Culture Shock

Football, Basketball, Baseball. If you ask most people, those would be the three most popular sports in the United States, probably in that order. Hockey has some appeal in the north. Golf picks up steam during Majors. And soccer, well, is off the radar most times.

Most Americans have never cared about soccer, and many never will. The sport hits a spike in popularity every four years during the World Cup, but other then that, the World's most popular sport is practically invisible to the most powerful country on Earth. David Beckham tried to change the culture, but other than his first couple MLS games or so, he has been unsuccessful.

This was my sports world. Football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring and summer. If anything else was on ESPN, I wasn't interested. Bowl season was the name of my holiday season and March Madness was heaven. But in the past two months, that has all been turned upside down.

Notice I said was.

Two months ago, a 15 year old boy from the Congo stepped off an airplane in Washington, D.C. He came to the United States to learn, and to have an opportunity for a better life. Leaving for his knew life was only the second time he had ever left his village. He did not know any English, so communication had to come through an interpretor or demonstrating with arm motions. He grew up with a very active lifestyle in the Congo, and therefore was in good shape and enjoyed playing sports. At least one sport.

Soccer.

He explained that he was one of the worst soccer players in his village, but in South Central Pennsylvania, he blows past guys twice his size. He lives in the home of a family with little soccer knowledge and even less interest, but for him, they learn, and turn out to enjoy it. They find soccer games on tv to watch, and kick the soccer ball with the boy in between his weekly indoor games.

While he has never played indoor soccer before, he learns quickly. He begins draining goals from midfield with relative ease. He jukes past defenders as if Barry Sanders bolting for the end zone. He understands soccer, and because of him, his new family has a new appreciation for the worldwide phenomenon.

And perhaps most amazing of all, he is my new adopted brother.

Hopefully, Cyclones Get It Right This Time

With the failed experiment of Gene Chizik behind them, Iowa State needs to quickly move on with their football program. If Iowa fans are smart, they will be hoping their rival's next coach is a successful one.

If last week's wrestling meet was any indication, highly anticipated match ups between two successful programs are a lot more enjoyable than match ups pitting a bowl bound team against a two win program. If you need more evidence, ask fans connected to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. While the Buckeye faithful had no problem watching a blowout victory on the final day of their season, they felt robbed at the same time. Without Michigan having a successful season, Ohio State's victory doesn't mean as much. It is not as much fun for them when they are SUPPOSED to blow out their rival, as opposed to the Wolverines actually having a chance to win.

During the second half of Dan McCarney's tenure as Head Coach of Iowa State, he led the Cyclones to five bowl games in six seasons. In 2002, 2004, and 2005, both Iowa and Iowa State went to bowl games. Because of the success of both programs, the early season face off of the two teams became more highly anticipated and garnered more national attention. In 2006, after both teams went bowling the previous season, the battle of the Cy-Hawk Trophy was televised to a national audience on ESPN. This year, a year after both teams missed out on the postseason, the game was relegated to regional coverage on Big Ten Network.

Recruits like rivalries. They grow up watching the annual clashes just like the rest of us, and dream of one day playing in one of those big games. With the right coach in Ames, the state of Iowa can be the host to one of those big games every fall.

Hy-Vee runs commercials throughout the state every year, boasting the Cy-Hawk Series as one of the greatest rivalries in sports. This is the time for Iowa State to step up and prove it.

"That's unacceptable."

Iowa made its emphatic return to the top of the wrestling world with a win at the National Championships in March.

If Thursday was any indication, Head Coach Tom Brands is not going to let the Hawkeyes fade back into obscurity any time soon.

After the 30-12 manhandling of Northern Iowa, Brands only had one number on his mind. 4. That was the number of matches Iowa lost Thursday night.

“Did we lose four matches? That’s unacceptable,” Brands said. “It comes down to not technique, it comes down to not even skills because we are very skilled. Really, it comes down to toughness, and that’s probably the biggest ingredient we need to go to work on. It’s a concern and it’s happened more than once.”

Talk about a perfectionist! Brands did not waste any time looking ahead, and making it very clear to all who would listen: 10 for 10 is the standard, and anything less will be treated like a loss! And if the wrestlers respond, the results could be mind boggling.

Last season was the first time in eight years Iowa finished on top. As Tom Brands enters his third season in Iowa City, this could just be the beginning. Perfection is what he strives for. It doesn't matter that Charlie Falck and Jay Borschel pinned their opponents, or that Brent Metcalf won be Tech Fall for the second straight match. As the Head Coach himself put it, " “You’ve got to make the other guy blink, and when he blinks, you hammer him and put him down."

Is it just me, or is he about the last guy you want to run into in a dark alley?

SEC Not Any Better Than Big Ten

Fast SEC vs. Slow Big Ten. That is the stereotype whenever the two conferences play each other on the big stage. The entire "slow" conference can thank THE Ohio State Buckeyes for their meltdowns the past two seasons. The lack of competition by the reigning Big Ten Champs is where the rest of the country gets these perceptions. Since the comments favor the SEC, they are not about to deny them. In fact, the SEC heres it so much, they feel it must be true.

