Thursday (the Iowa rivalry) edition: Wha’ Happened?
Posted on May 28th, 2009 – 8:49 AMBy Michael Rand
Via a friendly colleague, we have come across a harmless though somewhat amusing oversight in the “2009 Media & Records Book” put out recently by the Gophers football program. In the very back, there is a section of year-by-year results. And under 2008, one game is conspicuously missing: the 55-0 loss to Iowa, the final Gophers game ever at the Metrodome. Now: the game appears in at least three other places in the book, so clearly there is no conspiracy theory here. That, of course, did not stop the Cedar Rapids newspaper from having some fun with it. Writes Mike Hlas on his blog, “The Hlog” (really):
Funny, the Iowa football spring prospectus issued to the media this year told us the Hawkeyes defeated Minnesota last Nov. 22 by the rather decisive score of 55-0.I was at the Metrodome that night, in fact. That 55-0 result jibes with my memory. It sure seemed like Iowa had its facts straight. But today I got a copy of the Minnesota football 2009 Media & Records Book. It lists the Gophers’ all-time results. For 2008 (see the above graphic) it says Minnesota had a 7-6 record, it only lists 12 games. Odd. Why, it’s as if … the Iowa game never happened!
It’s fun stuff, to be sure. Good times with a typo. Everyone knows the game was played. Surely, two Iowans who spent countless seconds basking in the glow of ill-fated, newfound love in a bathroom stall can attest to that. It was no dream!
But it got us thinking about the nature of the Iowa/Minnesota rivalry, which we’ve never really quite been able to grasp. The Wisconsin/Minnesota rivalry, we get for sure. There is venom going both ways. It extends to college and professional sports. There is city pride at stake (Milwaukee and/or Madison vs. Minneapolis/St. Paul). It’s two-sided, mean and fun all at once.
The North Dakota/Minnesota rivalry is much different. It used to start and end with college hockey, and recently there has been a touch of NDSU/Gophers basketball and football thrown into the mix. That said, legions of Minnesota fans adopted the Bison hoopsters at the NCAA regional. Mostly, outside of hockey, it’s a friendly relationship. The majority of North Dakota fans root for Minnesota pro teams. Being a NoDak native, the reason is simple: we don’t have much else. There is very little ammunition. So we get along.
But the Iowa/Minnesota relationship is somewhere in between, and we have a hard time grasping it. Our take is that it seems to be intensely sports-based and a little bit one-sided, with Iowa desperately wanting to make more of it and Minnesota often saying, “Meh. Where’s Wisconsin?” This only intensifies the Iowa feeling of inadequacy, leading folks in the Hawkeye state to pounce on every opportunity to shove it in Minnesota’s face. Hence information in a blog post that, while fun, could easily have been left to a chuckle by the recipient of the book but instead was used — again, in fun — to dredge up the old 55-0 wound.
We welcome your take on the Iowa/Minnesota rivalry, and the others, in the comments.
Fasola-link! The world of typography. Crotch acute or obtuse?
122 Responses to "Thursday (the Iowa rivalry) edition: Wha’ Happened?"
A Google search for Iowa self-loathing returns 36,500 results. ’nuff said.
Where does the Vikings-Bears “rivalry” fit? It feels like both teams are more interested in being rivals with the Packers, but there is something there. What is it?
“Hlog” smells like hacon.
Doesn’t the only real rivalry between MN and Iowa involve sweaty men in singlets rolling around on a mat?
(Internet, please make the following words slanted)
“The majority of North Dakota fans root for Minnesota pro teams.”
(Internet, please stop making words slanted. Thanks.)
Mr. Rand, you grew up in NoDak and I only lived there for 5-years, but I cannot decide if I agree with your statement. I base this solely on the Starter jacket, hat, and other team paraphernalia selection at the Scheels in Fargo. In the mid 90’s it was dominated by Packers, Brewers, Broncos, and Rockies stuff. Minnesota teams were only slightly represented. Maybe it was because these teams had some success during that era. Or maybe local Minnesota fans only shop for clothing in Moorhead for the sales tax exemption. But it seemed to me like a lot of NoDaks went out of their way to root for Wisconsin or Denver teams.
I’m with Clarence on this one. I spent 17 of the first 18 years of my life in central NoDak and I couldn’t believe how few of my friends and their families cheered for MN teams. In ‘91, more than half my 5th grade class was pulling for the Braves. In Jan ‘99, I was teased mercilessly over the Conference-Championship-that-never-happened. There were a whole lot of bandwagon 49ers and Cowboys fans, too. Disgusting.
Have you ever been to a Iowa-Minnesota football game? Minnesota fans treat this game way more like a rivalry game with the “who hates Iowa?” in their chants and having it painted on their chests, plus wearing shirts belittling Iowa. Its just another game then when played in Iowa.
Iowa schmiowa. Yawn. Short man’s complex.
