Ranking the 10 most iconic college football traditions

No. 1: Iowa, Hospital Wave

Although it’s a new tradition, the Iowa Wave is possibly the greatest gesture in sports. Since 2017, at the end of the first quarter of games at Kinnick Stadium, fans turn away from the field to wave at patients at the Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

The hospital features a press box-like top floor with big glass windows where the patients and their families can gather to watch the Hawkeyes play with a near-perfect view. During the first home game of the 2017 season, the announcer asked fans to turn to the hospital and wave at the patients. It’s happened every home game since.

A wave is such a small, simple gesture. For roughly 70,000 people to turn away from the field and do it toward kids they don’t even know, though? Fans and players alike? How inspiring. Here these young men are, fighting for every inch in the first quarter. A break happens. They turn to something that’s bigger than football and just take a moment to wave.

Iowa’s first opponent in 2018, Northern Illinois, made their own video prior to the matchup to show they care about the patients at Stead Family Children’s as well. It’s amazing what football can accomplish when the right ideas come along.