Introduction
The Iowa State interscholastic football team is known as the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes have a significant holding and reservation in Iowa football and are among the top 10 teams at the university level today. Herky the Hawk is the official mascot for the team and is as famous in Iowa football as he is nationally. Herky got his name through a nationwide contest where fans of Iowa football voted after seeing the drawing by Dick Spencer to vote. This made him popular even before he got his name and also creating awareness about him, for those who did not yet know of him. Herky first took the field in 1959 and performed pranks on mascots and this got him banned (as a field version or a person in a costume portraying him) but the love and dedication of students got him back and the rest is history.
History
But there is more to Iowa football than just the mascot. The Iowa Hawkeyes have an extremely impressive record on the field and initially when the team first started playing; it was dominant in their areas which led them to get an invitation to the Western Conference. When it comes to sports, the United States of America is divided into the east and west. Teams like New York and New Jersey are on the east while Florida and Los Angeles are on the west. In order to make a national championship, the teams usually face each other on their own sides (i.e. east vs. east and west vs. west) and the winner (one from each side) faces the other to determine the champion. This western conference has now become The Big Ten and the top five teams from both sides of the nation (based on points) now compete with each other to determine the best.
Features
The Hawkeyes have been champions many times and thus they hold many trophies. They won the championship the first time they were invited to the western conference which tells a lot about Iowa football and the high level it is at. The team has undoubtedly raised the level of the game in their state and on their scale but this has all been through dedication and hard work. Every team is nothing without its fans and the Hawkeyes have a consistent fan following. Every time they run out to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, the fans cheer and a tradition calls for students to wave their shoes in the air to signal they are ready for kickoff (some done at home games of course).
Tips and comments
The color for the Hawkeyes is black and gold and that is what their uniform and shoes are, with a little white added to it. Iowa football has been revolutionized by the Hawkeyes and they haven taken the game at the university level to new highs. The people love them and follow their games like addicts and the key players off the Hawkeyes are known to have secured good positions in professional football teams, the major ones of course.
