Dec. 21, 2010
IOWA CITY, Iowa – In the holiday season of giving and sharing, the UI Athletics Department invited the greatest fans in the world to share their most memorable black-and-gold experience. The wide variety of responses were full of unforgettable memories and reminiscent of why, “It’s Great to be a Hawkeye!” After having the privilege of reading each submission, a total of seven lucky winners were selected for online publication. We will post one entry per day on hawkeyesports.com from Dec. 21-27. Today’s entry comes from Rebecca Meeke:
“My two greatest Hawkeye Memories were when I was about 13, maybe 14 years old. I had just received my braces at the University of Iowa Dental College. Being that age is hard enough, but to compound it with braces just made me feel awful. As a treat my parents took me to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. I walked in a saw a player practicing on the court. I walked down all those stairs and as I got closer I realized it was BJ Armstrong. He signed an autograph (that I have to this day) and played a pickup game and let me shoot over him. It is a memory that I have never forgotten and as a 13/14 year old he made me feel important to a Hawkeye for one brief moment in time.
My next memory came in 2001 when the Iowa Hawkeyes went to the Alamo Bowl against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. I was living in the San Antonio area at the time but I could not get tickets because they were sold out. The radio stations had tickets and were giving them away, two at a time. They eventually asked the question, “Which NFL quarterback has had the most Super Bowl wins?” I knew the answer was Joe Montana and called in and got through. I won the tickets and got to see my beloved Hawkeyes whoop the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2001 Alamo Bowl. The best part of this memory was the final second when Texas Tech threw a Hail Mary!; I had never heard a stadium so quiet in all my life. When the player for Texas Tech stood and the Iowa fans realized the ball had been dropped… the screams of elation by the Iowa Hawkeye fans was so loud I thought the roof would cave in. What an awesome experience and, for me, a once in a lifetime chance to see my beloved Hawkeyes live in a bowl game.”
– Rebecca Meeke
Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your story and congratulations on winning six tickets to a home men’s or women’s basketball game of your choice this winter. Rebecca is now one of seven finalists eligible to win 10 tickets to a 2011 non-conference home football game of their choice. The winner will also receive a souvenir football and a $50 gift certificate redeemable at the concessions stands at Kinnick Stadium.
If you submitted a story that was not selected for online publication, you’ll be placed in a pool and eligible to win six tickets to a non-conference home game of the 2011 Iowa Hawkeyes.
The randomly selected winners will be announced at halftime of the Insight Bowl on the Official Iowa Football Blog.