard and lock him into the locker room protecting the equipment. Game day had many similarities to what I was accustomed to--fans taunting you with the typical farmer stereotypes. However the atmosphere was much different.
My first opportunity to shoot from the press box opened my eyes to the world. With a great view of downtown Miami as well as the playing field, armed policeman flanked us watching for any trouble that may break out. The only team I have ever shot a game with such security.
The Hawkeyes played the defending national champions score for score trailing 24-21 midway through the 3rd quarter. However a Doug Buch fumble returning a punt switched the momentum over to the Hurricanes and they game slowly slipped away. National respect started to be earned as well as that of the Miami squad. With the three point deficit the Miami video coordinator asked us, "Just what are you guys rated?" We said, "We aren't." At the end of the night Miami won 48-21, but the score wasn't a true representative of how much the Hawkeyes battled.
In over a week I will once again travel to South Beach for the Hawkeye's second Orange Bowl appearance, seeking my first win in South Florida.

College Football Week 12

We are re-visited by the original yound lady that started our weekly look at cheerleaders in this weekly posting. Brianna of UCLA is courtesy of Sports Illustrated. As said on the SI.com site, she is a Green Bay Packer fan. Good enough for me to highlight her a second time. It is also apporpriate to highlight her as the rivalry of the two BCS LA schools face each other at the Coliseum on Saturday. As the USC Marching Band tweeted today, "It's TROY WEEK! "High up in the hills of Westwood, sprawled offensive to the eye, lies a Cal extension campus known as Westwood High..." No other sport has the rivalries like College Football....Notre Dame lost for the fifth time in their home finale to Connecticut. It is hard to find anyone defending the Irish head coach, Charlie Weis as most have him packing up his office once he returns from Palo Alto this weekend. There are many reasons / excuses thrown out as to how difficult it is to win in South Bend, but there are many advantages to coaching in this Northern Indiana college town. Facilities are unrivaled, support is strong by administration and alumni, and national recognition is second to none. Many names are being thrown out as to Charlie's successor including Urban Meyer at Florida, Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, and Brian Kelley at Cincinnati. The one supposed knock against Notre Dame are the tough academic equirements. If this is such a concern, Notre Dame needs to expand their search beyond the aforementioned names. Meyer and Stoops have established programs have nothing to gain by making the move. Kelley is at an institution that allows him to bring in students that a Notre Dame may decline. If this is the case is Kelley the right match? The one proven coach who has dealt with tough academic guidelines and has a great name in the local recruiting area of South Bend is Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern. This young coach has done an outstanding coaching job with lesser talent playing similar teams facing Notre Dame. While it would take much to lure Fitzgerald from his alma mater, it will be tough for him to do much more in the Big Ten Conference....Michigan. Wether or not the fans in Ann Arbor want a change, there will be no such change coming. A fan or not of Rich Rodriguez he does deserve at least one more year to get the program back into the top ten that the Wolverine fans are accustomed to. It will also be hard to lure a good coach to Michigan with their Athletic Director on the clock before retiring September 4, 2010. If a change at the top of the football program is to come, a new AD must be hired first. The Wolverines aren't prepared to do that. Michigan fans should be patient as well. Those who wanted Les Miles of LSU in 2007 will have one more year to evaluate him as the Tigers head coach. Miles, who won the National Championship in his third year with the school has had troubles acheiving such level since. While his teams have been very good in a tough SEC, they haven't reached the SEC title game.

College Football Week 10

Colorado is proud of their mountains and the Colorado State Rams features one of the finer dance team squads. This young lady is not only on the Ram dance team, but she also baby sits for the Video Coordinator of the Ram football team, Jeff Dotson....Michigan continues to have problems. Not only did they lose to Purdue at home for the first time since 1966, but allegations have come out of retiring Athletic Director Bill Martin pushed one student and grabbed the jacket of another following different football games this fall. The Wolverines are on the brink of missing post-season play in back to back years (upcoming games at Wisconsin and home with Ohio State) currently standing with a 5-5 record. My guess is that the players and fans would rather stay home than experience a bowl game in nearby Detroit....Hats off go to Temple Owl coach Al Golden and his football team. Yearly the Owls were the win all BCS teams counted on in their schedule. However they are undefeated in conference play and also have an impressive win over Navy....Oregon, who lost to USC ten days ago, is now ranked behind the men of Troy following their loss Saturday at Stanford. The computers have ranked the Ducks higher, but the human polls do not. There has been much criticism that the coaches aren't in the best position to rank teams--either it is a political vote or they allow a staff member to cast the vote for them--but it seems this is another justification for the computers to figure into the final outcome.

