The Last Hawkeye Hurrah?

It was a glorious fall day, the sun was shining the leaves were brilliant in their oranges and reds. The smells of bonfires and breakfast filled the air.

As glorious as all that sounds I knew that something was off…things just didn’t seem right. We were already “late” getting downtown, we were two men down {one falling to the perils of the flu} and my usual tailgating fare was replaced by a bowl of cold cereal as we rushed out the door.

As we walked our usual route to the stadium, I couldn’t help but be grateful that this was our last home game. That sounds like a fair weather fan doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong I totally bleed Black and Gold, but dang these games have been sucking the marrow from my Saturdays {and sometimes Sundays} I just want our weekends back. Nice lazy weekends….ahhhh…

But I’m a Hawkeye and Hawkeyes see the season through. So we made our way to the RV to “tailgate”. I use the term tailgate loosely as we are pretty lame when it comes to the actual act of “partying it up”. And Saturday’s tailgate didn’t prove otherwise. The three of us entertained ourselves with our smart phones and Ipad. I caught up on blogs {getting irritated at how slow the network was}. The boys played a game of Jenga then it was off to the stadium.

We ended up selling our extra ticket to a guy in an Iowa State coat, and I forgot to wear black on a black out Saturday… more hints that this would not end well.

After missing the Hawks rushing the field to Back in Black and the acknowledgement of the seniors it was time to play ball.

About five minutes into the game I recieved a text “G has a fever of 103.5” Ugh crap…we called our pediatrician amid screaming fans, and was told they couldn’t do anything till tomorrow. So after a half dozen texts, a dose of Tylenol was given and all was right with the world. We probably should have went home…watched the game from the comfort of the couch while snuggling a little redhead, but we pushed on.

At halftime when the score was 14 to 34 we debated leaving, but yet again faith in our Hawks remained and we stayed along with all the other die hards. As the clock wound down, so did our hopes. A dismal failure for our last home game.

The stadium once vibrating with noise, was silent with the exception of the stray MSU fan cheering. OUCH. Slowly we made our way back to the car. Back through the brilliantly colored trees and smells of fires burning, but this time it was quiet. No cheering, no laughing, no singing…just silence.

Today, B2 cleaned out the RV and prepped her for winter. Then him and E made the final trek back to our storage unit to pack her up till next year.

And while I may long for those peaceful and relaxing Saturdays and bitch and complain about waking up early and about my toes freezing in the cold. Secretly, I love it. I love the ambiance, the roar of the crowd and being a fan. Even if it’s on a losing side…because you know what? There’s always next year.