Wow…look how Brewster finished the season. And Maturi is calling this past years Gophers athletic accomplishments as stellar. Hockey team sucked, Basketball team was okay…but so were 63 other teams that make the NCAA, Football team stunk…7th in big 10, a losing record and can count the number of times they beat a team with a winning record on a fingerless man’s hand. Sorry, for the big money making sports, this past year can best be described as well below average.
Iowa cares much more about beating Iowa State than beating Minnesota. I think it just bring them so much pleasure looking at the lopsided box scores for most of the last 5 years.
The rivalry is surely there with MN, i just can’t agree that it’s overly one sided though….
I was relatively unaware of the STRONG rivalry feelings Iowans have towards MN until I happened to be at an Outback Steakhouse with my grandparents during the (did it really happen?) 55-0 football game. Gramps (79 years old) was completely unaware that he was wearing a UofM shirt that my cousin gave him whilst attending 10 years ago. Drunken Iowa fans (including some blonde bombshells btw) were ALL OVER HIM. Directing chants at him! He was beyond confused… Alas, I think Iowa simply isn’t worth being a rival of ours.
Oh, and newbie, your TMDL advice to say please and thank you was full of baloney.
The Hawks simply can’t wait to come to Kinnick Stadium North and pound the Goofs once again in 2010.
“Where does the Vikings-Bears “rivalry” fit? It feels like both teams are more interested in being rivals with the Packers…”
I like that. Maybe the winner of the two Vikings - Bears games this year should get the title “Official Rival of the Green Bay Packers.” The loser has to be the Lions’ rival.
If MN could keep a game close then crowd could wait to have sex in disgusting bar bathroom stalls surround the Metrodome just like it should be. Maybe the stalls in the new stadium will be cleaner and sex starved IA fans can rejoice!
Having graduated from Iowa State and grown up in Minnesota I can say that Iowa fans are much more concerned with beating Iowa State. I would say that Minnesota-Iowa is the second tier rivalry for both schools, more important than games against other schools, but not as bis as ISU-Iowa or Minn-Wisc.
I think Iowa people hate being labeled as “hicks” by Minnesotans, when facts suggest that Iowa and Minnesota are dead even in regards to ACT and SAT scores, acres of farmland, and state fair prowess.
I grew up in Iowa and moved to MN 8 years ago. In all my time as a sports fan in Iowa, I never got cranked up at the Iowa/Minnesota rivalry, or heard much about it from anyone else. Trust me, there is no jealousy coming out of Iowa.
Ask Packers fans that don’t live on the borders who their main rival is and you’ll get one answer…. Chicago. Not saying that’s good or bad it’s just the way it is.
My perception of the rivalry is somewhat skewed, but I can tell you that after rubbing in the 55-0 score, my Iowan husband spent many a night self-loathing.
What does Minnesota do with it’s old Garbage trucks? Sell them to Iowans to use as Campers.
Being from Iowa and a die-hard Hawk fan, trust me; Iowa doesn’t take Minnesota too seriously. Some do get rapped up too much in beating Iowa State and Minnesota, but most would rather beat Ohio State and Michigan. Any school that needs 20k of visiting fans to fill their stadium ranks pretty low on the priority list of teams to want to beat.
An ISU alumni living in MN for the last several years. totally agree with other Iowa posters. Mostly, I don’t think Iowa knows MN exists. It’s all about ISU v. Iowa.
Whoa!! This IS a one-sided rivalry, to be sure, but definitely on the Minnesota side!! Go to an Iowa/Minnesota football or basketball game (or wrestling match) in Minnesota and listen to the “Who Hates Iowa? We Hate Iowa” chanting (often lead by the Minnesota cheerleaders, no less! The word “hate” is a little strong, especially in these times. I’ve never yet heard that word at an Iowa venue vs. Minnesota. So, who is feeling and fueling the rivalry????
Well, all I know is the Brewster should WISE UP and change the Gopher football uniforms to EXACTLY the way they were in the early sixties. Helmets too. I don’t care if they WIN, as much as I like to see the colors of the team I loved when I was a kid.
I’m a Hawkeye born and raised in Minnesota. Being involved with the football team in the past I can tell you that the Iowa/MN game is a second tier rivalry for both teams and both states, but it is indeed a rivalry.
If Gopher fans don’t have a problem being outnumbered in there own house every year than they’re questionable fans at best. No matter who the opponent is.
Is there a math major in the house? If the two numbers at the bottom of the “UM” and “Opp.” columns are supposed to be season totals then there’s something else missing besides the Iowa game. By my carefully rechecked calculations the totals should be 302 for the U and 267 for the Opponents. (Okay, 322 for the Opponents - if you include the missing game.)
Whoa!! This is a one-sided rivalry, but who’s feeling and fueling it? Go to an Iowa/Minnesota football or basketball game (or wrestling match) IN MINNESOTA and listen to the “Who Hates Iowa? We Hate Iowa!” chanting (often led by the Minnesota cheeerleaders, no less!). The word “hate” is a little strong, especially in these times. I’ve never yet heard that word at an Iowa venue. Who “hates” whom????
