Hi everyone!
It’s been a minute since I’ve written a blog post. As I’m sure you can imagine, I’ve been a bit swamped with internship interviews, homework, and preparation for my upcoming finals, so the majority of my free time has been spent sifting through all of that! But that being said, I did make sure to clear my schedule for an important part of Iowa history that I’m sure many of you also tuned in (or at least heard about!). This past week, I had the opportunity to watch the Iowa women’s basketball team go head-to-head with our rivals from last year, Louisiana State University.
For those of you who don’t know the history leading up to this anticipated event, last year, our Iowa women’s basketball team made it to the final round of March Madness, and we faced off against LSU in one of the most televised women’s basketball games in sports history. The game ended with a lot of press releases, social media buzz, and an unfortunate loss for the Hawkeyes that was felt across the entire state of Iowa. Everyone was absolutely devastated for the team and rumors quickly started about us potentially playing them again for a rematch in the following year.
In a crazy turn of events, both teams excelled into the Elite Eight and sure enough, April Fool’s Day was the official date where LSU and Iowa would face off in a heated rematch that all of Iowa City (and the country) would be tuning in for!
As someone who recently got into women’s basketball, I was ecstatic to watch the game on Monday night. Over the weekend, I was quick to rally up my friends and we made the decision to go to one of the restaurants in downtown Iowa City since none of us have cable. Plus, we wanted the luxury of being able to enjoy some good food while watching a suspenseful game!
Originally, we were hoping to get a seat at Mickey’s, one of our favorite places to eat and watch sports events, but we ended up at Scout’s Honor instead which is a newer restaurant in town designed to look like a campsite!
My friends and I got seven seats toward the back of the restaurant, which was perfect because we had five television screens surrounding us at all angles. We were also lucky to show up when we did, because only minutes after we sat down, the rest of the booths and tables were snatched up by everyone else! I was extra happy to have gotten a table because I was craving a burger and Scout’s was having a deal on burger baskets that night!
We ordered our burgers and the game started in no time. Right out of the gate, Iowa scored multiple points against LSU and every time a point was scored, the entire restaurant erupted into applause and cheering. People were clapping, yelling, screaming, and rising up from their seats as the game went back and forth. The school spirit was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. It was palpable and electrifying to be surrounded by so many people all rooting for the same team, and it was one of many moments throughout my college journey where I was so incredibly proud to be a Hawkeye!
By half-time, both LSU and Iowa were tied and the tension in the air was running at an all-time high! Everyone was hurrying to the bathrooms or chatting nervously with friends at other tables as we waited to see what the second half would bring. The whole restaurant was buzzing with nervous energy since Iowa had started off strong, but LSU had come back even stronger, so by this point, it was anyone’s game.
The second half of the game proved to be brutal. No one dared get their hopes up and the excitement this time around was to a minimum as Iowa slowly racked up points one after another. As the game drew to a close, it felt like the entirety of Iowa City was slowly lifting in spirit. It looked like the women’s team was about to grab it and the moment that Angel Reese fouled out, everybody in the city shot up from their seats in applause and cheering. It was the confirmation everyone needed before we watched Iowa win the rematch and move into the Final Four.
As I mentioned earlier, the Hawkeye spirit was incredible. People were hugging, cheering, and smiling from ear-to-ear as the clock counted down its final few seconds. It was the most fun I’d ever had while watching a sports event and because of that, I definitely plan on attending more women’s basketball games shortly.
For those of you looking into the University of Iowa, I encourage you to get involved with sports on campus whether that’s from the sidelines or out on the court! Seasoned tickets will be available to students within a few short months, so keep an eye out for that and get hyped for what’s bound to be an amazing basketball season!
