The Dirty Thirty

As I watched the Cyclones play Army last night, I had a strange sensation. As always, I was rooting strenuously for good old ISU. I have been accused (rightly) of rooting for the Hawkeyes in the past. But after the first couple of plays of this year's Iowa/ISU game, I knew I was for the Clones. Maybe I don't root for the Clones with the intensity of many Plasticvillians, but I AM A CLONES FAN!

Anyone who knows me and my politics knows that I am not predisposed to cheer FOR Army. But I had a rather odd soft spot in my heart for the scrappy, undersized Army squad. Then it came to me. My first football consciousness (if that is not an oxymoron) was the "Dirty Thirty." 1959. Tommy Watkins. Clay Stapleton - the coach, and the host of what must have been the worst football highlight show of all time. I swear the guy was made out of wood. Sponsored by good old Iowa Butter. Big Red and I watched it religiously. The first college football game I attended was the San Jose State game that year. A glorious 55-0 victory on a sunny November day at Clyde Williams Field. The Clones made it "all the way to Lincoln Way" lots of times that day. If they had beaten Oklahoma the next week they would have gone to the Orange Bowl. Predictably, they didn't.

So I was a little conflicted last night as I watched. And it all worked out just as it should, I suppose. The Army squad played over their heads, put up a valiant fight, and lost a close one. Over the years the Clones have had plenty of "come from ahead losses." It's only fitting that they get to play the role of the superior team once in a while.

Stan