Which school’s student section cheers “We Hate Iowa” at games when Iowa isn’t even in the building/stadium?
That would be the golden ground rodents.
But it’s Iowa that plays up the rivalry? Riiiiiiiiiiiight!
Football at U-M is like football at Indiana: A joke! Firstly, MN is not a FB state. Heck they had 16 Ohio guys on the squad. The state of MN provided 9 players to the rest of the league. Hockey is king there, like it is to 4 other states in the nation. You win the NCAA hockey championship and you’ve beaten out the other 5 schools that have a chance! And MN did’t make the NCAA tournament this year (if anyone cares).
I agree that the Iowa fans take this rivalry way more serious than gopher fans. I have a friend in school in Iowa City. I was down there a couple years ago(not even as a gopher fan) and witnessed a lot of hostile behavior toward me simply because I was from MN. It didn’t matter that I don’t like the gophers(go Bulldogs!). I’ve also heard stories of the Iowa fans coming to MPLS and taking full advantage of the tailgating lots back in the day, with little regard for trash clean-up or civility toward others in the lots. Of course, those stories came from gopher fans, so who knows.
This is the most time I’ve spent thinking about the state of Iowa in my entire life, what a waste of five minutes.
To Iowa fans downplaying their overall sense of hatred toward MN: I call bullsh*t.
What do you call a beautiful woman in Iowa? A tourist.
The only interesting note in this so called “rivalry” is how much grass the Iowa cheerleaders consume in a typical 60 minute football game! Just kidding. Personally, any team that plays the Gophers is hated, at least for the day of the game, but some carry more weight than others and Iowa is low on the list of “rivalries” in my opinion.
Mr. Shoes…..
Sounds to me like a Mount Union/Bridgewater drubbing…. did Iowa lose to your alma mater the next week, too? 
If Iweegans hate us so, than why do they keep coming up here in droves to rape our lakes? In fact, the DNR sets up check points at the Iowa border and ask only one question - “So how many carp do you have in your trunk?”
I wouldn’t even call it a rivalry, more like a one sided affair. Iowa domination
MN fans hate Iowa because there is just nothing to like about them. You can drive to Iowa City for the game, but there’s nothing to do beyond that. So obviously the Iowa vs. ISU game is bigger, because it is all these people think about all year. I’d much rather be stuck in Fargo than anywhere in Iowa. Who hates going to Iowa? Everyone.
I have lived in all the state mentioned (WI, MN, IA, ND)
NoDak’s - Just happy to mention in a newspaper other than the fargo foolem and for a flood.
IA - Not much to do after detassling corn and wrassling.
MN - 4% of the pop realize the gophers have a football team.
WI - Just another reason to drink beer.
IA’s opinion is more of a guaranteed win more than a rivalary. True rivalary games are against, OSU, ISU, Mich. and Wisc. Just fun to go to the Big City, met someone on the concourse, score in the bathroom while your team scores another TD on the field.
What ‘eva. Iowa rocks!
Your take is way off the mark.
In the seventies and early eighties, when I was in college and university in and at Iowa, Iowa fans (including me) were astonished at the acrimony that Minnesota fans and sports writers expressed toward anything Iowa. When I moved to Minnesota in ‘82, I saw the same attitude was being extended to all the other states by Minnesotans, most especially the bordering states. Other transplants into Minnesota saw the same thing. We agreed it was a self-imposed inferiority complex that is absolutely undeserved. However, when we said so to the natives, the range of responses were from blank looks to hostility. I’ve been in this state for 27 years, but this is the one trait of Minnesotans I have yet to understand.
Minnesota has a football team?? Who knew? It’s just refreshing to see that, year in and year out, national titles keep flowing into the state, but away from the “lowercase u”
Football: Check (UMD, and not to distantly St. Johns)
Baseball: Check (St. Thomas)
Volleyball : Check (Concordia-St. Paul)
Wrestling: Check (Augsburg)
Golf: Check (St. Johns)
Even the close brushes with glory fall away from the rodents, with Gustavus in the finals for hockey and basketball in recent years.
Basketball: UST made it to the Div III Elite Eight in the “Bracket o’Death” playing the nat’l title in Wheaton, Ill. against eventual winner Wash U. (Mo.)
Women’s Soccer: Carleton went to the Div III semis
good stuff - don’t confuse the fact that some iowa fans are big jerks with them taking the rivalry seriously. Having grown up a half hour from Iowa City, I can attest that the MN game isn’t as big a deal as some others- although Hawk fans have always used the “that game is a bigger deal to the other team” excuse.
gophers have a 59-41-2 record alltime against iowa. gophers have 6 national titles to their 1. how is this even a debate? they have to win 18 straight just to pull even. whatever….bring on the BADgers…
Ryan: We probably need to examine the era AFTER the car was invented, in order to fully appreciate the place where MN football resides.
