Caitlin Casey's blog

On game day Saturday everyone wears his or her colors proudly, and the trash talking on campus begins.  Friday, November 23 is the day Nebraska or Iowa gets bragging rights for an entire year just because of one football game.

Ever since Nebraska moved to the Big 10 the Heroes game, as it is now called, is known as one of the best rivalries in the sport.  Being right by the border of the rival states, Morningside is greatly affected by this competition.

A majority of the students that attend Morningside are from Iowa or Nebraska.  Cheering and booing can be heard up and down the hallways of the dorms during game time.  It usually doesn’t matter who wins or loses that week either; almost everyone is guaranteed to have a comeback if something is said about his or her team.

Alex Howrey is a very strong supporter of the Iowa Hawkeyes.  She is a sophomore here at Morningside College, originally from Moville, Iowa.  You often see her strolling around campus decked out in her Iowa apparel.  With Iowa being the home of two college football teams what made her choose the Hawkeyes over the Cyclones?

“Because I have pride in my state and Iowa State sucks,” she said.

None of her family graduated from there; she supports them because she was born and raised in Iowa.  She has never attended a game but that doesn’t stop her from cheering on her team every Saturday.

“I also like the colors gold and black,” she added as an afterthought.

Jacey Tomhave, also a sophomore at Morningside, is a very avid Husker fan.  Originally from Valparaiso, Nebraska, her family recently moved to Pennsylvania but she still bleeds Husker red.  Like Alex, Jacey doesn’t have any relatives that graduated from the school she so strongly supports.

She says she is a Nebraska fan because “that’s what my Dad raised me to be.”

She attended her first game with her dad when she was 5 years old.  She loved the atmosphere and has been hooked ever since.

As the season continues, the suspension mounts.  This year the game will be held at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City and it will be interesting to see if being at home will give the Hawkeyes an advantage this year.  Last year Nebraska won 20-7 and hasn’t let Iowa forget it.  It also doesn’t seem to matter how well, or bad, the teams have done throughout the season.  With this big of a rivalry a good game is always expected.

Jennie Vaugher is a third party observer who likes to keep the peace and refuses to pick a side.  She just sits back and watches as the trash talking commences.

“Coming from Colorado it’s weird to see a rivalry so huge but I guess it makes sense since neither state has a professional football team,” she said.  “I think it’s just kind of funny to watch.”

With a rivalry this strong some may wonder how Morningside deals with the division between the students.  Teachers often get involved and sometimes even take sides.  After all, what’s wrong with a little healthy competition?  Both Alex and Jacey live in an apartment with 7 girls, including 2 Nebraska fans and 2 Iowa fans.

“Yes, it causes some tension between my roommates, but overall that is a very small factor in our friendship,” Alex said.

“It definitely makes things more interesting when we don’t agree on everything,” Jacey said.