College Football Week 3

After going a season without a win, it is only fair to show the Washington Huskies Cheerleading team some love after the football team upset USC in Seattle. As upset as Pete Carroll is at the loss imagine how Tyrone Willingham must feel.

Kansas State head coach, Bill Snyder signed his contract extension at the right time. After doing so his Wildcats went on the road and lost to Louisiana-Lafayette and UCLA. You could call him the Anti-Ferentz. Ferentz who hadn't finalized his contract until the second season of his Iowa head coaching career went on to win at Penn State and home against Big Ten leader Northwestern.

The ACC will take much heat this season as a conference that should be known more for basketball than football, but they will be better than public perception. Virginia Tech and Miami face off this weekend in the only battle between top 25 teams. North Carolina will contend for the title and Georgia Tech has a tough offense to prepare for in a week's time. The winner of the conference will definitely be BCS worthy and one that will be difficult to beat in a bowl game.

It is tough to put a "must-win" label on any game in week 4, but that is what Michigan State faces as they head to Madison in their conference opener. Very few expected them to be 1-2 and a road loss to an undefeated Badger team will place them in a corner they will fighting out of the next two months.

College Football Pre Season Look

As we did a year ago, the Monday segment dedicated to college football will once again be sponsored by a group of college cheerleaders or dance team. This picture provided by SportsbyBrooks.com is the first look at the 2009 USC Song Girls.

MICHIGAN
An emotional Rich Rodriguez faced the media to address allegations by current and former players as to the hours required by the head coach and his staff. This is yet another issue facing the 2nd year coach of the Wolverines. Since taking over he has had to deal with defections (including one to rival Ohio State), home losses to non-BCS Toledo and Utah as well as the end of the longest consecutive bowl streak in America at 33. When Rodriguez and his staff took over, college football fans knew the traditional Michigan we grew accustomed to would not be the same. But Rodriguez has frustrated more than his fan base, but obviously has created a split within the Wolverine locker room. This is the same program that appeared in the Rose Bowl three times since 2000, half of the Big Ten appearances. Although Lloyd Carr's record recently against Ohio State was dismal, the play was respectable in the final game. This is now a program which Lloyd wants nothing to do with , and it looks like many of the players agree.

Week 1 Preview--Games that I'm looking forward to.
North Dakota State at Iowa State--Enthusiasm is high in Ames, yet they open with one of the more dangerous teams in FCS. North Dakotal State is coached by former Nebraska Asst Craig Bohl. He has headed this program as it raised its level from Divsion II. At that level two years ago, NDSU defeated Minnesota and Central Michigan on their home fields. A year ago it went to Wyoming and lost by three points. They are very capable of ruining Paul Rhodes debut as Cyclone Head Coach.
Western Michigan at Michigan--Followers of the Big Ten know what the Broncos have done the last two years. Wins at Iowa and against Illinois on a neutral field have caught the attention of the other head coaches in the conference. With the recent turmoil in Ann Arbor will Western Michigan make it three straight over the nation's premeir conference?
Upset of the week--It would be easy to take Western Michigan in Ann Arbor, but after the year the Wolverines in '08 followed by the week they are enduring, it would be too easy. My upset will be Nevada over Notre Dame. Being a fan of every team Notre Dame plays grounds my expectations of the Irish. This is the same team that lost late at home to one of the worst FBS teams in '08, Syracuse. Perhaps Notre Dame has an easier road this year, but they need to play better in '09 to be considered in the nation's elite.

FRY FEST
Beginning this weekend the Iowa City / Coralville area will celebrate one of the State's memorable figures, former Iowa Football Head Coach Hayden Fry. This Texas has done more for the University as well as the State than anyone else. By committing himself to making the Hawkeye Football program into one of the Nation's Elite put not only the school but the State of Iowa on notice. He developed a logo recognizable throughout the world that when looked at, all know it isn't necessarily the Hawkeyes, but Iowa. Over ten years ago, while on a train into Geneva, Switzerland I sat with a duffle bag with that large logo on the side of it. A passenger who currently worked outside the nation's capital asked me in an American accent, "How is Hayden Fry doing?" He had worked for a period of time in Iowa City, at a time when Fry took a lowly Division I program to #1 in the nation for six weeks in 1985. It hasn't been done since.
This Texan also recognized the importance farmers played in the national landscape. The University isn't the agricultural school in the state, yet Hayden placed a logo adjacent to the TigerHawk on the Hawkey Football Helmet letting the nation know, "America Needs Farmers."
Although a street in Coralville will be renamed "Hayden Fry Way" appropriately on a Friday, what Hayden has done for Iowa, I-80 would be the more appropriate road.