I also don’t get the “iowegian” thing- everywhere I look, iowans are german… Minnesotans are norwegian.
Having lived in Iowa I can truly say that most Iowans doen’t even know there is a rivalry. It wasn’t until I moved to Minnesota that I learned about it. There aren’t chants of “who hates Minnesota” but you definitely here the who hates Iowa chants at the dome.
Fans from Minnesota seem to have a need to create a rivalry with anyone and everyone around them…even when it clearly doesnt exist. Like a younger, immature sibling…they are always shouting for recognition and acceptance. I grew up in Iowa and have now lived here in MN for 16 years. Im still a Hawkeye fan, but I am also a Mn pro sports fan. Its my opinion that fans (and people here in general) in Mn have a pervasive feeling inadequecy. They always are trying to prove something all the while waiting for the ‘next bad thing’ to happen to them (or their teams). Its a lot like creating a slogan like say…. “Minnesota Nice”…just a bit too contrived! Time for people around here to grow up and grow a pair.
Does the Iowa media & records book make any reference to the infamous bathroom incident at said game?? Perhaps they are doing you Iowajan’s a favor by not listing the game.
This is definitely a rivalry. It’s based on the history these two programs have, both on their own and against each other. Obviously for Gopher fans, once MN got professional sports, our college programs suffered. The rivalry extends beyond football and sports. Iowans come up here in droves to enjoy our outdoors and metro area. We may not visit them as much, but many of us go to college down there (including myself - Drake U.). Whoever makes the schedule for NCAA apparently considers this our biggest rival, as it almost always falls on the last week of the season (rivalry week)… and I’d agree Gopher fans need to be more creative in their chants if they’re saying we hate Iowa - that’s juvenile. Also, no more Kinnick North, even tho I always enjoyed running into Iowa fans dwtn. The metrodome was a joke and I refused to go to games there - we finally have a real football stadium and hopefully can become a legit program now. Go Gophers!
HEY SID CANT GET THEM ALL RIGHT!!!!
HE JUST MADE AN HONEST MISTAKE.
Antigopher: If what you say is true then that means Iowa STILL has nothing to show in Football! I find it hilarious Iowans saying that MI and OSU are their bigger rivalries when they can’t even consistently beat them. OSU and MI could care less about Iowa! I was in IC last year and can tell you that they hate MN more than WI.
Rita- I completely agree. I love living in Minnesota but there seems to be a level of hubris that’s hard to explain. Exhibit A- I had never heard of the term “Minnesota Nice” until I moved here. It’s not as world-renowned as ’sotans think it is. Exhibit B- It’s duck, duck, GOOSE! Why did an alternate version called duck, duck, grey duck have to be invented? Are you avian segregationists? Exhibit C- apparently the rules of grammar don’t apply in MN, but you can’t borrow something to someone, only from them. You can LEND it to them, however.
that’s a soft excuse antigopher. the record is what it is….who decides when it is ok to start counting wins and losses? we have had a team and you have had a team…..overall, ours has beaten yours many more times. from 1960 to 1981 iowa won only 4 times…is that too late or are we counting after that? nobody can decide that because all the games count in overall record. i dont have a problem with the hawkeyes but u can’t discount records.
Rita - seriously, we’re not in grade school. Folks who generalize in that way only expose their own ignorance. You’re only opening the door for folks to generalize you, or Iowans. And trust me, you don’t want that door open.
I can’t think of anything more humiliating than having a visiting team’s fans come into another team’s home stadium and consistently out number, outscore, out-enjoy the home team. Then every once in a while, they even walk out with the goal posts or a piece of ass.
Inadequacy? Let’s look at the reality.
Minnesota Gophers…worst fans, coach( well, tied with Illinois)and mini-stadium in the Big 10.
No other school in the Big 10 has their coach go before the state legislature begging and lying for money to “make the playing field level.” No other school needs to. Their fans contribute the needed funds so the taxpayer doesn’t have to. Kinnick and Camp Randall both refurbished with no taxpayer funds.
ryan: The past is what it is…keep enjoying that, while you remain at the bottom of that list of Big 10 teams to see a Rose Bowl game (pre-BCS nonsense). Indiana - they’re in front of you.
About the only thing the was memorable about that game was the sideshow that was going on in the men’s bathroom.
I bet the gopher fans are still celebrating their Final Four appearance. Oh wait…..
Alphascan: How do you out-enjoy? Also, you didn’t walk out with the goal posts, you idiots from IC tried to get them thru the revolving doors! After seeing how dumb Iowa fans act at the dome it’s no wonder why Minnesotans rip on your state. As for the piece of ass, hitting on your sister doesn’t count;)
antigopher, if u wanna say, we have owned you the last 20 years (13-7 in favor of iowa), feel free. i agree with you, you have, but how do you without bias discount past games and results? i can’t figure out a way to do that. good luck this season….iowa victories don’t bother me
sorry Digga. You just proved my point with your response…..Relax for minute and stop worrying! Didnt mean to hurt your feelings. No, we are not in grade school and Im not ignorant at all. A generalization is exactly that. It is an observation that doesnt infer that 100% of a set of subjects are all the same…it is an opinion (shared by many others) that can be expressed without writing a novel full of footnotes so as not to offend your fragile ego.
fasolamatt-a google search for “minnesota self-loathing” returns over 44,000 hits-really ’nuff said…
At least Gopher fans are nice enough to ‘borrow’ Floyd of Rosedale to us most years.
