Disappointed? Or Hopeful For the Future?

The Hawkeyes ended their season in disappointment, or did they? Finishing the season with a four win and eight loss season, many fans were beyond irritated with both the players and coaches. After beating Minnesota and Michigan State, some people thought Iowa would come through after all! That notion was proved wrong in the following weeks with losses to Indiana, Purdue, and a beat down by Michigan. At this point in the season it was clear Iowa would not, and should not be in a bowl, but that didn’t quite make the season a lost cause…yet.

                Iowa Hawkeye football regulars had a mindset that if we could just upset Nebraska, the season would be a success. This thought was way out there considering many people thought Iowa would lose by upwards of 20 points. Iowa “fans” sold their tickets right and left, and Kinnick Stadium was filled with red; Husker red that is. Completely expecting Iowa to come out flat, the Black and Gold exceeded expectations.

                The Hawkeyes entered the locker room at halftime feeling pretty confident as they held a 7-3 lead. Hawkeye fans were now glued to the television set hoping for an upset. The Hawks came out of halftime fired up, but not fired up enough to top the Huskers. Nebraska scored 10 points in the third quarter and both teams were scoreless in the fourth. Iowa had lost their last game of the season to number 14 ranked Nebraska by only six points. Although many fans were upset, I believe each one was eating their words from earlier. “Iowa is going to get smashed” “They will get clobbered.” “pssht who’s going to watch that game? Iowa will lose by 50.” Those were all things I was hearing. Iowa had put up a good fight, and after the season we had, I think a large amount of Hawk fans were pleased.

                After a very disappointing season, I feel like Iowa ended on a high note. They beat all odds, and made a game out of it. I understand that there are no moral victories, but when very few believe you will even show up to play, and you only lose by 6 to a top 25 team, that speaks volumes. With the regular season over and no post season play ahead, Iowa coaches can focus more on recruitment, which is something Iowa needs drastically; a good recruiting class. Also, our senior quarterback with less than desirable stats is gone, and we have a bright future in Mark Weisman at full back.  So although the season was a joke, it might have brought more positives for the future than people think. (WC 443)

Testing

Test. That one word can send a teenager into an instant frenzy. There is so much weight leaning on one test. It could dramatically lower a grade if poorly done, but only slightly raise it if done well. Many teachers weight their grades so that test are over 30% of your final grade. That, is ridiculous.

Those tests are just the ones taken in the classroom during the school day. Lets think about the ones taken that decide our future. The ACT and SAT decide what funding we get for college,what colleges will accept us, and can define who we are in the educational realm of things. One four hour time period of testing could change our future, and it all lies on a bubble sheet....that's a crazy thought.

I do well on tests, but that doesn't mean I like them. I hate tests because I lose sleep, miss football, and they takeaway from my social life. But mostly because I lose sleep. I think I should be defined more by tests PLUS what I do. I have a lot of qualities that can't show up on a bubble sheet; I'm responsible, a leader, and respectful, but there is no bubble for that. That's something I think a college would want, rather than a really smart but snotty kid. Another thing that really irritates me about the importance if tests, is that some days people just have an off day, a day where nothing is going right, a day where we just don't function right, and a day where we don't have the ability to take a test while producing accurate results.

The reason I'm saying this is because I know someone who is extremely intelligent, very kind, and is just an all around great person, but they struggle on tests. They suffer from test anxiety and just never do well on tests. It is too bad because they have the potential to go far in life. But because their ACT score doesn't reflect them accurately, who knows what will happen. If only their was a supplemental exam to the ACT that reflected who a person was rather how it they performed on tests.

Aside from those standardized test, I want to come back to school tests. We do some extra work to offset the bad test scores, but I wish tests were a less influential part of our grade. I get that they are needed to keep students to attentive and so they don't just stop trying, but do they really need to be over half of our final grade? I don't think so. I think they should be the same percentage as everything else. No special weighing, just straight up points. (WC 450)

It's Time

It is tradition for my friend Ben, his dad, my dad, and me to go to one Hawkeye away game each year. We are trying to get to every Big Ten stadium and then rank them in order of liking, taking multiple factors into account. This year, the only stadium we haven't been to that is on our schedule is Memorial Stadium in Indiana.

