It's going to be a mad, mad, mad, mad offseason
Even though James Vandenberg’s final pass as a Hawkeye was caught by a Nebraska defensive back, sealing the win for the Cornhuskers last Friday, I sat in the stands until the final second ticked off the clock. Despite the fact the north stand was filled with ecstatic Huskers and the wind chill hovered around seventeen degrees, I stayed until the death. Then I headed home to thaw my hands and feet, drink beer, and watch more football.
(I think Friday’s game was the coldest I have ever been to. I remember going to the Northwestern-Iowa game in 1996, under the lights in the bitter cold. At one point it started snowing. I do not remember what the temperature was then but it could not have been much lower than it was Friday. Underneath my jeans I wore my running tights, which helped a lot, but my fingers froze despite wearing my thin (and totally worthless) running gloves underneath heavier, Gore-tex versions. My poor toes fared even worse, protected only by a pair of socks and my waterproof Asics. (I forgot all about my insulated boots.) Inaction exacerbates the cold, so at halftime I descended to the packed concourse to move around as best as I could. I found an open corner and started jumping in place. I wanted to run or power walk but it was too crowded. At the start of the third quarter I stood in line in the bathroom just to warm up. Relieved, I bought a cup of hot chocolate that was barely tepid. When I returned to the stands my dad said he thought I left.)
The Hawks finished the season 4-8. They are bowl ineligible for the first time since 2000 (back when we were ecstatic about three wins) and will enter the 2013 season with a six game losing streak. Needless to say, Hawkeye Nation has lost its collective mind.
Today’s CRG featured a letter to the editor from Bill Shebetka of West Chester, Ohio. A 1988 UI grad, he is deep inside the Buckeyes’ backyard and says he did not think life behind enemy lines could get any worse until watching Friday’s game. “What the heck happened to our coaching staff? I could guess in advance what offensive plays were going to be called,” he wrote. “…Where is the accountability in the coaching staff? Where is the recruiting? … I ask you, what has happened to Iowa football? What an embarrassment.”
That is what the situation has come to: the rage of disgruntled Hawkeye fans has found its way onto the opinion page, a hallowed place of social discourse that I naïvely assumed was off-limits for sports commentary. Apparently not. Shebetka’s letter is indicative of others printed in the past couple weeks. Last month, when the local media was aglow with stories about Vandenberg killing a deer, after bagging a bear earlier this year, one P-C letter writer opined that at least Vandenberg can hit something. Needless to say, the criticism from the “coaches” in the stands was much worse.
I can understand people’s displeasure. A ticket to a Hawkeye home game costs $55-$65 and many pony up hundreds for multiple season tickets. (My mom is able to secure our season tickets at the staff discount, which was $318 per seat. I paid my share, just so you know.) That is a hell of an investment, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for some. I am lucky since I can walk to the stadium, but others drive in from all over the state and region and spend money on gas, parking (which can be an entire iceberg by itself), and tailgating supplies. And they did that seven times this season. Many, like myself, went to Chicago to watch the season opener against Northern Illinois. The dedicated few travel to away games. People spend a lot of money to see Hawkeye football, and, though their following is voluntary, they voice their disapproval when the results are not to their liking. And the results were to no one’s liking this season, so the dissonance of angry voices is still rising to a crescendo.
Scapegoats were identified early. Vandenberg received a massive helping of discontent from the stands. First year offensive coordinator Greg Davis is in the crosshairs. My uncle said he thought Davis would be a “one year experiment” and Mervgotti told me that Davis, who supposedly has just a single year contract, was going to be let go. That is all contrary to reports on KCRG, which reported head coach Kirk Ferentz’s confidence in Davis.
Even Ferentz, who many consider one of the best coaches in the country (after successful seasons, at least) has come under fire. Many Hawkeye fans are calling for his ouster, despite the fact he is contracted to be head coach until 2020 or something. It is a situation that harkens to the Steve Alford era of Hawkeye men’s basketball. Fans were over Alford and wanted him out — but he was signed to coach for years into the future and everyone knew that firing him would mean paying him to sit on his ass, sipping piña coladas, for however many seasons were left on his contract. (Last year, Todd Lickliter was one of the highest paid state employees despite having been fired in 2010.) So we waited, patiently and begrudgingly, until he finally skipped town on his own. Change at the top is out of the question because it would cost too much. And the person under fire for that is Gary Barta.
There was tension in the stands on Friday, especially since half the population of Nebraska was able to obtain tickets. I was there to watch a football game and have fun. For others, though, something more was at stake. A few rows behind us was a Husker fan who piped up during the second quarter. He was pretty loud but was doing nothing but encouraging his team. Nothing wrong with that. Apparently, one of the Hawkeye fans next to him (I assume) took exception to it and started arguing with him. Others near me turned to see what the fuss was about but I kept my attention on the field. The two barked at one another off and on until halftime and that was it.
Though relatively innocuous, the incident reaffirmed what I have been thinking since October: the bubble containing the Hawkeye football fantasy world, where many fans have lived for the better part of a decade, has popped. The reality of a losing season — a season without a trip to a warmer, sunnier clime at New Years — is starting to set in and fans are beginning to develop the bends.
My advice: chill out! It’s just football and it could be worse. Much worse.