I’ll admit as a Hawk fan that Michigan and Ohio State are not our traditional rivals. History is one sided there, but that’s why they are always big games for us.
Maybe that’s why Gopher fans are so numb to any rivalries - You have all of these trophies to play for, but Big Ten victories are hard to come by in MN. Every game must seem like a very, very big game to the fans that care. I get it now.
I get a kick out of going to the Iowa - Minnesota games in Minny and listening to the chant…”Thats another Golden Gopher first down”. Just pathetic when you have to cheer for 1st downs cause you can’t get in the endzone. My favorite was when it was in the 4th quarter and the gophs are down by 50…and they get their 4th first down of the game, and yep…”Thats another….” What a joke of a team. Gopher fans…no one cares about a Minny football rivalry. In order for something to be a rivalry both teams have to be a little competitive. I doubt Sconni’s consider Minny a rivalry cause it is an easy “W” for them every year.
Iowa and Wisconsin fans who live in their own states are reasonable. It’s all the idiots who moved here and have nothing better to do but rip everything Minnesota.
What do a Wisconsin grad, Minnesota grad, and Iowa grad have in common? They all live here.
Inferiority complex? Short man’s complex? This is why Minnesota fans are so funny. To think that Iowans actually look up to Minnesota as some sort of dream destination or mecca of civilization. Trust me, we all love Iowa and wouldn’t move to MN unless we had too. Not that it is a bad place, but it just isn’t a big deal for us. Maybe Minnesotans have a superiority complex for some reason and look down on Iowans to make themselves feel better, but we would just laugh that off. We’re pretty darn happy with who we are and where we are. All I think of when I think of the rivalry in football is total domination by Iowa, so it has never been a real big deal for me. I do understand the historical significance of the rivalry though which is something you need to look up if you don’t get it. Still Iowans don’t really hate Minnesota or the Gophers or consider them to be their biggest rival. It’s fun to beat a border state all the time and fill their stadium with our fans, but we don’t give the game or our neighbors up nort there too much thought. We don’t really have a arch rival at this point, probably used to be MN back in the day, but right now it wort of changes depending on the year. So we don’t really hate you and you’re not that big of a deal to us - get over yourselves. We know how annoyed you are with being dominated since the 80s, but do understand that Wisconsin is your biggest rival currently. No big deal. Good for you guys. Wish we had a definitive OSU/Mich type rival, but right now we don’t. ISU is the closest thing and that one is really just more annoying than enjoyable. Anyway, it is funny that the game was ommitted from the records. I wouldn’t want to remember it either, but unless you want it to happen again you better not forget it.
As an Iowa native and huge Hawk fan, but Minnesota resident for the past 9 years, I can definitely say without any doubt that Minnesotans take the rivalry WAY more seriouslyt than Iowa fans. I mean, “who hates Iowa?” chants. C’mon.
Iowa fans get amped up and stoked for games against teams that are good. For Minnesota, beating Iowa is a pretty good feather in their cap over the past 30 years.
I never really understood why Minnesotans feel the need to hate on Iowans, Wisconsin people, etc. When Iowans meet people from other states they usually just want to ask what their town is like, what they do, what their interests are…..When Minnesotans meet people from other states they usually either roll their eyes, point out why Minnesota is better, or make a joke. I’ve always thought it was strange.
lol lots of hate around here, someone must care. if we can’t get ya in football this year we should be able to get ya in basketball….hopefully.
If Iowa is such a utopia, why do all you move here?
Spare us the BS.
ryan says:
May 28th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
lol lots of hate around here, someone must care. if we can’t get ya in football this year we should be able to get ya in basketball….hopefully.
————-
Other sports suddenly don’t count.
Iowa fans all talk trash about Minnesota because they don’t want to discuss their 30 something arrests over the last two years. Now that is truly pathetic.
A more appropriate rival for Iowa would be somewhere in between Nebraska or South Dakota.
Oh no, who am I to call out the all-knowing Rita, with her huge sac? You prove my point too Rita. You pretend you know something you don’t, you criticize but expect and tolerate no rebuttal, and when you get a response, you name call and whine… just like a child (talk about fragile ego and feeling inadequate?)
When all is said and done, the fact remains that Iowa is a big supporter of the MN Vikings. Living in southern MN and having traveled north towards the metro area on a home Vikings game day, you would think (based on car licenses) that you were in Iowa.
