Hawkeye Republican

I was impressed with the overwhelming amount of people who wore black to the game on Saturday, but I must admit that I could not help myself from laughing at some that didn’t get the memo. A particular portly gentleman caught my eye all the way across Kinnick in a sea of black for wearing a shirt that was not even gold, but resembled what could be classified as a bright lemon yellow.

While it’s a great concept that fosters school spirit and unity, I don’t think students need any encouragement from the University to black out. It may have seemed to be a clever idea inspired by Penn State’s “White Out” of their student section, but Hawk fans have been blacking out for quite some time. Just take a walk through Olive Court or any other popular tailgating spot on any given football Saturday and you will find overwhelming evidence in support of my theory--which can be further validated by the conceivable spike in Anheuser-Busch beverage sales figures for Eastern Iowa every home football weekend.

While the University of Iowa as an institution looks down on binge drinking, I think by officially declaring the Michigan game “Black Out Saturday” they were ultimately asking for it. Students at a school that the Princeton Review ranks #7 for ‘Lots Of Hard Liquor’ and #8 for both ‘Lots Of Beer’ and ‘Party Schools’ do not need any additional motivation to black out.

Additionally, I am shocked that use of a color by the University did not cause uproar amongst liberals that like to associate every color with a negative connotation.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the little towel we all received as generous gifts in the Student Section to commemorate Black Out Saturday, the devastating overtime loss to Michigan which marked the end to the home winning streak of the Hawkeyes left me devastated to the point where later that evening I no choice but to attempt to alleviate my sorrows and follow the University’s orders to truly make it “Black Out Saturday.”

# posted by Anonymous @ 10/25/2005 03:36:00 AM