The second weekend of September can only mean one thing: it’s the intra-state rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State. Students have packed up their bags and made the trip to Iowa City. There, as I understand, they go out to the bars and get into fights the Friday night before the big game. Other students, like myself, chose to stay in Ames and watch the game with friends and roommates. Well, this year I decided to watch the game in Ankeny with my boyfriend. Harmless, right? It’s the Iowa-Iowa State game . it’ll be on television.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Two hours before the big game, my mom calls me to let me know that she has friends that bought a satellite dish just to get this game. I told her that was ridiculous because the game was always on Channel 5. ESPN2 carries over to that channel. At least it had in the past. And one would think that the game would be big enough that people in Iowa would want to see it. I guess it’s not as popular as I thought it was.

So, we ran down to Chi-Chi’s in Des Moines and decided to grab some dinner and watch the game. Well, there were three guys watching the Notre Dame/Michigan game who didn’t allow the TV set to be changed at 5 o’clock. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a die-hard Notre Dame fan – but I’d rather watch the Iowa-Iowa State game. Once the two minutes left in the Notre Dame game had passed (it took fifteen), they finally switched it to Iowa City. And the Hawks were ahead 7-0.

I couldn’t believe it. We were down.

Well, as we watched the game more we began to realize that we had eaten all of our dinner, had a few drinks, dessert and the waitress kept asking us if there was anything else we needed – we took the hint. So we left and went back to Ankeny.

Back in Ankeny, I flipped through all of the basic channels I could. 13 – no; 8 – no; 5 – no; 23 – no! No one had the game on! So I listened to the rest of the game via Yahoo! audio game tracker. Now I know what it must have been like for my grandfather, listening to the news and games on the radio.

Imagination is key here. But I think that TV viewing may have fried a little bit of imagination and there were times I caught myself bored listening. If it had been on TV, I would have been glued to the set.

I was a little scared when half-time rolled around. But, for some reason, we’ve become a second-half team (not sure if that happened in the Florida State game or not) but I’m glad that we are a second-half team now. I don’t have to send letters of apology to all of the Hawk fans I know.

Five in a row. The first year we beat Iowa was when I was a freshman. I know, I should have graduated by now – but I remember watching that game in my dorm. And I remember that it was broadcast on ABC! Why wasn’t it this year?

One would think that the two biggest college football teams in the state would have enough of a following for some network TV station to put them on the air. Infomercials are not as important as the Iowa-Iowa State game. Even people who don’t normally watch football (my parents for example) always watch the game.

It just doesn’t make sense to me. It is the game that gives fans bragging rights for the next year! Why wouldn’t it be on network TV? Maybe I’ve put too much emphasis on a football game, or maybe I’m a bigger fan than most, but I just don’t understand the logic of not airing the biggest intra-state rivalry game on network TV. But I was able to listen to it and I’ve learned my lesson. From now on I am attending the game so I can see it in person!

Congratulations, Cyclones, you’ve kept the trophy in its rightful home for another year! Thanks for the bragging rights and the wonderful game! Five in a row and beating them in their own stadium: It doesn’t get much sweeter than that!

Sarah

Bolton

is a senior in English

from Glidden.