Minney fans are always trying to make fun of Iowans as hicks and hold themselves as high and mighty
Lets’ see Minnesota elected in some ex-fake wrestler named Jesse and now is about to elect in some foul mouth leftist comedian (what a joke)– Shows me enough on the mental state of the population up there.
In 2012 they probably will swing far right and go for Rush!
Given Iowa now allows Gay marriage I would say both states tie for crazies, but Iowans did not have a chance to vote as the liberals used a loop hole.
but didn’t they vote in the people who used the loophole?
It is somewhat hilarious when the hometown newspaper can’t even get 50% of the comments to agree with them on their home turf. The rivalry hardly exists in Iowa City. Tickets for Gopher games are among the easiest to get year in and year out. I do realize it’s at the end of the season and the weather is cold, but Minny ranks well below Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan St, Ohio State, and Penn State in terms of difficulty getting tickets. I would say Minny is even with Purdue and Northwestern, and slightly ahead of Indiana in terms of popularity.
Let’s face it, ever since the goal posts got ripped down in the Metrodome, the Minny animosity has been pretty obvious. And for the fools that keep talking about the goal posts through the revolving doors, there are regular doors right to the side of them that can be utilized as well. What other school could get their goal posts ripped down by the opposing team?
Iowa = Worst fans in the Big Ten. There’s no inferiority complex in MN in regards to Iowa. The only reason we don’t like you is due to the way you act at the IA/MN games. Puking, having sex in bathrooms, trashing parking lots, vandalizing property, and acting like a buffoon is not being a great fan. We don’t have chants for Michigan, OSU or even Wisconsin fans and there’s a reason for this…they are respectful towards other teams fans.
Art: It wasn’t the schools goal posts, it was the dome’s goal posts. As for the revolving doors, obviously your fans couldn’t figure out that there were regular doors….that’s what makes it soo funny! Silly Iowans!
I was actually in St. Louis during that game. Even down there everyone seemed shock at how out-of-hand it became. I’m glad neither my wife nor I were wearing any of our Minnesota (pro or college) gear that day!
As a Gopher fan, indeed, every game is a big deal. Personally I’m just trying to justify being a die-hard Gopher fan by cheering as much as possible no matter who the rival is. I’m sick of other fans coming in from WI, IA, MI, etc and telling me that our fans suck. Those at the game are mostly trying to disprove a longtime reputation. Unfortunately, I can only purchase so many season tickets on my own.
While I’m well aware of our failings as MN fans, IA fans are nothing to brag about, either. MN fans haven’t ripped down your goal posts in Iowa City. I also vividly remember having an IA fan arrested at the Dome for stealing from the marching band during a post game celebration. Nice representation, hawks.
Sounds like the Iowa folks consider the U rivals in football… Whereas I think any Gopher fan would say the Iowa game is about as “rivalry-ish” as playing Northwestern. Football is all about Wisconsin and delusional Badger/Packer fans. I think the only sport in which Iowa is a true rival is wrestling, which has a little too much guy on guy action to everyone outside of Iowa. No pun intended regarding recent legal happenings in Iowa!
what type of fans would rip down goalposts? I would never think to disrespect kinnick in any way like that. I make yearly trips to green bay to watch the vikings and madison to watch the gophers. I have no problem with their fans…the vast majority are nice and respectful. when iowa comes here their fans are very disrespectful…i’m sure alcohol plays a part in that, but it’s a very different element than green bay and madison.
Art Vandelay
Glad you and your hawkeye friends are reading a MN paper.
This has got to be joke. I don’t see much rivalry there because Minnesota fans are generally indifferent and Iowa consitently stomps them. Sure, Iowa enjoys beating Minnesota each year, but not much of a rivalry there. The article sounds like a Minnesota fan trying to mask his jealously by saying there isn’t a rivallry there.
Every year that Iowa plays the Gophs up here in football, you know the city will be flooded with the most absolutely WASTED, rude, and ignorant people. Ask any bar employee in downtown or uptown, they make the ’sconies look like nuns. Its like they think they’re in Mexico when they’re up here! Support your team (and think we give a rip about “your” rivalry) all you want. But show some class.
The Iowa Minnesota rivalry is important to me because I have alot of relation in Minnesota and it is for bragging rights. Iowa fans want to beat Iowa State more and Gophers are usually a bottom-feeding Big Ten team. However, I really like beating UM when you had the smug Mason as coach and your new used car salesman Brewster…Iowans hope your AD keeps hiring these coaching gems…
i totally agree. there are lots and lots of good people in iowa, but a lot of the ones that come up here for football act like crazy people or get caught up in the mob mentality. they get drunk, destroy stuff and scream obsceneties at people on the street. i havent seen anything remotely like it with any other visiting team’s fans or visiting their stadiums.
It might be more of a rivalry if people actually showed up to Gopher games. It always seemed to me that nobody cared about Gopher football. Basketball and wresting seemed like a different story. Iowa has much more passion about its football team, hence it seems lopsided. And there has been minimal excitement about Iowa basketball as opposed to Gopher basketball. If both teams where excited about similar sports, there would be more of a rivalry.
