Having been born and bred a Hawkeye through and through, and then relocating to Jackson, MS for a little over 4 years I think I may have a bit of insight for those of you who don't really know what to expect from the sea of Black & Gold on January 1st. So a little bit for both sides:
To MSU crowd:
To my Iowa Brethren:
To MSU crowd:
- Iowans don't care much about what others think of them personally (although they do constantly carry around a chip on their shoulders about how the "outside world" - that being anybody from outside of the B1G footprint views the Hawkeyes). So don't expect them to show up well dressed or trying to act 'proper'.
- Expect T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts to outnumber polos and dresses.
- Busch Light and Natty Ice will be in abundance
- And no, they won't care that it is only 7 or 8 in the morning when they begin the tailgating, they will be out in force boozing it up prior to the game
- They will be friendly (genuinely so), but of course part of being friendly is seen as good natured ribbing.... try to remember there is nothing mean-spirited about it, we love a good back and forth. If people get defensive quickly, Iowans won't want to waste much more time around them.
- Iowans are NOT Yankees..... it took me a year or two to figure out what exactly you guys called a Yankee. Of course, we are located north of 25, so by geography of course we are (LOL). However, Iowans despise the East Coast, Northeast, Eastern plains bullspit. Very blue collar crowd for the most part, with the exception of the small percentage of those from immediately around the Iowa City area where the liberalism of campus has infected the yuppy-wannabe-types.
- Mississippians and Iowans, I have found, are much more alike than we are different. Rural states, overlooked by most, snubbed by most, but "heart and soul of the nation" types of folks.
To my Iowa Brethren:
- Expect polo shirts and dresses on gameday.... I know, its weird
- "Bless your heart" is not necessarily a good thing to hear from them
- Get over the cowbells.... they "ring responsibly"
- Be good natured with the ribbing, folks from the South tend to get defensive quicker than us
- "Coon-***" is not a racially derogative thing.
- If a MSU tailgate offers you oysters.... TAKE THEM UP ON IT. Trust me, its a completely different experience than that gelatonous crap our parents make oyster stew out of. Charbroiled oysters are a thing of art in Mississippi
- Even if the Dawgs are blowing out the Hawkeyes in the 4th quarter, a single good play from the Hawks, or a penalty against the Dawgs will send the MSU faithful into full panic/meltdown mode.... apparently they have had some rough luck with 4th quarter endings over the years. The A&M game I went to in 2014, MSU was winning by a substantial margin and A&M had a big play. I asked my buddy why the crowd was so damned quiet, and in unison he and his son both replied "We've seen this movie far too many times"
- Mississippians are good people, except of course Southern Miss fans, those Tigerhawk stealing jerks