Go Hawks!
I'm back from my short getaway to the lovely state of Iowa with UNICorn and Hawkeye. It was definitely a fun change of pace from the daily grind.
After a long day of interviewing candidates for full-time and internship positions on Tuesday, the three of us got ready for the big Iowa-Michigan State basketball game. As it turns out, the MSU basketball team was staying in our hotel. We got in the elevator to go to our rooms a couple hours before the game on Tuesday and Goran Suton (Paul Davis's backup) was on the elevator with us. He was really tall! Hawkeye booed him, but that was the extent of our taunting.
The arena was actually pretty cool. It reminded me a lot of Minnesota's hockey arena with the concourse that is not separated from the seats (so you can still see the game while waiting in line for food).
Ju - do you remember when we were walking around Iowa’s athletic campus on last fall looking for the basketball arena? Well, we walked right past it several times and never realized it. It's kind of like our football stadium; mostly a hole in the ground and unspectacular from the outside. It was right next to where we had our random encounter with your friend 'E' from alternative spring break.
The game was definitely a huge one for Iowa. MSU had beaten Iowa by ~30 points in their meeting last month, so Iowa was looking for revenge. Iowa was also trying to hang onto first place in the Big Ten. With ESPN in attendance, the crowd was jacked up. Our seats were very close to the student section, but near the top of the arena. Iowa struggled early, but caught fire in the second half and ended up winning by about 15 points. The students rushed the court at the end of the game. I wanted to rush the court as well just for kicks (since I rushed the field the last time I attended a sporting event in Iowa City), but Hawkeye said it was too dangerous. I find it funny that of all my friends, she would be the one who would opt not to do something like this. It's usually me that would come up with a lame excuse like that.
The Iowa student section was pretty funny. When the ref signals for a timeout, they put their hands on their shoulders (since forming a ‘T’ indicates a technical foul). A few times when a timeout was called, the students would mock this gesture during the TV timeout by chanting "Flex your muscles" (clap! clap! clap clap clap!) to the refs. I thought it was quite humorous. Of course, when one of the Iowa players made the signature slam dunk to put the game out of reach late in the second half, he ran over to the student section and flexed his muscles. The crowd loved it. It was definitely a great atmosphere for a game. However, the pep band leaves a little something to be desired. Sorry, I had to be a snob about something! :)
As I am sure RoopDogg will comment, we will find out shortly how the atmosphere at Carver-Hawkeye Arena compares to the lovely Sojka Pavillion when a few of us travel to Lewisburg, PA in about a month for the Patriot League final (assuming Bucknell does not choke before the championship game).
Sadly, I left my digital camera at the hotel room, so I didn't get any good pictures from the game. Oh well. There will be no permanent evidence of me rooting for Iowa.
I caught an ass-early flight back to CT this morning. Hawkeye was able to change her flight schedule this morning so that we had the same flights back to CT. UNICorn was going to the University of Northern Iowa to interview more candidates for full-time and intern positions, so he was not traveling back with us today. Hawkeye and I happened to have the same sudoku book to keep ourselves entertained while traveling, so we raced through several different puzzles. I only lost once. Finally, something I can beat her at. She already is better than me at cards, sports, and just about everything else except tennis and college preference, so the victory was definitely sweet! I rule. The end.
After a very irritating half day of work today (don't get me started), I went to Bidwell Tavern in Coventry for the best wings in the state. We had not gone out to Coventry in too long and it was Puddles's birthday. I felt bad because I bailed on FlyingV's birthday bash (or as FlyingV calls it, 'V-Day part 2'), but good wings were too appealing to pass up. Happy birthday, FlyingV! Sorry I could not be there to celebrate with you. How the hell are you only 23?
After a long day of interviewing candidates for full-time and internship positions on Tuesday, the three of us got ready for the big Iowa-Michigan State basketball game. As it turns out, the MSU basketball team was staying in our hotel. We got in the elevator to go to our rooms a couple hours before the game on Tuesday and Goran Suton (Paul Davis's backup) was on the elevator with us. He was really tall! Hawkeye booed him, but that was the extent of our taunting.
The arena was actually pretty cool. It reminded me a lot of Minnesota's hockey arena with the concourse that is not separated from the seats (so you can still see the game while waiting in line for food).
Ju - do you remember when we were walking around Iowa’s athletic campus on last fall looking for the basketball arena? Well, we walked right past it several times and never realized it. It's kind of like our football stadium; mostly a hole in the ground and unspectacular from the outside. It was right next to where we had our random encounter with your friend 'E' from alternative spring break.
The game was definitely a huge one for Iowa. MSU had beaten Iowa by ~30 points in their meeting last month, so Iowa was looking for revenge. Iowa was also trying to hang onto first place in the Big Ten. With ESPN in attendance, the crowd was jacked up. Our seats were very close to the student section, but near the top of the arena. Iowa struggled early, but caught fire in the second half and ended up winning by about 15 points. The students rushed the court at the end of the game. I wanted to rush the court as well just for kicks (since I rushed the field the last time I attended a sporting event in Iowa City), but Hawkeye said it was too dangerous. I find it funny that of all my friends, she would be the one who would opt not to do something like this. It's usually me that would come up with a lame excuse like that.
The Iowa student section was pretty funny. When the ref signals for a timeout, they put their hands on their shoulders (since forming a ‘T’ indicates a technical foul). A few times when a timeout was called, the students would mock this gesture during the TV timeout by chanting "Flex your muscles" (clap! clap! clap clap clap!) to the refs. I thought it was quite humorous. Of course, when one of the Iowa players made the signature slam dunk to put the game out of reach late in the second half, he ran over to the student section and flexed his muscles. The crowd loved it. It was definitely a great atmosphere for a game. However, the pep band leaves a little something to be desired. Sorry, I had to be a snob about something! :)
As I am sure RoopDogg will comment, we will find out shortly how the atmosphere at Carver-Hawkeye Arena compares to the lovely Sojka Pavillion when a few of us travel to Lewisburg, PA in about a month for the Patriot League final (assuming Bucknell does not choke before the championship game).
Sadly, I left my digital camera at the hotel room, so I didn't get any good pictures from the game. Oh well. There will be no permanent evidence of me rooting for Iowa.
I caught an ass-early flight back to CT this morning. Hawkeye was able to change her flight schedule this morning so that we had the same flights back to CT. UNICorn was going to the University of Northern Iowa to interview more candidates for full-time and intern positions, so he was not traveling back with us today. Hawkeye and I happened to have the same sudoku book to keep ourselves entertained while traveling, so we raced through several different puzzles. I only lost once. Finally, something I can beat her at. She already is better than me at cards, sports, and just about everything else except tennis and college preference, so the victory was definitely sweet! I rule. The end.
After a very irritating half day of work today (don't get me started), I went to Bidwell Tavern in Coventry for the best wings in the state. We had not gone out to Coventry in too long and it was Puddles's birthday. I felt bad because I bailed on FlyingV's birthday bash (or as FlyingV calls it, 'V-Day part 2'), but good wings were too appealing to pass up. Happy birthday, FlyingV! Sorry I could not be there to celebrate with you. How the hell are you only 23?
posted by GaryGinew at 9:19 PM
1 Comments:
Boo for ditching out on what turned out to be a lame birthday happy hour...with crappy wings just to rub it in. Boo.
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