No one I know circles the Iowa game on the new Gopher schedule when it comes out, in any sport. Not a rivalry. At least not from a UM perspective.
Of course I can’t speak for Womens BBall, golf or swimming/diving… Iowa may be a huge rival there.
I think Gopher fans are still bitter we tore down their goalposts after claiming the big 10 title in their own dome.
Ryan - You’d never get close to the goalposts at Kinnick. Iowa Fans and staff alike would kill you. That’s the most hilarious part about it, Iowa had so many more fans than you at your OWN stadium that you couldn’t do anything but watch…
you just said it all. i’d never consider trying to do something like that, nor would i be proud of my fellow gopher fans for doing something like that.
The only reason Iowa gets fired up is because the Gophers always treat it as their bowl game since there is usually no other and they like to spoil their bowl.
As a Gopher fan I think the rivalry between MN and IA definately exists. I despise Iowa fans because they come up to the big city for the first time in two years, party their asses off (thanks for the revenue), fill our stadium up with more fans than us, and leave a large destructive mess in their wake.
Iowa hates us because we chant “Who Hates Iowa”.
It’s a game we don’t look forward to going to first, (i.e. Wisconsin, Michigan) but it’s definately one of my favorite atmospheres on game day.
Spin it any way you like, it still sounds the same!
fitzroy says:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Every year that Iowa plays the Gophs up here in football, you know the city will be flooded with the most absolutely WASTED, rude, and ignorant people. Ask any bar employee in downtown or uptown, they make the ’sconies look like nuns. Its like they think they’re in Mexico when they’re up here!
____________________________
All except your average native mexican sports a higher IQ that your average minnesotin.
Please! For the sake of your argument, if you are going to poke fun at the IQ of your average Minnesotan, could you at least spell your words right and use grammatically correct sentences?
It makes it far to easy to laugh at your stupidity. Silly Iowegians.
Kin you say irony, Milo? Come on…try it…..don’t mumble….go to play4brew for a hint!
Um, it can’t be a rivalry if one team can’t compete. Of course, Minnesota fans don’t care. If Iowa sucked as bad as Minnesota, we wouldn’t care either. On the other hand, if we sucked it would be competitive game and a rivalry…hmm. I guess I’ll take the wins and the slights from the Minnesota folks versus losing every year. You may continue sucking. Go Hawks!
Michael,
Don’t you have something more important to do like write about the gopher player(s) who were recently arrested and why?
I would say in Football Minnesota’s biggest rivals are Wisconsin followed by Iowa. To say otherwise is just false.
Iowa’s biggest Rival is Wisconsin followed by Minnesota followed by Iowa State. Iowa State can’t be Iowa’s biggest rival because they didn’t play each other for a long long time until 1978.
People saying Iowa or Minnesota aren’t mutual rivals are either bitter or tired of being belittled.
Not a rivalry? You swampies couldn’t be more off. But, I guess you have to expect that after electing Stuart Smalley into office.
I remember many great moments up in Kinnick North! One year I was apart of the goal posts getting carried out of the stadium in a Big Ten Championship season, then there was 1994 where I leaped onto the field and ran 110 yards during the game for a touchdown with security running stride for stride with me. You can see it all again on youtube. Enter: Iowa Hawkeye Gorilla Man
GO HAWKS!
The GOrilla Man
Yes, it is a rivalry. But a lopsided one. Minnesota may take a few, but IOWA is a better overall team and has been for at least the last 10 years. When was the last time Minnesota really beat someone who counted?
Perhaps because you assume that the rivalry is one sided because Iowa fans easily outnumber Gopher fans and are typically much more enthusiastic about their team. Perhaps.
Evan: Or maybe it’s just that Minnesotans think Iowa fans are classless when they come to MN. Gorilla Man proves our point once again that Iowa fans are idiots…especially when drunk. Silly Iowans thinking a football game defines them or makes them better than another state;)
At least you can have fun at an Iowa game? Ever been there? It is a great time! The dome was sterile for a college game.
Vikings1 says:
May 29th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Evan: Or maybe it’s just that Minnesotans think Iowa fans are classless when they come to MN. Gorilla Man proves our point once again that Iowa fans are idiots…especially when drunk. Silly Iowans thinking a football game defines them or makes them better than another state;)
_______________
Tell us about your $5,000,000,000 deficit, 9% unemployment, Al Franken & Jesse Ventura??
Are you kidding me? Evan is right, just because Hawk fans outnumber Gopher fans at their own stadium we care more about a rivalry… riiight. Get a clue.
I don’t even consider Minnesota a rival, doesn’t a “rivalry” require that the teams be evenly matched? As long as I’ve been following the hawks a “W” always appears next to that game. Bury one.
Gopher fans are like whiny little kids who want their toys (goalposts) back. Serve.
