Iowa fans are known for giving their team a huge advantage at home and their superb fandom. On Saturday, they were able to orchestrate a fantastic pregame card demonstration honoring our fantastic country.

Ricky Stanzi must be in tears knowing he missed out on this.

Also, USA, USA USA, USA, USA.

Video Via

Navy Seal Jon Tumilson was killed in action earlier this month while in Afghanistan. He, along with 37 others, died tragically in a helicopter crash.

And while the passing of any armed forces member – let along the loss of 38 lives in one horrific incident – is truly devastating, details of Jon’s funeral went viral following images and video of his dog Hawkeye laying next to the casket throughout the entire event. Just writing about it nearly brings me to tears, and the pictures will undoubtedly give you chills even if you’ve seen them already.

Jon Lazar, a former football player at the University of Iowa who graduated from the team back in 1978, has read about and seen these images and has taken it upon himself to try and honor Tumilson is a much different way.

“It just tears you apart to see that (video),” Lazar said. “But I thought how great it would be for that dog to lead the Hawkeyes down to the field and to have the announcer tell the story of this dog. I think everybody would be crying in the stands

Lazar has reached out to the university, in particular the secretary of head coach Kirk Ferentz, in hopes that Tumilson’s lab will be able to lead the Iowa Hawkeyes’ football team onto the field. Chills just writing that.

This concept is apparently in motion, or at least starting, and could/should be approved as long as the university allows it and Tumilson’s family okays it as well. The Iowa Hawkeyes open the season at home on September 3^rd and I cannot envision a better way to start the season than to honor a hero and a Hawkeye fan by having his faithful pup bring the team in. More chills…

This not only should happen, but it needs to happen.

(h/t Hawk Central)

The winner of the Iowa/Iowa State game each year gets year-long bragging rights and the Cy-Hawk Trophy – a symbol of rivalry achievement, which debuted back in 1977. It would appear, however, that the ol’ Cy-Hawk hardware is being replaced by something “new.”

Hawkeye Nation posted the first image of this new design, and it might be the strangest (there are probably better/worse words to describe this) rivalry trophy we’ve ever seen.

[crickets chirping]

I’m all for embracing the fine Iowa folks, but NOT in the form of a rivalry trophy. Does this make you want to crush a human being across from you?

I hope that this is some sort of practical joke and the actual trophy of a giant Hawkeye fighting a Cyclone will be revealed in a “Gotcha!” sort of way. Something tells me, however, that this is not the case.