Over the past few days, I have taken a gander at multiple online forums for South Carolina fans. On them, some Gamecock fans seem disappointed with the match up. They know very little about Iowa outside of beating Penn State, and fear this will be boring when USC uses their "speed" against the Hawkeyes.

With all due respect, Cocks fans, let's get your facts straight. The Capital One Bowl has the top non-BCS selection for both the Big Ten and the SEC, usually the second or third teams. The Big Ten has won each of the past 4 meetings! The Outback Bowl has the second non-BCS selection for both conferences, and since 2002, each conference boasts a 3-3 record in the game.

And then there is this year. Both conferences put two teams into the BCS, giving the Capital One Bowl the third pick from both conferences. The game, Georgia vs. Michigan State, is a match up of Top 20 teams who both got blown out by top competition within their conference.

The difference is in the Outback Bowl. With it's invitation, South Carolina becomes the first 5 loss team to ever play in the Tampa game! Both Iowa and South Carolina had an opportunity to knock a team out of the National Championship picture. The Gamecocks hid in a corner while the Hawkeyes took care of business.

The SEC has a great reputation this season in large part to Alabama and Florida. The Outback Bowl, however, displays the lack of talent throughout the entire conference. It's a conference that lacks any depth. In fact, by the time the Outback Bowl had its selection, it was between South Carolina, and another 5 loss team, LSU.

Don't get me wrong. I am not here to brag about how much better the Big Ten is than the SEC. Nor am I attempting to take a stab at South Carolina. It is time, however, the "slow" guys start getting their due.

The Importance of 15,955

Two years ago, I attended my first wrestling meet. It was a blowout for the team I was rooting for. I didn't have a clue what was going on, but when the other 13,000 fans cheered, I cheered. It ended with a freshman named Morningstar knocking off the number 1 ranked wrestler in his weight class. Yes, it was Iowa - Iowa State, and it was a surreal moment. I could have never imagined that 13,000 people would show up to watch ten matches that pitted two sweaty college guys climbing over each other. But that, of course, was before I had truly come to grasps with the Iowa way of doing things. About two minutes into the first match, I was a converted wrestling fan!

From then on, I had to learn about the scoring. 3 points for a decision, 5 for a tech fall, 2 for a take down, 1 for an escape.

Then came the history. 21 National Championships in 32 years. Dan Gable. Tom Brands. Average home attendance 4 times that of the national average!

Until this past weekend, I thought I knew it all. I had learned from watching and from lifelong fans. The Hawkeyes had it all. The passion, the domination, the attendance records. That is, most of the attendance records.

My learning curve came full circle, however, on Saturday evening, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was there that I was able to witness history with 15,954 of my closest friends (give or take a couple hundred from the wrong side of the state)! I felt proud that I was able to yell "twwooooooo" at the ref when he was hesitant to give Tsirtsis his points towards the end of the 3rd period. But then, it happened. A moment so great, it was only fitting that it took place in front of a record crowd.

Iowa wanted the record back this past weekend. This was proven in their rigorous advertising campaign. But with the number of people who showed up in black Saturday night, I think it was obvious Hawkeyes everywhere wanted their record back. It wasn't good enough that Iowa was a part of the largest wrestling crowd if it didn't take place in Iowa City.

So here is my dare to Minnesota. Go ahead, try to re-break the record. Go back to the Target Center and sell a couple more thousand seats. Because whether or not we have a professional sports arena to use, we have the final say in all wrestling records. Worse comes to worse, Kinnick Stadium holds more than any of your venues!

The Waiting Game

And so the wait continues to find out Iowa's fate during Bowl Season. Nearly two weeks after we last saw the Hawkeyes leave the Metrodome, their December (or January) destination is still unknown. The Bowl Game Ticket Application on HawkeyeSports.com has options available for the Champs Sports Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Outback Bowl, and Capital One Bowl.

While they are all possible, the Champs Sports Bowl is the least likely of options. To get there, Boise State would have to be picked over Ohio State for the BCS at large bid, and Iowa would have to be passed over by both Michigan State and Northwestern.

Speaking of Boise State, I have read a lot of talk about the Broncos being paired up with Utah in the Fiesta Bowl, and I would like to throw out there that it would be a horrible decision to make! The reward for non-BCS team for finishing in the Top 12 is to be able to prove they can play with the big boys. By playing a non-BCS school, a victory is still meaningless in the eyes of the pollsters and the players who want to be respected. That's my two cents, now back to Iowa.

The most likely scenario is the Outback Bowl. This can happen two ways. First, Ohio State can go to the Fiesta or Sugar Bowls, Michigan State to the Capital One, and we are selected over Northwestern for the Outback Bowl. Another way it could happen is if Ohio State goes to the Capital One Bowl and the Outback Bowl selects us over Michigan State.

Although unlikely, the Capital One representatives have not ruled out Iowa. regardless of who they select, it will be a heated debate at their selection meeting.

So, assuming we don't slip to San Antonio, anyone joining me in Florida for New Year's???