Saturday the Iowa Hawkeyes began their season on the road in Chicago. And while it was a road game hosted by Northern Illinois, nearly 40,000 of the announced 52,000 crowd wore black and gold. And those Iowa fans could never feel at ease with this team as the Hawks came back to take the lead late in the 4th quarter and take their first win of the 2012 campaign.
Chicago is a popular destination for Hawkeye fans. The day before the opener many Iowa fans ascended upon Wrigley Field to watch their favorite baseball team, the Cubs take on the San Francisco Giants. Iowa basketball coach, Fran McCaffrey threw out the first pitch while former Hawkeye and Bull standout, Bobby Hanson sang the 7th inning stretch.
But while many wearing black and gold could be found around Wrigley Field on Friday, the Hawkeye equipment and video staff spent the morning moving into their comfortable comforts of home. Owned by TanTara Truck Lines and Mike Riggan, son Jeff drove the Hawkeye Semi through the streets of Chicago to Soldier Field
And it was the three on the right who set up the stadium and hotel for this game trip. Two of them left a day earlier in order to have everything set up. Equipment needed to be unloaded and then the projectors and screens had to be set up in the rooms at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place for pre-game meetings. The third arrived with the rest of the staff and team on Friday with computers for the team's review session.
While Soldier Field sounds like a great place to hold a game like this, it is the worst place to shoot video from. The sideline booth is by far the lowest in the NFL and many college campuses. The accomodations within the boost may be the best with ample room for shooting, editing as well as a private bathroom.
The Hawks come out to a crowd more typical of Iowa City than a home game for the Huskies from nearby Dekalb. But Hawkeye fans travel well and support their team.
Then the night before was a video reunion at Harry Caray's. Two from Ft Dodge joined two from New Sharon and one from Gilbert at Harry Caray's.
This scoreboard was seen by few, but the larger replay boards were blocked by the upper deck. This and monitors were available to those of us on the Media Deck. This level was reserved for coaches, radio and television.
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| Hawkeyes settle into Soldier Field |
And it was the three on the right who set up the stadium and hotel for this game trip. Two of them left a day earlier in order to have everything set up. Equipment needed to be unloaded and then the projectors and screens had to be set up in the rooms at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place for pre-game meetings. The third arrived with the rest of the staff and team on Friday with computers for the team's review session.
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