I think it’s fairly obvious Minnesota “hates” Iowa while we consider them just another win.
I was actually watching a tempe12 video (yea, they’re hot) with the girl from Minnesota who was walking around campus talking about how awesome Minnesota was and handing out free calendars. Note this video has nothing to do with Iowa. Randomly they show a 5 second clip of a group of students outside a frathouse or something and there it is: “Who hates Iowa?! We hate Iowa! LOL, Gophers. I love ‘em.
Hawks: Obviously you don’t read the paper or know what year it is. Ventura hasn’t been in office in 7 years, Franken isn’t a senator (yet at least), and the deficit/unemployment are due to a recession the U.S. is experiencing. Do yourself a favor and pick up a newspaper before you make yourself look like a fool.
A. Minnesota fans are very much still bitter about Iowa stealing their goalposts in 2002. It was an embarassing slap in the face to their program. And no StarTribune and gopher fans you cannot deny this. You don’t deserve that privilege.
B. Minnesota fans treat this like any other rivalry, but let’s not let facts cloud the issue here. This is a rivalry much like Iowa-ISU, or Minn-Wisconsin, except they do put more stake into UM-UW because there is more history there. Iowa-Minnesota is very much a bad blooded rivalry for anyone who actually knows the history behind the games, but then again that would take some research and “reading” but studies show many Americans don’t like to read much anymore…….
C. Each fanbase has its a@#holes. Enough said?
D. Each fan base has it’s a$#holes…more said……you go to a rival’s town guess what, you’re gonna get picked on. Boo-hoo cry me a river. This is what American society has become. You wanna change it, become the president and make your own rules.
Iowa fans get slammed for wearing Iowa gear in Ames, I’m sure Wisconsin fans rip on Minnesota fans in Madison. OSU fans hate on Michigan fans in Columbus and etc etc. In the rare occassions that you get ownage victories like Iowa’s 55-0 win at Minnesota, those arrogant fans will be feeling confident enough to attack the home team’s fans. Not much you can do but buck up and try again next year……but as an Iowa fan I hope for the exact same result against Minnesota. Why? because it was just fun to watch.
E. I think this thing with the missing score WAS taken too far. I honestly thought it was gonna be a harmless jest at the Gophers but it’s turned into more than it should’ve been. Still, I think it’s ludicrous to suggest that the Iowa-Minnesota rivalry is fueled mainly by Iowa fans.
If the writer honestly can’t figure out why there’s so much angst in the Iowa-Minnesota rivalry then maybe he should try doing what I suggested earlier and research it. But then again this IS a Minnesota newspaper.
Been to every IA/MN game since the late 80’s and all the people in MN are nice as can be until the game starts and, if we lose, after the game too. This last year my wife nearly was runover by a MN fan after the game. Doesn’t matter who the team is, you don’t want to get beat 55-0.
Alex: The Goal Post incident is a slap int he face to the IOwa fan base too. Makes you fans look like drunken hooligans. But I guess most of the Iowa fans on here don’t care to be characterized as drunken hooligans as long as their team wins…kind of pathetic. Honestly, most MN fans don’t care anymore about the goal post incident. Iowa fans obviously want to try and rile us up with that incident and just don’t get it that we don’t care about it. It just makes Iowa fans look bad. Even Wisconsin fans roll their eyes when you mention Iowa fans…every college in the Big Ten thinks Iowa fans are the most classless!
“Who hates Iowa? WE hate Iowa!”
So much for a one-sided rivalry, Goofer moron.
Rand is an idiot. Gophers fans are crybabies, Iowa is and will always be the superior team. Was in the front row of the lame gopher student section for the game, great times.
55-0!
Hey Ouch, if Iowa is the superior team then why do they have a losing record vs. MN? Why don’t they have 6 national championships? Sounds like Hawkeye fans are not only cry babies but insecure too! Only morons on here tend to be south of the MN border.
whens the last time minnesota won the big ten….
or had a winning record in the big ten..
or won a bowl game…
whens the last time the vikings won the super bowl..
vikings, shut up.
Ouch: I must’ve hurt your feelings…I forgot how fragile Iowa fans egos are to the fact they don’t have a winning record vs. MN or have any national championships to brag about outside of wrestling. My bad;) You can stop crying now.
well if i remember correctly this rivalry has a little to do with racism on minnesota’s part, back in the 1930s we had a great colored RB by the name of Ozzie Simmons and your minnesota thugs tried to intentionally injure him.
ive been goin to iowa games since the mid 90s and all i remember is minnesota getting beat, everytime ive met a gopher fan they have had nothing but hate and disrespect for me. but thats ok we beat you guys and we got the floyd. i dont look forward to this game at all, because i know its the last game of the season and i dont want it to end, and if its in kinnick u know its gonna be a blowout, and even in teh dome now 55-0 we own, i could care less about beating minnesota, id rather be beating missouri. i hate them more and we dont even play them. i personally think our rivalry with wisconsin is better and thats kind of a new one for us.
