The new Cy-Hawk Trophy stinks

Behold the new Cy-Hawk Trophy — i.e. case in point for my argument against manufacturing college football rivalries and trophies just because.

I first saw news of the unveiling on Churchill’s Cigar. My first reaction: the old trophy has never looked better. Folks, the Land Grant Trophy is no longer an automatic shoe-in for being the ugliest rivalry trophy in college football.

At first I was a little confused. Was it the new trophy for the Cy-Hawk Series, given to the winner of the most head-to-head Cyclone-Hawkeye competitions? Or was it the new Cy-Hawk Trophy, awarded to the winner of the annual football rivalry? The side with the corn bushel and kneeling father features a plaque with the word “FOOTBALL,” so I assume, embarrassingly, it will be given to the victors at Jack Trice Stadium on September 10.

To be honest, though, I was no fan of the old Cy-Hawk Trophy. Itself a product of corporate creativity from a different era — it was commissioned by the Greater Des Moines Athletic Club — it lacked the organic genesis and uniqueness of classic rivalry trophies like the Telephone Trophy (Iowa State-Missouri), the Little Brown Jug (Michigan-Minnesota), and, the best of them all, Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa-Minnesota). It did not have any appeal and never truly became an icon of the series. Sure, it was cool to see Hawkeyes parade it after a victory, but I never thought it was anything to rush across the field, nab in the closing seconds as the losing team hurried away, dejectedly, and kiss and hug and howl about. It lacked the significance of Iowa City’s very own Boot, fought for each fall by City and West. But it was at least traditionally attached to the series. It may not have been the best trophy, but it was the hardware the Cyclones and Hawkeyes fought for since the in-state rivalry was renewed in 1977.

Thus far, public reaction to the redesign has been overwhelmingly negative. A Cyclone fan from Ames wrote ESPN’s Big 12 blogger, David Ubben, saying, “This thing officially qualifies as worst trophy ever. I hope Iowa State can win it this year, then toss it at the bottom of Lake Laverne for all eternity.” Ubben agreed: “…yes, this is the worst trophy in sports.” Ryan McGee, an ESPN.com senior college football/racing writer, tweeted, “I've seen lotta bad racing trophies but this wins.” Brian Bennett, ESPN’s Big Ten blogger, was nice but also negative:

That's a great sentiment, and nothing against the hard-working corn growers of Iowa. But if you're a football player who just left your blood and sweat on the field for 60 minutes, is that really what you want to hoist in celebration afterward? It looks more like something your grandmother would buy off a home shopping channel….

I shudder to think now what the Heroes Game Trophy for the Nebraska-Iowa game will look like. Maybe a fireman shaking hands with an astronaut or something.

To be honest, this is an advertisement and a borderline display of antiquated, rustic chauvinism, not a college football trophy. It is a slap in the face for the remaining family famers left in the state, who find it harder and harder to scrape by in the looming shadow of food supply giants ADM and Cargill. However, I highly doubt the folks at Iowa Corn will be backtracking anytime soon. It looks like we will be stuck with it for the time being.