Cyclones v Hawkeyes? (Des Moines, Iowa City, Dubuque: fit in, schools, universities)

[RonnieJonez]

Iowa State is strange in the respect that a portion of their student body supports Iowa. I've been to Ames and seen Hawkeye flags outside apartments, and this is generally well-known. It's not the case with Iowa though.

[edsg25]

I didn't get any answers on my question about how the Iowa-ISU fan base comparisons hold up to other in-state battles of publics (KU-KSt, IU-Pur, UM-MSU, OU-OkSt, etc.). I'll stick to what I said though: I think that in Iowa it is much more one sided than in those other states.

And I'd like to offer a reason why. In all those other examples, both schools are in the same conference. Only Iowa was in two and those two due to historical significance of the story of the fan base were the Big Ten and the Big Eight.

And, simply put, the Big Ten made Iowans more comfortable than the Big Eight did. Why? Well, to start with, Iowa is not in the great plains. It is more main stream midwest. Its settlement went east to west and the first regions that grew were very much attached to the lands across the Mississippi, lands just a short distance from Iowa City. I had read through an interesting source how many states can be included all or in part in "the Midwest" but only seven would appear totally in the Midwest on every list: MN, IA, WI, IL, IN, MI, OH. Obviously the original non PSU footprint of the Big Ten. The other states in the region are either more Great Plains or, like Missouri, seen as border states. Also, UI (actually since we are talking developmentally, I should say SUI) took pride in B10 membership and the athletic and academic prestige it gave. The B10 gave Iowa an advantage ISU did not have: a strong tie to the power center of the midwest in Chicago, a city and metro area with a strong connection to UI.

I believe if both Iowa and Iowa State had been in the same conference, you would have had a more balanced relationship between the two in the support bases.

[Chicago60614]

I would say that there is a difference between UofI and ISU in that a larger % of ISU fans actually have personal connections to ISU. Especially once you get away from the immediate area around Ames.

Iowa on the other hand tends to have more fans who might not have any personal connection outside of the fact they live in Iowa. I think this comes from the facts pointed out above. It's all a sports thing. Larger conference, more historical, bigger on a national scene. I think this is why you'd see more Iowa fans in Des Moines, southwest Iowa and northwest Iowa, etc that otherwise might be neutral and pick based on proximity to a certain school.

I was very surprised when I was in Red Oak in southwest Iowa that there was a clear rivalry, but it was between Iowa and Nebraska. I really only saw a few ISU flags, etc. I was kinda shocked at the sheer number of Hawkeye fans I saw.

[Jay100]

I think if ISU starts winning some games then the fans will emerge, regardless of conference. Look at Notre Dame: crazy fanbase but no conference. Compare ND to Purdue and Indiana that are both in the B10.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I would say that there is a difference between UofI and ISU in that a larger % of ISU fans actually have personal connections to ISU. Especially once you get away from the immediate area around Ames.

Iowa on the other hand tends to have more fans who might not have any personal connection outside of the fact they live in Iowa. I think this comes from the facts pointed out above. It's all a sports thing. Larger conference, more historical, bigger on a national scene. I think this is why you'd see more Iowa fans in Des Moines, southwest Iowa and northwest Iowa, etc that otherwise might be neutral and pick based on proximity to a certain school.

I was very surprised when I was in Red Oak in southwest Iowa that there was a clear rivalry, but it was between Iowa and Nebraska. I really only saw a few ISU flags, etc. I was kinda shocked at the sheer number of Hawkeye fans I saw.

Same thing in Sioux Falls. You can drive around for a month before you see anything related to ISU such as a bumper sticker, pennant, license plate holder, etc. even though ISU is 150 miles closer. Hawkeye paraphenalia can be seen every other day.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Jay100

I think if ISU starts winning some games then the fans will emerge, regardless of conference. Look at Notre Dame: crazy fanbase but no conference. Compare ND to Purdue and Indiana that are both in the B10.

Jay, Notre Dame is unique in that respect. No independent can generate such a fan base or mystique.

As far as winning games goes, for some programs that only seems to work in for the times they are doing well. K-State carved a nice niche for itself for a number of years but now that those years have past, it's off the radar screen.

Personally when it comes to winning games, for Iowa State I think there was more payback that came from that period of time earlier in the 2000s when they beat Iowa regularly. Beating the Hawkeyes had more influence on their in-state success, IMHO, than would have come if they had generated more wins throughout the seasons.

I think Chicago6 nailed it on his observations about Iowa. It's not just an in-state thing. Iowa gets much more out of state focus than ISU. To start with, the Big Ten treasures Iowa far more than the Big 12 does ISU. For all the talk about not seeing ISU bumper stickers throughout many portions of Iowa: keep in mind that it would be very hard to drive through the Chicago area, both city and suburbs, and not think Iowa was a local university based on how many bumper stickers you'd see. It's funny really: Iowa, the state, barely registers in Chicagoland, but Iowa, the university, is a major presence.

Iowa just has a visibility that ISU doesn't have. Loaded with out-of-state students, cool and liberal college town and the cool campus with a river running through it, old capitol, the writers workshop, the famed Hawkeye faithful fan base

[Chicago60614]

Yeah I take the Brown Line in Chicago 7 stations to work every day, and one day last spring I counted how many Hawkeye flags I saw flying off apartments and condos from the L between Belmont and downtown. I counted 13, which made me realize how huge Iowa was in Chicago. They were spread evenly all the way from Belmont through Lakeview, Lincoln Park and River North.

[Chicago60614]

Anothing thing I realized was that in Chicago, Iowa City has a good view as a fun party city to visit over a weekend. I've talked to tons of people who take yearly trips to Madison and Iowa City to have fun.

It kinda props Iowa City up in the larger media more than others. For instance I say I went to Iowa for school and if anyone knows anything about it they tend to say "Ohh! I love Iowa City!". I really would never hear anything about ISU. Ames is much less known because Iowa City has the drunk party reputation.

[jmgg]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Anothing thing I realized was that in Chicago, Iowa City has a good view as a fun party city to visit over a weekend. I've talked to tons of people who take yearly trips to Madison and Iowa City to have fun.

It kinda props Iowa City up in the larger media more than others. For instance I say I went to Iowa for school and if anyone knows anything about it they tend to say "Ohh! I love Iowa City!". I really would never hear anything about ISU. Ames is much less known because Iowa City has the drunk party reputation.

Just wait till they get that Amtrak rail line going between Chicago and Iowa City.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Yeah I take the Brown Line in Chicago 7 stations to work every day, and one day last spring I counted how many Hawkeye flags I saw flying off apartments and condos from the L between Belmont and downtown. I counted 13, which made me realize how huge Iowa was in Chicago. They were spread evenly all the way from Belmont through Lakeview, Lincoln Park and River North.

You can't drive anywhere on the North Shore without seeing an Iowa bumper sticker. At high schools like Stevenson, GBS, GBN, New Trier, Highland Park, Deerfield, etc, the colleges that get the most students are the "three I's": Illinois, Iowa, Indiana. There is no question why Iowa liked the idea of that Iowa-NIU game at Soldier Field. NIU couldn't have done such a game successfully unless it scheduled a game with a B10 school with a huge Chgo fan base. And despite all those making a road trip from Iowa, any Iowa-NU football (or b'ball) game played at Ryan Field or Welsh Ryan Arena is loaded with home grown Hawkeyes which often make Evanston appear at the time more gold and black than purple and white.

PS....let me know when those brown line flags catch on at Lawrence and Kimbal or anywhere else in Albany Park and I'll know Hawkeye fever has really taken over.