I have been an avid BHGP reader since the middle of last summer (long time.. i know) and a Hawkeye fan as long as I can remember. I remember discovering BHGP the summer before this season and discussing the expectations for the year with everyone. Much of the conventional wisdom said that our season goes as the offensive line goes. We all know that for Iowa to be successful we need to run the ball well and with such a great stable of RB's it really came down to the O-Line. Certainly, if they jelled early and played even a decent season this would be a year where we could make a run at the big ten title and perhaps even a MNC. We did after all, have three running backs that each brought something different to the table and would be able to provide the essential running game we needed.

We all know that the story takes a dark turn from here. BW3 for reasons unknown to Hawkeye Nation (rumors set aside of course) does not report to camp. That's ok, is the general mindset of most fans, we still have two great running backs and some great recruits that should be able to handle spot duty in a crunch. Then the next turn, Jewell Hampton tears his other ACL to end his season after only a few carries. Now, we are down to one RB. ONE RB survives the first three weeks of the season and while he does an absolutely excellent job, the hits wear on him, and he is limited in the last quarter of the season with two concussions. The season ends as an inexperienced, though talented, freshman runner fumbles the game away to the Goofers. (Yes i am aware that Cokers fumble had little to do with the outcome of the game but it is a bit fitting that our 4'th string RB is expected to carry the final game isn't it?)

So what is it that caused this unfortunate turn of events. Those of you new to this community may answer with, well its just bad luck, or its a violent game.. injuries happen. You are wrong. It is the Angry Iowa Running Back Hating God (AIRBHG) that is responsible for the misfortunes of this season. The same that forced Sam Brownlee into service back in 2004 is still here picking on our talented group of ball carriers. He is a commie asshole who hates everything that is good in the world.

To add insult to injury while our RB's get hurt, Wisconsin's stable of backs goes nearly untouched for the season leading them to the type of season that we expected for ourselves. The type of season that we may have had if we had all of our RB's available. So what do we do about this problem you ask? How do we stop the AIRBHG? The FINAL SOLUTION after the jump

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Disclaimer -- I am sorry if this has been done before and for my terrible grammar and punctuation. I did not learn to write as a political science major at Iowa despite my only homework ever being research papers. (please no banhammer for reference to "political science")

So I was watching the aOSU/Wiscy game this weekend when the wife sat down and asked what should be a pretty simple question... Who are we going for? I responded without even thinking, "Wisconsin, I hate Ohio State" After thinking it over for a few minutes I started to realize that was completely unreasonable of me. First of all, most Iowa fans were probably hoping for an undefeated aOSU team to roll into Kinnick on November 20'th so we could hand them their first loss. This would be best case scenario for both our BCS ranking and national perception (which with pre-season polls becomes more and more important.) My hate of aOSU exceeds that of any other program in the Big Ten and it got me thinking.. am I a weird Iowa fan for not despising Minny and Wiscy Purdue over everyone else.... I wonder what the BHGP faithful truly feel about our Big Ten brethren. So without further rambling from me I present to you RATE YOUR HATE. The concept is simple, give me your list of big ten teams from most hated to least hated, and if this actually gets a lot of comments I will be glad to add up all the results into a BHGP hates article. As a bonus question where will Nebraska fit into your hate-o-meter?

I will get it started with my rankings

Let me preface my rankings with this. I started seriously following Iowa football in my first few years of High School and the first season that I really remember was 2002 (when I was a sophomore). I grew up watching the Hawks but that is the first season that really sticks in my mind. This may help to explain my limited scope when considering what my top hated teams are.

1 -- aOSU -- This is a no-brainer for me as there is no other team in the big ten that I would enjoy beating more. Why do I hate them you ask?.. I don't know, does hate of a group of 18-22 year old young men have to be rational? I think it is just the snobby attitude of the fans and the fact that we rarely beat them. Say what you want, they are my #1.

2 -- jNW -- How do these guys keep beating us.. seriously?

3 -- Wiscy -- Stupid boring, clock control, run first offense... wait.. that's what we do.. well like I said this is not rational and I can't come up with a good reason I hate them. (other than traditional we are supposed to)

4 -- Illinois -- My reasoning on this one may offend some people but here it is. I hate the state of Illinois. Just discussing this makes me want to replace aOSU at the top of the list with the fighting zookers. I have a few reasons for this. First of all when I was a student at Iowa and the bears made the super bowl I saw more bandwagon jumping than I thought possible. During the NFL season I saw the occasional bears shirt or jersey but the week of the super bowl at least one out of three students at UofI went out and bought a Urlacher jersey... drove me nuts. The other problem I have with the state is that a very large percentage of students at Iowa come from there and in my experience a very large percentage of them spend their time at Iowa complaining about how lame the state is and how Chicago is so much cooler. After a few drinks at the bar I would often kindly ask them to get the fuck out if they didn't like it...  love it or leave it.. fuck you we are Iowa.

5 -- Minny -- A little tradition here and a little fear about how embarrassing it would be to lose to them in their current state.

6 -- Michigan--See above rant about aOSU but with classier fans and a down program at the moment. They have the potential to move up quickly on the list.

7 -- MSU -- As a fan of smash mouth football, I can't muster up a lot of hate for these guys.

8 -- Purdue -- OMHR!!!!!!!!!! GRRRRR

9 -- Indiana -- I really couldn't care less.

10 -- PSU -- Nothing to see here..

Bonus Question -- Where would Nebraska fit?

Nebraska would jump right into my 5 spot bumping Minny down a peg due to my limited experience with their fans. They seem to be like aOSU without the recent success.

So let's hear it BHGP faithful, who do you hate?

I am not the type to rant and write out FanPosts but something from little brothers fans over in Ames is really driving me nuts this year. I have heard this complaint in years past but this year it seems to be really getting out of control. The argument from ISU fans is that most Iowa fans are not actually Iowa grads and therefore have no right to support the sports teams of the University. This honestly makes no sense to me and reeks of jealousy. This is much like saying because none of us in Iowa live in a city that hosts a professional football team we should not be allowed to follow the NFL. "How dare you like the Bears, you don't live in Chicago!" should be the rallying cry coming from Ames as Chicago fans gather to watch a Bears game. The truth of the situation is that Iowans who didn't go to college  want to follow a program that represents the State they live in. This leaves them with 3 choices if they are looking at the national level and the choice is clear. I see no reason why someone who grew up watching the Hawks and bleeds black and gold but chose to go into the workforce after high school cannot be a fan. What ISU fans really are saying when they get angry about all of our fans is, "Wow, I wish I was born into a family that followed THAT program." I get it, it sucks that you were born into a family that chose to follow an embarrassing failure of a football program, but stop trying to ruin the fun for everyone else. On Iowa and Go Hawks!