College Football Wrap-Up

A quick look back at the bowl season thanks to the USC Song Girls.

Florida head coach, Urban Meyer defended his former school, Utah and deemed them as a non-BCS school who is very much BCS quality. He mentioned the facilities are better than some BCS schools (Iowa), talent is better than some BCS schools (Indiana) and beat all BCS schools that came their way.

Congrats to the Pac 10. They went undefeated in all of their bowl games. A conference that was so maligned early defended themselves well into the post-season.

Big 10 lived up to expectations. Did many expect Penn State to beat USC in the Rose Bowl? Who had any faith in the Golden Gophers as they played Kansas? Wisconsin? Northwestern? Ohio State? Iowa played the best of any of the conference schools, but they did play a bad South Carolina team. Had the Hawkeyes played a game higher in the bowl line-up (Georgia, Cap One) the Big Ten may have increased their number of wins to 2. Ohio State hung with Texas longer than I thought.

The most exciting action of the day in El Paso may have been the world record set by Villiage People and the 41,000+ fans who performed "YMCA." Sure beat the 3-0 win by Oregon State.

Finally, many northerners have long said that if any southern school had to play for the title in the colder climate, the outcome would change. Consider this, six of the last six BCS title winners have come from warmer climates and three of those have played in their home state. Perhaps talent wants to stay close to home, but when was the last time Florida, LSU, or Alabama played a regular season game at a Big 10 or Big 12 school?

Check out this link ranking the Big 10 in 2009... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-10-big-10-football,0,3555209.story

Ticket Demand

While sitting in my hotel room awaiting team meetings for Saturday's game with Iowa State, rather than watching it rain in an already drenched downtown Cedar Rapids I decided to take a look at ticket prices on a well-known broker site, StubHub. I have used StubHub once with great success. My son and I were able to sit high behind home plate at Busch Stadium for a Cardinal - Brewer game this summer for $18 a piece.

For those of you who are looking into attending Saturday night's clash between Ohio State and USC at the L.A. Colisseum can pay a reasonable $383 for seats high on the 50 yd line. When I say reasonable, you can expect to pay top dollar for a game of top five teams which attracts many of Hollywood's A-list. $383 for a mid-field seat isn't bad. However, to attend the Notre Dame - Michigan match-up on the same day, you'll need to pony up $160 to sit on the 25 yd line. Tickets are no longer available for the Iowa's in-state battle.

Play-off baseball is very interesting. Typically a very tough ticket is the World Series. Although only one team has qualified for extra baseball, teams are able to begin selling for the post-season. To purchase through StubHub, the individual is given a money back guarrantee for your money back if your team does not qualify. Let's take a look at some prices.

1. Chicago Cubs--$1749 is the cost of admission to Wrigley Field for the first home game of the WS. That is Standing Room Only. The cheapest seat goes for $1850. Bleachers, $2024.


2. Milwaukee Brewers--The cheapest seat is upper deck outfield for $398. Upper deck infield is $399.


3. L.A. Angels of Anaheim--The cheapest seat is upper deck behind first base for $369. $375 for outfield seats. For the same price that it takes to enter Wrigley Field, you can have a seat in the Angels' park just rows behind first base.

Obviously, if you are a baseball fan and just want to see a World Series game, you'll cheer for the Brewers to make it far into October. Otherwise Cub fans, dig very deep into that wallet.

College Football Week 1

After the first week of college football, a couple of observations.

The ACC is a basketball conference. Clemson is pummeled by Alabama, East Carolina surprises Virginia Tech, North Carolina State is throttled by South Carolina and Southern California punishes Virginia. North Carolina narrowly beats McNeese State, Maryland is a touchdown better than Delaware and Boston College defeats Kent State 21-0. The most impressive victory is by conference doormat Duke. They beat James Madison 31-7.

Clemson...ENOUGH! We consistently are led to believe the Tigers will be battling for the national title. This year they enter the season ninth in the nation, on national television and get thoroughly beat. Nothing new. Remember, it is better to have your fifteen minutes of fame at the end of the season, not the beginning.

The Big Ten proved they can beat the wannabes of the college football world, but Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois did not make the conference proud. When was the last time Michigan lost back to back home season openers to non-BCS conference teams. I do believe Michigan State has a promising future. Playing on the west coast is tough duty.


Did anyone else notice that Texas A&M lost at home to Arkansas State? And Arkansas was behind by ten entering the fourth quarter against Western Illinois?

Pittsburgh, I'll hold off on my comments until September 21, the day after the Hawks travel east.