Inside Iowa State

September 9, 2005

Cyclone fans recall best moments against the Hawkeyes

by Samantha Beres

It's not just a game.

That's right, sports fans. It's the game of the year. Us against them.

That'll get their attention

Staff and student employees in residence and facilities planning and management cooperated on a game day message in the vacant Wallace and Wilson halls. Photo by Josh Hale.

And this year, the Cyclone-Hawkeye football game is on our turf. So our boys don't have to contend with the pink locker room.* Not that the color of that locker room ever predicted who would win or why.

Since fans are just extra crazy about this game, Inside talked to a few loyalists to see what their best memories are of this rivalry. Here's what they had to say:

Frank Randall, athletics department, assistant athletics director

Clone connection: Trainer of team 1970-1998, and fan, of course

"People ask me why I never went into the pros. The atmosphere of college football is so great. And then, the Iowa-Iowa State game is even greater. Any time you can beat the aristocrats from Iowa City is a good day. And whenever you beat 'em, it's a big deal, because nobody thinks we can do it.

"I think as a trainer, you don't get wrapped up in bells and whistles and all that stuff. I was at every game, home or away. The best memories that I have were when the two teams were equal. The streak of five in a row that Dan [McCarney] put together is another great one. The Earl Bruce era and working with Donny Duncan were exciting years. Donny never lost a game to Hayden Fry."

Patrick Herteen, Engineering Communications and Marketing, graphic designer

Clone connection: ISU grad 1993, superstitious fan (has to put the team poster up, but it can't be in his office or the team will have a bad season)

"The biggest one is the Sept 12, 1998, game. The talk was that Iowa State had no chance. But you could tell after we blocked that punt at the beginning of the game that things were going our way.

"I remember being at a party at a friend's house and when they won, it was like a New Year's celebration. We were ecstatic that we had finally beat Iowa. There was a certain kind of atmosphere. I don't know how to describe it, but we had finally won the game.

"The game the following year back in Ames was good because we could celebrate among our own fans."

Kate Bruns, ISU Alumni Association, assistant director of communications

Clone connection: ISU grad 1999, diehard fan and wife of All-American Ben Bruns, Cyclone offensive lineman (1996-2000)

"Best memory? The 1998 game, when the Cyclones broke the losing streak. I was a student working for the athletic department and at a home soccer game that day. It was hard not to be there. I just remember after the win all the people in the streets. It was a pandemonium. It was really cool.

"That was a tough game because the starting center, Marc Cortez, had suffered an injury and couldn't play. My (would be) husband, Ben started in place of Marc and it was the start of his career.

"I'll never forget the celebration on the field at Kinnick in 2000. That was my husband's last time playing Iowa. He beat them three times in a row. He grabbed a piece of pink paint* off the wall of the locker room and he still has it today."

Tom Baas, animal science department, associate professor

Clone connection: all three degrees from ISU, fan for about 40 years

"It was 1998 in Iowa City when we ended the losing streak. My best memory of that game is watching the Iowa fans leave with 10 minutes left in the game. They were so defeated. They were quiet and they were giving up and going home.

"Another memory that ranks very close to that one was four years later (2002) in Iowa City, when we came back from being down in the first half. Seneca Wallace led the team back in the second half. You could just see the Iowa fans were worried when Seneca started making those plays. They knew what could happen.

"It was monumental. There weren't a lot of us there, but our crowd went wild."

Gloria Erickson, Reiman Gardens, events coordinator

Clone connection: Season ticket holder since 1978, ISU employee since 1973, diehard (and sometimes emotional) fan

"It was the '98 game played at Iowa. We were watching the game on TV and had a wedding to go to. I was trying to get ready for this wedding and I'm crying and putting on my make-up. I get pretty emotional. For a big game like that, I've been known to cry.

"We were all dressed up and bouncing around the house. My daughter, who's now 23 and a recent ISU graduate, was jumping on her bed. She's been going to the games since she was 3.

"We got to the church and the minister mentioned the win. The whole church cheered. I doubt there were too many Hawkeye fans there."

*About those pink references . . .

For those new to town, or unfamiliar with Hawkeye-isms, in the '70s, former University of Iowa coach Hayden Fry ordered the visitors' locker room in Kinnick Stadium painted pink, as a tactic to weaken the opposing team. Iowa refurbished the locker room this summer, and repainted the pink with . . . pink. The Des Moines Register called it "Barbie's Dream House on acid, a pastel nightmare." Even the urinals are pink.

See some helpful navigational tips for Saturday

Any time you can beat the aristocrats from Iowa City is a good day.

Frank Randall, assistant athletics director