After the Hawkeyes poor effort the past two weeks, the game we thought would be a sure win might not come so easily. With Iowa's offense just painful to watch, the defense struggling, and our quarterback not showing up, we have a long way to come. It would be very nice if for just once this year, the Hawks could blow a team out, that team being the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers, although last in our division, are a strong football team. They have put up a fight against the always powerful Ohio State Buckeyes, and have shown some signs of soon being a dominant force.

With Iowa struggling a lot, and the Hoosiers showing good signs, this will be a very very very tough game. There is nothing I hate worse than driving a long ways, to a mediocre stadium, and losing. It is the worst feeling in the world, a waste of time, and waste of money. When going to a less than desirable stadium such as Memorial Stadium, it is expected that the Hawks win big, that way the drive home is a bit more fun.

Last year we went to the other Memorial Stadium in Nebraska. With Iowa having a poor offensive performance against Nebraska in the game last year, it was disappointing, but because it is a cool stadium, it didn't feel like as much of a waste as it could have. One year we drive all the way to Penn State University the year after we ruined their Rose Bowl hopes. It was a very hostile environment and we won. It was a heroic performance and that was the best feeling in the world.

So pretty much what I am saying is that the Hawkeyes better turn their selves around, and put together a great game for us to watch next week. I am tired of watching the games and being embarrassed. If we are going to save the season, the time is now. Beat Indiana and use that momentum to finish the season strong. We can do it, we just have to believe. Lets go hawks! (WC 417)

Teams to Watch

Now that the NFL is coming up on week 8, it is okay to begin to decide which teams are “for real” and which ones just got lucky at the beginning. After next Monday night we will be half way through the regular season, which is extremely hard to believe! With 9 games remaining, anything could happen, but now is when teams begin to either fall further back, or start to creep up.

The team I am most impressed with this year is the bears. Actually I’m not impressed with the whole team, just the defense. The Bears defense is one of the absolute best in the league and consistently holds opponents to very few points. Last night the Bears help the lines to 0 until the final seconds of the game, that’s a sign of a stealthy defense. The offense on the other hand isn’t as impressive. Jay Cutler in my opinion is one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but only sometimes. He has is glory games, but he also has some awful ones as well. However, their defense doesn’t need to be as p[proficient when their defense holds so well.

A team that I feel has just gotten lucky is the Minnesota Vikings. They only have two losses, and do keep putting up a fair number of points, but their schedule hasn’t been difficult at all, with the exception of one or two games.  The Vikings play a rougher schedule the second half of the season including two games against the Packers in the final 5 weeks of the season.

The Houston Texans are a team that I feel will begin to expand on their lead in the AFC west. With only one loss to the Packers, they rebounded from that game and had a remarkable game this past week. I would be surprise to see Matt Schaub and his offense continue to put up points against strong defenses and continue to win. I think they might make it two the playoffs with 3 or fewer losses. They are a strong team on both sides of the ball.

Lastly, I want to talk about the Packers. They got off two a really rough start losing three times the games they lost last year. But after theses past two weeks, I think there is a different team on the field. Aaron Rodgers has been completely lights out the past two weeks throwing a combined total of 9 touchdowns, and is looking like, if not better than he did last year. I think with an offense as proficient as they have been, they Pack roles into the playoffs on a high note. They play five divisional games to end their season and that very well could make or break their road to the Super Bowl. (WC 467)

Another Political Call

I am getting so sick of all of these political ads, as is most everyone as I can imagine. By this time of year most everyone has decided who they are going to vote for. One measly call at 9pm is not going to change many people votes. The biggest way to sway voters in your favor are the debates. The debates show us who you are under pressure, who you are when criticized, and how you fire back. Debates, although facts may be not totally credible, are in my opinion the best way to gain more support.

     Last week I took a tally of how many people called asking for my vote. Thirty three. That is thirty three more phone calls than I care to answer. Every time the phone rings I have made it known I will answer. I simply answer in the driest tone possible, they ask me who I am voting for if the election were held today, and I respond, "I am not of age to vote." I would think that would end the conversation; it never does. So then the next question they ask is usually around the lines of, if you could vote, who would you vote for. Once again, trying to be difficult I respond,"due to the fact that I am ineligible to fill out a ballot I do not feel I am an accurate representation of the nation's vote." They then ask me if I consider myself an independent. For the third time, trying to be a smart Alec, I respond, "I am not a registered voter, I do not consider myself independent, democrat, republican, or Whig. Good bye and God bless 'Murica."

