Each state’s nominee for America’s Team

Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes football

For help deciding the nominee for Iowa, we reached out to Ryne George, Entertainment and Community Relations Manager of the Cedar Rapids Kernels, Midwest League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Instead of jumping at the opportunity to promote his employer, he instead stumped for his alma mater.

“You’d be safe to go with the Iowa Hawkeyes as a representative for ‘America’s Team’ out of this state,” George said. “The Iowa fan base has always been very patriotic since I can remember. I know all teams in this country love America, but Iowa has military roots that fans still talk about today with stories of Fred Beck, Aubrey Devine and Nile Kinnick.”

Becker and Devine both fought in World War I, and Kinnick, the All-American halfback and 1939 Heisman Trophy winner, died during an attempt at an emergency landing during a training flight off the coast of Venezuela in 1943.

“In the modern era, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been huge supporters of the farmers especially during the farm crisis in the 1980s,” which is why the football team wears an ‘ANF’ sticker on its helmet. “More recently, quarterback Ricky Stanzi’s quote after winning the 2010 Orange Bowl about America and ‘If you don’t love it, leave it’ is something all Hawkeye fans know by heart and still wear t-shirts with that quote every game day Saturday.”

George also pointed out that Iowa has done pretty successful card stunts before football games including a patriotic themed stunt, and flyovers high (or not so high) above Kinnick Stadium, such as a memorable one from 2010.

“The jets flew so low that I think the captain got demoted or something,” Ryne said. “I was at the game and it is still one of the coolest things I’ve seen. Got the crowd pretty pumped too before Ohio State destroyed us.”

It isn’t always about winning, folks.