The atmosphere this weekend was wonderful, let me tell you. The roar of screaming die-hard fans, the sounds of fight songs being played by the school band, the feeling of a winning tradition putting a special spice in the air.

Too bad I was in Iowa City, huh?

And you know what else is too bad?

I loved it.

I enjoyed being surrounded by that kind of aura, despite being in the land of the hated Hawkeyes. Please note that when I say hated, I’m not voicing my own personal feelings. I am using that adjective due to the many cheers I have heard with negative references to the black and gold.

It didn’t start out as a Hawkeye lovefest. I remember looking at Kinnick Stadium and thinking that despite their advantage in seating capacity, it doesn’t even come close to the hallowed home we have in Cyclone Stadium.

Although I am supposed to be objective, I couldn’t help but feel the sting when Tavian Banks broke loose for an 89-yard scoring run. There wasn’t much enjoyment there, either.

But I’ll tell you this much: Being in such an exciting environment tends to rub off on a fellow (or gal, if the case is such). I was completely taken in by the atmosphere, not only of the stadium but of the entire city.

I was down on the field for the closing five minutes, and during that time I rarely saw a single person there that wasn’t jumping around, yelling and screaming for their team to give it their all.

Unless they were dressed in cardinal and gold, that is. They didn’t have much to say.

I don’t know if it was the enormous student section that they have at Kinnick that first caught my eye. It was incredible to see that many students all gathered together in support of their team, standing and yelling from the opening kickoff until the final gun.

Maybe it was the infectious fight song that the Iowa marching band kept playing, which I soon started whistling without really noticing what I was doing. Michael Faas, our photo editor, finally had to tell me to shut up.

Or maybe it was the festive mood of the restaurant we ate at after the game, where every chair was filled with happy students singing praises to their beloved Hawkeyes.

Some or all of these aspects added up to a real appreciation of the situation on my part. I found myself wondering if it was too late for me to transfer.

I did come back to reality, and realized that even though it hadn’t really shown on the field on that particular day, ISU is working to be where Iowa already is.

Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, Dan McCarney will have built a solid team that expects to at least have a shot at every game on the schedule and, in turn, play that way when they actually hit the field.

No more self-doubt in our players’ minds. No more wishes for three-win seasons. No more downtrodden faces going to lame bars like Tazzle’s after games and moping about how bad our team is doing.

Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

And if we can have enough patience, it can become a reality.

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Christopher Clair is a senior in journalism from Waukon. He is the sports editor at the Daily.