40 til 40 May 16, 2012 "GO HAWKS"

"Go Hawks"

I am going to spill something we all know. There are no NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB teams in Iowa. There are pro teams like the Cubs, barnstormers, or energy or Iowa Cornets that  cultivate great talent like Greg Maddux, Kurt Warner, or Curtis Stinson, or Molly Bolin, but thats about it.  Otherwise, following college sports is where its at.

I live in Iowa. I do root for UNI when Maurice Newby is throwing up a three to beat Missouri in 1990 or when Ali Farokmanesh made a similar shot to beat UNLV in 2010. I cheered for Elmer Robinson and ISU in 1986 as they beat Michigan. Of course we all cheered for Drake in 2008.

Iowa is the Hawkeye state and when it comes to the Number 1 team of choice, I am a Hawkeye fan. So many friends have gone there, cheered there, played there. I am just a fan. Thanks to Paxton Bennett I have a Kinnick Brick. Suzy made me an Iowa Christmas tree and decorated  my bathroom in Black and Gold.Today's 40 til 40 reflects upon my favorite Hawkeyes or Hawkeye moments.  Thanks to my buddy and fellow Hawkeye Historian Jim Bergeson for helping me relive memory lane.

Honorable mention-- Les Jepsen 1990 against Illinois in the car key game. Iowa sucked that year, but at least they won that game at the buzzer.

10.  Artur Wojdat. WHO? Artur Wojdat. Swimming, late 80s. The dude was money. 10 time Big 10 Champ. 9 time NCAA Champ. He went to 2 Olympics. Stud.

9.  Carpenter's. No not the singers. When I was a kid, summers were great. No school. all the baseball I wanted to play. and going over to Scott Carpenter's before practice. One never knew what Hawkeye players were gonna be there. Vince Brookins? Kenny Arnold? Mike "Tree" Henry? It was awesome. It is still cool too to hear Gary Dolphin mention the Late Doc Carpenter when talking about great Iowa fans.

8.  Tate to Holloway, New Years 05. I thought it may be a springboard to huge things, and it wasn't but it was one of the best Hawkeye moments in the last decade.  Hawks had this thing one until Jamarcus Russell lead LSU back.  I had a ton of friends there. It was icy as all get out here. Tate turned what looked like terrible clock management into beauty as he went for it all and caught Holloway in stride.  It was awesome. I like this clip because it has a little Ricky stanzi in it and the call from Gary Dolphin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o6f31AqZdM

7.  1980 Hawkeye basketball. I was 7 and a half, but a huge Hawkeye fan. Go  Ronnie Lester, Special K and Kevin Boyle.  I still say if Ronnie Lester doesn't get hurt they beat Louisville in the Final 4 and go to the Championship game. Fact is, Ronnie did get hurt. Last Final 4 team for Iowa . Good thing they are going back in a couple years.

6.  1985 Hawkeye Football. Whereas 80 hoops was about a team of guys that made the most of their talent collectively and overachieved... The world was expected of the 1985 Football Team. Larry Station, Chuck Long, Ronnie Harmon. . . They made the Rose Bowl and people give Hayden crap for not winning the big games. Wasn't his fault. Thank you Ronnie Harmon and your four fumbles. You can see them all here. http://www.lostlettermen.com/feature-did-iowas-ronnie-harmon-throw-the-86-rose-bowl/

5.  2002 Hawkeye Football.  Now I thought 2002 Football would be good, but not as good as it turned out. Thank you Iowa for losing to ISU. Yes, that sucked, but it made them better and they showed resilience vs. Purdue, crushed Michigan and brought back excitement to the Fall. Dallas Clark was the man. Brad banks, too.

4.  Hawkeye wrestling. 23 NCAA championships. 32 Big ten titles. Yeah, they are awesome.  They Probably should be #1 but these are moments personal to me and #4 is about right. My favorite wrestlers were royce alger and Rico Chiapperelli. Right behind them are Jeff McGinness and Lincoln McIlravy.  Dan Gable. Ever want to be motivated. Talk to Dan Gable, he will fire you up. Easily they are the most successful athletic program in Iowa.

3.  RIP CMS #40. Ahhh Chris Street. Not sure if you knew how many people had you as the king of our Iowa Generation. The intensity, the hustle, the car accident. RIP.

2.  1987 Hawkeye Basketball. This is like a combination of the 85 football team, 02 football and 1980 hoops all in one. Taklent, depth, played as a team, yet just couldn't get past UNLV in the elite 8. Lets talk highlights. Winning at Arizona-- How about coming back from 23 down to beat Illinois?  winning in Alaska? Hanging 100 on Indiana? (first time against a Bobby Knight team) Kevin gamble cooly beating OU? They are all great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Aw0P_Em2cY

1.  Marv Cook Game. Before Tate to Holloway there was Hartlieb to Cook.  I listened to this in my room Iowa at OSU. My folks had signed up the family for saying a rosary before church that night. I decided there was no better time to say a rosary then on Iowa's final drive. Ive never said the Our Father and Hail Mary with so much gusto as I did with Iowa driving. Then Hail Mary came true as hartlieb hit Marv Cook. "Its an Iowa Touchdown! . . . "Ed Podolak is hugging and kissing me!" http://www.hawkeyelounge.com/showthread.php?t=84978

Here's to 40 more years of great Hawkeye memories
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