Sportswriting Final Project

HOME IS WHERE THE HAWKS ARE

By Robbie Lehman

The bond between the Iowa City community and the University of Iowa is unique, but then again, it’s not. Every college town has its own identity, atmosphere and culture.

Roaming the streets of Iowa City, citizens can’t help but feel a sense of pride when viewing the distinct features the town has become known for. These local landmarks include the Old Capitol Building, which marks the heart of the city. The Iowa River flows mightily and splits the city into halves, East and West. The pedestrian mall is a famous two-block stretch of restaurants, stores, bars and more. And you can’t miss one of the tallest structures in the city, historic Kinnick Stadium.

The recently renovated press box can be seen from just about anywhere in town. It symbolizes another major characteristic of Iowa City—the relationship between the community and the University of Iowa. On fall Saturdays, 70,585 fans in black and gold jam-pack Kinnick to cheer on their beloved Hawkeye football team.

Iowa City natives live and die with all Hawkeye sports. The pride and passion that exudes from residents is visible on clothing, store windows, bumper stickers, you name it. The city is entirely engulfed in Hawkeye mania year round. Equally, the university recognizes its deep-rooted connection with the local community. The two are one in the same.

WHERE IT ALL STARTS

Iowa has no top-level professional teams in the five major sports. Of the big four universities that includes Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Drake, Iowa athletics boasts the majority of statewide fan support. It is called the Hawkeye State, as most Iowa enthusiasts would quickly remind you. As the saying goes, Iowa fans bleed black and gold. The connection of the university and community stems from the fact that scores of Iowa City’s 67,000 residents are employed by the university. Children seem to learn the signature I-O-W-A cheer before they are born. In March of 2007, Iowa City was named the No. 5 best place to live in the nation, according to Sperling’s Best Places, a Web site that conducts annual studies of American cities.

Currently, there are more Hawkeye athletes from Iowa City high schools than ever before. The local athletic culture starts with the three high schools—Iowa City High, Iowa City West High and Regina High School. City and West are both public, while Regina is a private Catholic school. All three are considered some of the best-run athletic departments in the state while producing numerous athletes that have competed at the Division I level. Iowa City’s athletic history has been well documented. Coaches in every possible sport have recruited the Iowa City area over the years, but they are finding that more of the local athletes are choosing to stay close to home and play for the team they grew up adoring.

Selecting a college is a big decision. For an 18-year-old high school senior, it can seem like the biggest decision in the world. At that time, it’s difficult to know where one wants to spend the next four or five years of their life when most students don’t know what they are going to do the next weekend. A tradition has began in which local athletes can’t pass up—putting on the Hawkeye uniform.

Steve Roe has been the Associate Sports Information Director at Iowa since 1993 and knows the Iowa City-University of Iowa relationship very well. He graduated from Regina in 1973, watching a fair share of athletes develop locally and go on to glory as Hawkeyes.

“All three schools have a system in place where they identify kids at a young age and start developing those kids the way they want them taught. From that you get competitive student-athletes. Growing up in a community with a university right there, you have that natural connection. I think they just go hand in hand—an active community and kids that are loyal to Iowa because they grew up here.”

THE PAST

Tim Dwight and Nate Kaeding were both Iowa City prep stars in their day. Each was a highly recruited out of high school with impressive résumés of scholarship offers. Both football players, Dwight of City High was an all-state running back while Kaeding, a West High product, was a multiple sport athlete but an elite placekicker. The Iowa program was able to convince both of them to stay home.

It ended up working out nicely for both. Dwight went on to become an All-American wide receiver (as well as a sprinter on the track and field team), finishing seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1997. Recently, he retired from football after a ten-year career in the NFL. As for Kaeding, he earned the Lou Groza Award as college football’s top placekicker in 2002, on his way to becoming Iowa’s all-time leading scorer. He is currently in his sixth season with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. Both Dwight and Kaeding organize their own football camps in Iowa City each summer, helping develop the next crop of local talent.

