Move aside Disney World, Kinnick Stadium is the happiest place on earth

From the moment you stumble from your tailgate to Gate B, you know you’re in Hawkeye Country

If you’re a student at the University of Iowa, or even a member of the Iowa City community, you know just as well as I do that there is no better feeling than walking into Kinnick Stadium on game day. From the sights to the sounds to the feeling of 70,000 Hawk fans cheering I-O-W-A along with you, there’s truly no better place to be than Historic Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.

True Hawkeyes know that no game day can begin without tailgating. Whether you’re flipping burgers and dogs, drinking far too much alcohol or even just walking around to tailgates and games put on by companies around campus, the full experience of an Iowa football game starts far before kickoff – sometimes as early at 5am. While local Iowa City residents living on Melrose Avenue might call the police when the neighbor is blaring music with 100 guests before the sun rises, a special exception is made on Saturday’s in the fall.

From the moment you stumble from your tailgate to Kinnick and through Gate B, you know you’re in Hawkeye Country. When you get to Section 128, you find a place to stand on those rickety steel bleachers that rumble as your drunken peers climb up and down the rows looking for the closest possible spot, and not even the group of guys coming in late and squeezing in far too close to you can distract you from the feeling of being in the stadium. You look in every direction around you and see nothing but a sea of black and gold, and count your blessings that you made it into the stadium for another week of Hawkeye Football.

When the countdown to kickoff ticks to zero, goosebumps cover your arms as the first few notes of Back in Black play, and out comes the swarm. The entire crowd claps in rhythm as Herky and the cheer squad lead Kirk Ferentz and the men in black in full sprint out of the south end zone and onto the turf in front of 70,585 screaming Iowans. Muffled from the sound of clapping and yelling, you can hear the “Let’s go Hawks” chant beginning, and you and all your friends join in without hesitation.

Fans of the Hawks in the past couple of years know that Iowa will score, and Iowa will score often. After every touchdown, field goal, and safety alike, you hear the opening notes of the Iowa Fight Song and get ready to dance and chant the lyrics – subconsciously while looking in the direction of the small group of opposing fans that are sitting directly across from the student section and wishing you were next to them to sing it in their face. The only time the crowd silences is during the extra point while each fan holds their breath, hoping to see the ball fly through the uprights. A sudden cheer is belted from the audience as the refs throw up their hands to signal the try is good, and the singing continues.

All four quarters of the game fly by in what seem like minutes, and assuming all goes well in Iowa City, you begin to celebrate another Hawkeye win with a few of your friends and a ton of strangers you’ve never seen before and will never see again. You watch C.J. take a knee, and as the scoreboard shows :00 on the clock, you contemplate rushing the field before the security guards in neon green vests rush to wall off the student section from doing just that. Kirk goes to midfield to shake hands with the losing head coach, and you hear the band start to play the notes of a song that couldn’t sound more sweet: “In heaven…”

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