Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Game Day
Henry Thein and Oliver Pedley, both 6, of Hartley, pose for a photo with the statue of Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick on Sept. 16 outside Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.
I've had billions of great ideas in my life, but rarely have I carried through. Last weekend, I carried through.
I got a wild hair two weeks ago after the annual Cy-Hawk matchup. Iowa was slated to play hapless Western Michigan the following Saturday, and I figured tickets would be pretty cheap. I was right. $20 off face value had me sold to take Oliver to his first Hawkeye game.
I reached out to a friend to see if he wanted to come and bring his son, who happens to be Oliver's best friend. There was no debate and the tickets were booked within minutes.
I've always debated when I'd take Oliver to his first Iowa game. My dad took me to my first game in 2001 when I was in fifth grade. Iowa lost to Michigan that day, but I'll never forget the sight of Kinnick Stadium the first time I saw it in real life. I was as crazy as a little kid could be about Iowa back then, and I'll always remember when my dad told me we were going to the game. It was special.
Part of me wanted to wait. Oliver likes the Hawkeyes because I do, but a 6-year-old really isn't as into it as I was at age 10 the first time I went. Extenuating circumstances had me itchy, though, so I pulled the trigger.
The friends we went with will be moving back to South Carolina soon. I realized we'd never have another chance to the take the boys down to see a Hawkeye game together, and I didn't want to regret it. I'm glad I didn't second-guess myself and make an excuse not to go.
We all had a great time and the boys loved every minute of the game despite not knowing completely what the heck was going on. In the end, Iowa won 41-10, which was quite all right with the four of us. The boys even got foam fingers, which was apparently their No. 1 goal for the weekend. Sometimes kids are easy.
Will Oliver remember his first Iowa game like I remember mine? No, he won't.
Will the memories I hold from last weekend burn brighter than mine from 22 years ago? Something tells me they will.
Nick Pedley is the news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.