THE PRESENT

Currently, there are 28 Hawkeye athletes from Iowa City high schools, spanning 13 different sports. For the most part, each athlete had the chance to compete at other universities, but ultimately couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to showcase themselves in their hometown and proudly wear the famous tigerhawk. This was the case for both Matt Gatens and Jackie Kaeding.

Kaeding, of West High, has lived her life by the strength of her right leg, just like her older brother Nate. The 22-year-old finished her Hawkeye soccer career a month ago and recently graduated. When she went through the recruiting process five years ago, it was the easiest decision of her life to play for Iowa and a dream come true.

“There’s a little bit of a legacy within my family,” Jackie Kaeding said. “I think just growing up here, it’s such a tribute to this college that people want to be a Hawkeye. I dreamt of that. It was a no-brainer, I guess.”

A graduate of City High, Gatens, 20, is a starting sophomore guard on the Iowa basketball team. He also explained playing for the hometown Hawkeyes, his boyhood fantasy, as the chance of a lifetime.

“[There is] just a great tradition here in Iowa City,” Gatens said. “I always wanted to play in front of my family and friends. There’s a great support system here. It just felt like a great fit.”

Asked if she regretted the choice of staying so close to home, Kaeding said not at all because she still has a chance to spread her wings after college.

“It’s definitely crossed my mind how great it would have been to go somewhere else. We have girls from California and Florida on our team, and they just got such a different experience. But I’ve always known that now is kind of my opportunity to go and do something else and to grow a little bit. I’m still young in the grand scheme of things, so I don’t think I really missed out.”

For Gatens, whose father Mike was also a Hawkeye basketball letterman, graduating in 1976, the regret of not playing for Iowa would have outweighed the other side.

“I looked at some other spots, but I always knew deep in my heart that Iowa was where I wanted to be,” Gatens said. “You always kind of think in the back of your mind, “What if I would have gone somewhere else?’ And that’s kind of why I didn’t want to go anywhere else, because I would have thought, “What would it have been like if I had played for Iowa?’ I don’t think I ever could have gotten over that.”

A starter as a high school freshman, Gatens received recruiting letters from universities like Wisconsin, Arizona and Stanford. But the all-time leading scorer in City High history verbally committed to Iowa shortly after his freshman season.

“I could never see myself going somewhere in the Big Ten because I couldn’t see myself having to come back to Carver[-Hawkeye Arena] and playing in the place I grew up watching the Hawks play. That would have been too tough. I just knew this was the right choice for me.”

Gatens said that the lure of staying in Iowa City for college went beyond just having his family and friends close, although that was a big plus for him. The community environment was one that he grew up accustomed to and wasn’t ready to let go of.

“It’s a great city and great community. Everywhere you go, people are talking about Hawkeye sports, whether it’s football, basketball, wrestling, everything. Everybody’s always following things. There’s a great rivalry with the high schools. There’s a lot of support all around town. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of something I grew up in and always looked forward to. So it’s great to have people like that around here.”

Kaeding agreed, saying that the community really does revolve around the university, and not just in terms of athletics. She also mentioned how the college campus is unique in that it’s mixed right into the city, allowing everyday interaction between residents and students.

With each of their histories of growing up in Iowa City, it would be normal for Gatens and Kaeding to feel added pressure of performing as Hawkeyes. While Gatens felt that having his support system of family and friends keeps him more relaxed and comfortable on the court, Kaeding acknowledges the pressure she felt.

“You have a lot of little girls that look up to you. I know when I was a little kid I thought that basketball players and soccer players here were gods. Just knowing that puts a lot of pressure on me. [People] know who you are and they know the name. I have all my family that’s close so I really want to make them proud of me. I think that’s kind of the biggest thing that goes through my mind, so that’s a lot of pressure.”

Daniel Murray, a 2006 Regina product, lived every athlete’s dream last fall when the junior placekicker booted the winning 31-yard field goal with one second remaining to knock off No. 3 Penn State, 24-23, inside Kinnick Stadium. Replays of that kick have already taken on a legendary status, and the image of him sliding on his knees, fists clenched, is certain to be remembered forever in Hawkeye lore.

With Kaeding graduated, Gatens and Murray are happy to become the leaders of the Iowa City community. But don’t worry, because there’s room for more.