     The reactions I get vary but the ones I love are the people who still try and get an answer from me. To be honest I start to not like the candidate who does the most negative campaigning, who has the most ads, and who calls me the most. Oh and by the way campaign volunteers...my last name is pronounced (Guy-ger) not (Gee-ger). Thank you. (WC 350)

Kennedy Advances to Playoffs

What a crappy day to be a hawk fan. I’m not even going to blog about the game, the score speaks for itself and if you don’t know the score, look it up…enough said. On the other hand Kennedy is in the Playoffs! With a final regular season record of 4-5 the Cougars advance to post season play Wednesday vs. Muscatine.

                If the Cougar defense holds its own as it has the second half of the season, they should have a good chance to go deep into the playoffs. Kennedy has had a pretty solid defense this season, especially prominent against the Iowa City Little Hawks, where they had just over 40 yards of offense…impressive. The offense on the other hand has also undergone major improvement! Senior quarterback, Riley Fergus, is showing more athleticism since game one where the Cougars had an AWFUL day completing 3 of 27 passes. His right hand man, Alex Hillyer, has also pulled more than his weight this season. Hillyer broke Kennedy’s single season rushing yards record, and is always a dominant force on the field. This last game against the Little Hawks was a great representation of what he can do, rushing for over 200 yards.

                Overall I would say the Cougars didn’t live up to their expectations, or their potential for that matter. They came in to the season expecting to run their division; they did anything but. Starting out 0-4 with little to brag about, the Cougs then real in their first win against, you guessed it, Jefferson. Since then the cougars have gone undefeated. It seems as though the sleeping giant has awoken and the cougars are back!

                It is hard to tell how far Kennedy will make it in the playoffs this year. With a possibly 5 more games, that is if they go to the championship game, players, and the coaching staff begin to fatigue. A team that just snuck into the playoffs has a lot of work to do to become state champions. I have a feeling the Cougar football team has some things in their playbook we have yet to see, and that could be the little spark we need to keep this streak alive. As I was once told, “It’s not about who has the better team, but who has the greater determination.” If Kennedy has the drive and determination to make it to the UNI Dome, I wouldn’t expect anything less. Go Cougars! (WC 407)

Yet Another Phone Tabusted

One thing that I cannot stand is when my phone malfunctions. For the fourth time in a year it has decided to not work properly and turn off whenever I slide it open. This problem seems to only happen to me and no one else in my family. I just don’t quite understand why the same thing happens over, and over, and over again.

Each time this happens I have to go to the cell phone store, they look at it, determine it is an interior (Manufacturer) problem. After that they send me a new phone of the same model and I send the messed up phone to the company. If they prove I didn’t do anything to it, the replacement is free. If for some reason they prove I did do something to cause that problem, it costs me 200 dollars. The past three times it has been the phones fault and I am positive the same is true this time.

The reason it is so annoying, is because it takes forever at the phone store for them to tell me what I already know. It also takes about five days to get a new phone so meanwhile I’m either stuck with a crappy loaner, or my malfunctioning one. Not having a phone isn’t the end of the world for me, but it is really irritating especially when I am trying to contact people or get a hold of my parents.

Usually when this interior system problem occurs, I just text people off of my iPad because it is a lot easier than trying to learn the keyboard of a new (loaner) phone. I guarantee you that when I go to the phone store today the sales associate will tell me the same thing they always do, “it looks like you are in need of a new phone.’’ I will politely respond, “Nope, I just need a new one because this one seems to have a system malfunction.” They always try and deny that that is the problem, but after a few times of me telling them that it’s not my fault, my dad will jump in, sternly speak with the salesperson, and from there we are sent to the technician.

The Technician will take one look at it, tell me it is my touch display connector piece that is doing something funky and I will be sent a new phone in 3-5 business days. If it were up to me, I would get a different phone because this same model has failed me four times now. However, if I do that I am out 300 bucks. So until my two year agreement is up I will continue to endure the irritation of a phone that breaks down very quickly. (WC 461)