CyHawk Rivalry

Iowa is quite the peaceful state. That is, until it’s rivalry week...

The Iowa vs. Iowa State game divides our state between Cyclones and Hawkeyes every year. Usually it’s nothing but friendly trash talk amongst the fans of each side but this year, an incident involving the Iowa University’s marching band may leave Iowans without a Cy-Hawk game next year. It was reported that as the Iowa marching band was exiting Jack Trice Stadium (the home of the cyclones) they were assaulted by Cyclone fans. Incident reports stated that not only were members of the Iowa marching band yelled and cussed at as they walked, they also had beer thrown on them, objects thrown at their bus, and one of the members of the band was shoved while carrying a ladder, resulting in multiple broken ribs. Whether you are an Iowa or ISU fan, these behaviors are clearly not acceptable towards anybody but especially young adults in college. No charges were pressed by any of the band members but the President of Iowa University Bruce Harreld has suggested to postpone the Cy-Hawk game next year for safety reasons. ISU President Wendy Wintersteen has committed to doing everything possible to keep the rival game alive next year. She stated this during her address of the issue. Many ISU fans are outraged that this is getting so much coverage as they claim that their band receives the same rudeness when they are visitors at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Many people believe that this incident should not change the plans for a Cy-Hawk game next year just because a few fans acted out. Security measures should be taken to keep all attendants, players, band members, and anybody else at the game safe at all times.

Norwalk senior Rachel Gavin added her opinion on the issue. She believes that ISU should take accountability for the actions that happened at their stadium and there should be more security measures taken at next years game in order to keep something like this from happening again. She also believes that there should be some sort of regulation on people who are too inebriated to enter the game. The rivalry game shouldn’t be ended next year because of the actions of a few immature fans but something needs to be done to keep this from happening again.

Something good came out of rivalry week though. During the game, Altoona resident Carson King held up a sign saying “Busch Light supply needs replenished” along with his Venmo account. The sign did far better than he had anticipated. With the money pouring in, he decided to donate all of the proceeds to the Iowa Children’s hospital in Iowa City. With this information of the donation being spread like wildfire, people from all over the country were donating to Carson’s “beer fund.” Busch Light reached out to Carson and revealed that they would match whatever money he received. By the end, Carson had raised just about $3 million for the Iowa Children’s Hospital. He handed the check over on October 11 and it made national news. Busch Light gave Carson a year's supply of beer with his face right on the can. This story truly touched everyone who heard about it.

Whether you are a Cyclone fan or a Hawk fan, we’re all Iowans. And that needs to be remembered during next years game. Keep things respectful and safe so all fans can enjoy the game that we wait all year for.