THE FUTURE

The trend of local Iowa City athletes choosing to go to the University of Iowa doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. As long as City, West and Regina keep producing high quality athletes, Hawkeye coaches will continue to recruit them heavily. A.J. Derby is the latest and greatest high school hero that will take his game to Iowa. The all-state senior quarterback of the Little Hawks is rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, and is the consensus No. 1 overall player in the state of Iowa. In October, he announced at a press conference in the City High lobby that he would sign a letter of intent to play for Iowa. This came as a little bit of a surprise to most of the public, especially considering that Derby turned down the chance to play for nationally prominent programs like Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin, all of which offered him a scholarship.

“It just felt right and I couldn’t see myself playing for any other team besides Iowa,” Derby said at the press conference. “After I’ve thought about it and went through the process, I just felt like it was exactly what I wanted. Everything here, the people, the fans and just couldn’t go wrong with the decision.”

Derby has the Iowa City community buzzing about his decision to play for the Hawkeyes. During the whole process, did their best to sway him to stay in town, not wanting to let one of their own get away. Some had interesting ways of expressing their feelings.

“I heard it a lot,” Derby said. “I went out to dinner one time at HuHot and someone wrote on my receipt, ‘Go To Iowa.’ Stuff like that. It just kind of got ridiculous, but at the same time I kind of enjoyed it. When I was actually at Iowa games I couldn’t walk like ten feet without people telling me to go to Iowa.”

Roe, the author of Hawkeyes For Life (2007), expects the trend of local athletes suiting up for Iowa to continue and maybe even grow with the help of Gatens and Derby. It’s a cyclical progression, he explained.

“You’re talking national-caliber athletes who could’ve gone anywhere in the country to play and get an education, and they chose here,” Roe said of Derby and the others. “It’s easy for those people to be a role model that you want to emulate. Because we have those examples, it’s easy to keep more people coming. It only improves and enhances the image that young kids have of those people. Then they’re not just a jersey number. They want to be the next Tim Dwight, the next Matt Gatens or A.J. Derby. The system kind of feeds itself.”

THE DREAM

What is all comes down to is a dream. Youngsters in Iowa City idolize Hawkeye athletes as role models, heroes and celebrities. They grow up wanting to be exactly like them and follow in their footsteps. When Gatens slipped on his No. 5 Iowa jersey that first time, it culminated in the realization of his lifelong dream.

“It was awesome,” Gatens said. “You always picture yourself doing that for the first time. When I finally got to do it, it meant a lot to me. I had a great sense of pride. Walking onto the court for the first time in a real game was pretty emotional but a lot of fun at the same time. I always pictured myself out there growing up watching guys. You want to follow in their footsteps and be as successful as them and put that uniform on just like they did. It’s a great feeling.”

For the recently graduated Kaeding, she looks back on her memories of wearing the tigerhawk and all that it represents with heavy emotions now that her Iowa experience is over.

“I can’t really describe [what it was like to put on the Hawkeye uniform],” Kaeding said. “It’s hard for me now to look back on it because it seems like it was so fleeting. Every time I did, it was just so special. Just the opportunity to play soccer for a place like this, it’s amazing. I was really proud to do it and I felt like doing it I didn’t only represent myself but all of my teammates and all of the university, too.”

Gatens has enjoyed keeping tabs on his local teammates since he’s been at Iowa.

“It’s a lot of fun to grow up together and then see each other here playing at a high level,” Gatens said. “It’s a lot of fun to follow them… to go to games and watch them. You grew up watching them play in high school. It’s a great feeling to go to this next step with them and it’s just a great opportunity that we’ve all taken advantage of.”

Kaeding agreed.

“It’s kind of like a little community of each other,” Kaeding said. “We’re always kind of rooting each other on because we know we came from the same place. I think it’s something that’s really special.”

When Gatens, Murray and Derby graduate from Iowa as Dwight and the Kaedings did before them, surely there will be another wave of talented Iowa City athletes ready and eager to take their place. They will be trained from an early age with an ingrained sense of loyalty to their hometown, local university, and the sports team they know best: the Iowa Hawkeyes.