Invading enemy territory

This past weekend was a good one, if you weren’t a sports team getting upset by an underdog.

A group of friends and I traveled to Iowa City last Friday night. We were split down the middle of those supporting Iowa and those supporting Northwestern for the impending football game.

We all know the outcome of that …

However, previous to a victory that, at least in my lifetime, has become the upset of all upsets, I was immensely frightened on the car ride into campus as I watched my car filled with those of us clad in purple become engulfed by a sea of black and yellow. Physically walking to the stadium, people’s eyes followed us from one side of their gaze to the other, mentally inquiring about where we possibly found the nerve to wear that color into their town. These stares morphed from inquisitive into almost hateful after the game; but that is another story.

What I do respect about Iowa, however, is the sheer amount of dedication it seems the entire state puts into its football team. It’s almost as if this football team has a cult following, present throughout the entire state of Iowa and the states that surround her. The Mondays after Iowa wins football games, multitudes from my school seem to show up wearing something yellow or black with “Iowa” stamped across their chest.

I was afraid for my own safety after the game until we crossed the border into Illinois. I felt as though the gaze of 70,000 patrons of Kinnick Stadium didn’t leave my back as we cautiously, however gleefully, retreated out of the stadium.