RIP Hayden Fry
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Thank you for the kind words of our beloved former head coach, Husker fans. Very classy. Hayden is revered in the state of Iowa. After inheriting a losing program, he turned it around in his 3rd year, after two losing seasons. I have a feeling Scott Frost may do likewise. Good luck on signing day and next season. Go Hawks! and GBR!
FryFest will be especially moving this year. I assume the Hawks will honor him at the Holiday Bowl, as should the Holiday Bowl itself.
Best story I ever heard about Hayden Fry was he back when Iowa had just raised their ticket prices, he was quoted as saying "It's a good thing I get in for free. The way we are playing I'm not sure I would pay that much", or something to that effect.
Great coach for both the players and the fans.
Great coach for both the players and the fans.
Hayden was a legend and will never be surpassed by another coach at Iowa ever. His loss in the state this past week has been profound. Besides making Iowa relevant again on the field, he's responsible for the current Tigerhawk logo, the "swarm" coming onto the field, the pink locker room, the "hokey pokey", the white pants, sunglasses, on and on it goes.
If there was one famous and true story about Hayden, it was in just his second game as Iowa coach. They went to Oklahoma to play in 1979 and Iowa was a huge underdog. They ended up losing only 21-7. In the locker room after the game Hayden noticed several players smiling, joking, almost acting as if they won because they viewed it as a moral victory. Hayden then stopped the locker room in its tracks by saying, "the next player I see with a smile on his face I'll punch you in the face". That attitude changed Iowa football in that very moment.
If there was one famous and true story about Hayden, it was in just his second game as Iowa coach. They went to Oklahoma to play in 1979 and Iowa was a huge underdog. They ended up losing only 21-7. In the locker room after the game Hayden noticed several players smiling, joking, almost acting as if they won because they viewed it as a moral victory. Hayden then stopped the locker room in its tracks by saying, "the next player I see with a smile on his face I'll punch you in the face". That attitude changed Iowa football in that very moment.
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It's not like Nebraska and Iowa played regularly. Prior to the 79-82 series, they last played in 1946. Devaney was still handling the scheduling at that time with Tom's input. Both liked to play series on the west coast and Texas for recruiting exposure along with two that were pushover home games. Neither side was eager to play regular games at that time.
I too kuwaitHawk attended this game, I believe this win was the turning point which Iowa football under couch Fry began to believe in themselves after winning against a very good Nebraska team, a blue blood program, that today deserves our respect....Go Hawks......