Though I’ve lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota for 35 years, I grew up in rural Iowa, attended the University of Iowa, drummed in the Hawkeye Marching Band, and am an ardent fan of Hawkeye sports despite the angst and despair inflicted on their fans. Fortunately, living amongst Minnesota Golden Gopher fans its advantages: often their teams are worse than Iowa’s.
Almost every US college or university has a ubiquitous greeting said to someone wearing a school’s apparel: Alabama’s Roll Tide, Southern Cal’s Fight On!, Georgia’s Go Dawgs!. The loyalty displayed is on par with the fervor shown by European football fans. The University of Iowa’s rally cry is Go Hawks! which I’ll say to those I see wearing Iowa paraphernalia (except, of course, on campus in Iowa City).
Go Hawks! initiates a short conversation to share credentials: are you from Iowa? where? when were you in school? what dorm did you live in? have you been back recently? did you watch last week’s game? Fairly innocuous though occasionally you are surprised.
Scotland
In May 2022, my wife and took the train to Scotland after I attended a tech conference in London, spending four days in Edinburgh and Glasgow before flying home: museums, architecture, history, gardens, food, etc.
On our day in Edinburgh, we were walking the Royal Mile in a light drizzle when my wife wanted to go into a shop. I had to navigate around someone on my way when I caught a glimpse of his cap: did it actually say “Hawkeyes?” When he turned his head slightly, I confirmed it was and said Go Hawks!
The man quickly swiveled with a surprised look on his face and said Go Hawks! He was from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, about an hour south of Iowa City (you’ll drive through the future home of James T. Kirk). A former season ticket holder for basketball, he is a die-hard fan of Hawkeye sports and our conversation was longer than normal: will the football team have any offense (no), will the basketball team be OK after Keegan Murray was drafted (better than expected), have you seen Caitlin Clark play (yes, multiple times). After about 15 minutes, my wife was done shopping and his wife wanted to move on. Nevertheless, a very entertaining conversation.
Minnesota State Fair
The Minnesota State Fair, also known as The Great Minnesota Get-Together, is the last summer shin-dig before kids go back to school the Tuesday after Labor Day. As you’d expect, it’s chock-a-block with Minnesotans as evidenced by the number of Golden Gopher, Twins, Vikings, and Wild t-shirts.
At the 2022 fair, I saw man wearing a Hawkeyes t-shirt sitting on a bench outside the Agriculture Horticulture Building. After giving the required greeting, I asked where was he from: “You wouldn’t know it, small town in Eastern Iowa, but I live in Maquoketa now” which is the county seat where I grew up. As we dug deeper, I figured out that his mother was one year ahead of me in our high school. I then rattled off multiple things about his mom as his wife stood there stunned and slack-jawed. Considering the size of the school and towns, they were incredulous at stumbling into someone not only from the area but knowing a number of family members.
So for now, I’ll continue to greet Hawkeye fans appropriately and maybe I’ll have more interesting connections to talk about.
