Suffice it to say I strive to avoid the perception of a knee-jerk reactionary college football fan. After all, in a sport that creates disgruntled fans week after week, we can’t wallow in that petty griping or tooth-gnashing. I’d like to think I’m above it.
In fact, it’s a great year so far for us Hawkeye fans. Looking at the schedule, if you would have said “the Hawkeyes will go 2-2 in road games at Happy Valley, Madison, East Lansing, and Columbus,” I would have snatched that up. Most Iowa fans would have.
But now here we are. After a thrilling victory against Michigan State – one for the ages, even – Iowa is 8-0. So it’s easy to be content. But it’s just as easy to fly off the handle – it’s what college football fans do.
Maybe you fly off the handle as ESPN leads its Monday coverage with an article about mediocre LSU controlling its National Championship destiny. Maybe you fly off the handle after reading major-site commentary, featuring all sorts of Wolverine, Spartan, Nittany Lion, and Badger fans shouting to no one in particular that the Hawkeyes “aren’t that good,” and just “got lucky.” Maybe, like me, you simply read one of your favorite sports blogs, spouting a ridiculous, condescending, insulting reaction to the success – and affirmed computer success – of a mid-tier Midwestern school. Let’s all calm down.
The national championship will not happen tomorrow. It will not occur next week. It’s an imperfect end to an imperfect season, and tooth-gnashing over the success of an unheralded program comes with the no-playoff territory.
But, I don’t intend to carry a Tiger-sized chip on my shoulder, or exploit any Midwestern inferiority complex. Iowa is 8-0, and ranked an average of first by the computer portion of the BCS (Fourth total.). Great for them. There’s a lot of work yet to be done.
I certainly don’t assume Iowa is the best team in the nation. But they might be. And they have just as much a claim to that fork in the road as Florida, Alabama, Texas, Texas Christian, Cincinnati or Boise State, all of whom have survived and advanced at various points (Arkansas? Tennessee? Colorado?). No one is perfect, regardless of how fat certain schools got off preseason pollster expectations. Would this be Penn State, a national media wouldn’t bat an eyelash at its No.1 computer ranking.
But it’s not. Guess what? I’m OK with that. Four games to go, and each one is bigger than the last.
On Iowa.
(Also, The Big Lead now joins Slate in our doghouse. You can find better college football coverage in People magazine, for crying out loud. I’m breathlessly awaiting their wistful post hoping for an Alabama vs. Florida national title rematch right after the SEC Championship. Guess we’re not as above petty griping as we thought. )
