Today was a good day

In the words of Ice Cube, today was a good day.

I’m still alive and kicking. Everyone I love is doing well. I have a job. I have an apartment. I have running water. I have food in the fridge. I have electricity. I have a car. I had a good run. I have the ability to lie around all day and watch college football. (“No barkin’ from the dog. No smog. And momma cooked a breakfast wiff no hog.”)

The Hawkeyes lost, though. That was today’s only disappointment. (I suppose Ohio State’s victory over Penn State was also a disappointment, but that’s not what I’m writing about.)

So the Hawks’ lucky streak ended today. Hopes for an undefeated season and chance to play in the BCS National Championship Game were dashed. The Big Ten title and Rose Bowl are still in sight, though.

Am I upset? Crushed? Heartbroken? Nope. I’m proud and a little relieved. Sure, I’m bummed, but I always feel that way after the Hawks lose a big game. That’s all a part of being a diehard fan of the black and gold. The Hawks have persisted and played hard. They could be 5-5 — or 1-9, if all the bounces hadn’t gone their way — but instead they’re 9-1. Now the pressure of going undefeated is gone and the team and fans can come back to Earth. We can now reassume the underdog status we love to embody.

We all knew it had to end sometime. It was inevitable. The injuries were piling up and the Hawkeyes can’t reload; they don’t have thoroughbreds waiting in the wings like USC and Florida. But frankly, I didn’t want the Hawks in the championship game. That might sound counterintuitive, but when you grow up in the Midwest and follow Big Ten and Iowa football, the Rose Bowl, “The Granddaddy of Them All,” was always the goal. Sure, winning a national championship would be nice (and doing it in the Rose Bowl would be sweet), but the BCS game seems cheap, flashy, and artificial, in an infomercial kind of way, compared to the Rose Bowl. The tradition, the history, the stadium, the pageantry, the parade. It was special and exclusive; there was nothing outside the Pac 10-Big Ten match-up that could compare. The big boys in the SEC and Big 12 have nothing similar to play for; it’s the national championship or bust for them.

Why am I writing this? To keep things in perspective. Life goes on. The sun will rise tomorrow, dawning a new, fresh day. The Hawkeyes loss to the Wildcats is not the end of the world, but for many ignorant and spoiled fans it will be. Instead of being resilient and cool, like the team, many will jump ship. Without our starting quarterback, a Rose Bowl birth appears to be much more difficult, and many novice followers will give up hope, disregard this season, and start looking forward to next year, when the Hawks potentially bring back 20 of 22 starters. Fuck them. They can do and say whatever they want. The Hawkeyes have a great season going and I’m going to FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT for Iowa until the game is won.

Today was a good day.