Charlie's Life

(H/T IowaHawkeyes.net for the video)

Just thought I would share that because it’s so badass. I’m still in shock that Iowa is undefeated, but as a lifelong Iowa fan I’m prepared to ask no questions and just accept this luck while we have it. But, for some reason, I don’t believe this year’s team success is due to luck. I think it’s grit. Pure determination. This Iowa team has a few talented players, but they win by closing their eyes and jumping off the cliff every game, fully committing. If things don’t go well the first half (as is typically the case), they know they can’t just ride out the game and hope something good happens; they’re free-falling and need to do something before they crash. Somehow, every week they come up with something. A fumble. An interception or two. Twenty-eight points in the fourth quarter. Iowa avoids meeting terra firma, and starts to quickly gain some altitude.

Jamie and I just watched Casino, and the Hawkeyes remind me of what Robert DeNiro’s character, Sam Rothstein, says about Joe Pesci’s character, Nicki Santoro:

No matter how big a guy might be, Nicky would take him on. You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat. You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun. And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he’ll keep comin’ back and back until one of you is dead.

Iowa keeps getting beaten in the first half, even the first three quarters, only to get up, dust off some dirt, look their opponents in the eye, and smile a little bit. They smile because they know they’ve won; it’s the fourth quarter and they’re not dead yet. Michigan State was close. Michigan was close. Indiana was really close. In fact, eight out of nine teams were close. But they never finished the job. They had Iowa down, but we just kept comin’ back.

Let’s hope this continues. Casino didn’t end very well for Nicki Santoro, but only because he got cocky. And, if anything, we all know Iowa isn’t cocky.

Iowa isn’t getting much respect from the national sports media (and certain cocky Alabama fans at law school). I think critics should underestimate the Hawks at their own peril. There’s something intangible about this team that makes them dangerous. Maybe it’s the very, “Come on, give me your best shot!” attitude that I described above. Whatever it is, for many college football fans out there, Iowa is prepared to play the villain this season.