TALKING WITH THE ENEMY

So over at CrossCyed they’ve got this week’s BlogPoll Roundtable going. It’s a pretty nice blog if you look past their horrible taste in football teams, so I’ll go ahead and reply.

1. We’re about halfway through the season at this point. Have you gotten a gauge on your team’s chances this year to make noise in conference play, or is the team still a total freaking mystery?

Yup, I’ve gauged Iowa’s chances as, basically, ‘no chance.’ With considerable luck (i.e., we either get by on Michigan, or Wisconsin only seems greatly improved over the past few weeks), the Hawks could finish third in the conference. It’s very possible, though, that Iowa could wind up with three or four conference losses and a trip to The BOB. Which will thrill all the displaced Iowans in the Valley of the Sun quite a bit.

2. Many of the bigger conferences such as the Big 12 and the Big 10 use a rotating schedule to determine conference games each year. What are your feelings on the current system used in your conference? Does a rotating schedule work? Has your team always caught a break?

I don’t like the fact that Big Ten skips last for two seasons. That can take some of the better (or worse) opponents off the schedule for the meaningful part of an athlete’s career. I understand it’s necessary because there are too many protected rivalries in the Big Ten, but still, I don’t like it. It was a nice break not playing Penn State last year, though.

3. In an effort to get to know more about college football, both nationally and regionally, what have you done to expand your college football horizons? Have you caught yourself watching games from other conferences, or taking an interest in games that show up on ESPNU or Fox Sports?

Wait a minute, ESPNU is real?

At the end of the day, I’m a fan of college football more than I’m a fan of the Hawkeyes, though I yield my Hawk bona fides to no one. I’ll watch anything if it’s college football. I love to watch WAC or CUSA games because of the nutty brand of football they play in those conferences. It’s a nice change from ‘big-name running back runs off right tackle, gain of four yards.’

4. What would you change about the current exposure your team gets, either on the radio, television, print, or on the internet?

Nothing. I’m glad Jim Rome hates the Hawkeyes. Some people’s scorn is a badge of honor.

5. During last Saturday’s game against I-AA Northern Iowa, Iowa State trailed 21-7 at the half. The Cyclone Marching Band played a variety of songs from animated shows, including selections from South Park titled “Blame Canada” and “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” Needless to say, the Cyclones outscored the Panthers 21-6 in the second half. If you had to pick one song for your favorite team to rally to, what would it be? Because we all know what they did for the 2005 White Sox, Journey and “Don’t Stop Believing” are not to be considered.

This is the penalty of leadership: Iowa gets stuffed by the #1 team in the country and the Hawkeye nation has to endure a week of calumny by the very same media sources which hyped us up in the first place. Iowa State has to hope and pray that Kurt Warner Tech misses a last-second field goal to avoid losing to them in Ames–again–and there’s nary a peep from anyone.

Having said that, there’s only one tune for the Hawks to rally to, and that’s Jupiter from Holst’s The Planets suite. No, not Mars. Cliché City, man. Jupiter totally rocks.