"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free" -Goethe.

   About a year ago a former friend of mine encouraged me to check out this site. When I was a young man I played the game of football but what I remember most is that the people who incessantly talked about the game each week were not my fellow teammates but were usually those who had never played the game.

   They lived vicariously through their favorite players in high school, college and the NFL. This site reminded me of those people from my distant past. Perpetual adolescents who never really grow up and waste countless hours mindlessly talking about and watching sports.

  H.G Wells predicted back in the 1890's that sports would be used to enslave the male populations of the world. At the time most thought his insights were ludicrous since sports was a game played by children, how could they ever get the mass population of men interested in silly children's games?

 As you can see H.G Wells was right and sites like this are testament to their overwhelming success in our culture. Men who neglect their families every weekend and miss golden opportunities to appreciate all that life has to offer.

  I have often heard the term that sports builds character. If you look at the NFL which I refer to as the National Felons League. I think you will see that it builds anything but character. Teams will do anything it takes to win and fans are complicit partners in this formula. Of course I think this is only a reflection of society at large.

  I remember watching a major league game a few years ago and instant replay clearly showed that a ball had cleared the fence for a home run. Every fan in the right field stands knew that to be the case but none of these fans would ever come forward and admit to the reality of the situation fearing it might cost their precious home team a victory.

   We as Americans have become a nation of zombies where we let others decide our fate. Mind controlled and manipulated by the press and our politicians we accept whatever is thrown our way. Most Americans can identify their college team's starting quarterback but wouldn't have a chance in identifying where Spain is located on a map.

 The empire is crumbling and no one seems to notice. If sites like these are placed in a time capsule it will be clearly evident what happened to this once proud nation. We became a nation of man children and soccer mommy's boys. Instead of raising children we remained children and our future was lost babbling on about silly little games.

 In 1959 the Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev scanned the vast horizon stretched out before him and slowly turned towards his entourage which included Mr. Garst,  in a hushed voice he said "Now I know why America is great you create with four men what it takes sixty men to do in Russia, isn't that correct Mr. Garst." The Iowa farmer slowly  nodded in agreement as he faced the Premier.

   This is what Iowa has learned to do for many years doing more with less. This adage can be applied to the University of Iowa football team as well. Some way somehow Iowa pulls together and makes it work even when the numbers don't add up. This year is unusual in the fact that the numbers do add up. All the parts are in place and once again Iowa has a valid shot with walking away with the national championship this year.

   I know this isn't the Iowa way. The Iowa way is to say were not that good. We were lucky last year and on and on. Now is the time to be bold and stake your claim. The Hawkeyes aren't going to sneak up on anybody this year. This may also be the last time we get a chance like this. 

    The last time we were this close to a national championship were in the years 1956 and 1960 when we finished the regular season third in the polls and 1958 when the Hawkeyes finished the regular season second in the polls. In each of those seasons we could have had a decent shot at winning national championships but back then the bowl games had no bearing on the final outcome and in each case we were left at the altar as bridesmaids. Especially in 1960 the final polls were razor close between the three top teams. Minnesota had a small margin over Iowa and would go on to lose the Rose bowl. Iowa was left at home that year without a bowl game to attend back when the available options for bowl games was sparse at best. Therefore Minnesota would go on to claim another national championship with their bowl loss having no effect on the final outcome.

      Defense is the key element in any championship run and Iowa is blessed in this category. The front four may be the most important part of a team's foundation and in this case Iowa might have it's best front four of all time. The last time we had a defensive end as dominant as Adrian Clayborn was Andre Tippett. Andre Tippett's bust is currently displayed in Canton. Clayborn may be even more dominant than Tippet was at this point in his career. The linebacking corps is untested but I have confidence due to the front four that they will weather the storm.

     The secondary once again is solid, when you have a player of  Bernstine's caliber as a backup that speaks fairly well for the remaining secondary. Sash may end up at Iowa as one of their best saftie's ever if he isn't already there.

     This team is not only defense the offense is solid as well. The backfield is in good hands with Robinson and Hampton. Even if one of them goes down we have some prized freshman ready to replace them.

     Stanzi is a year older and wiser. I can't imagine him throwing pick sixes like he did last year. No matter how you feel about him he is a winner who has amazing resiliency.

      The receiving corp is solid with Johnson-Koulianos  back and closing in on all the Iowa receiving records along with the gifted Marvin McNutt who provides a large target and reliable hands. Don't forget about Keenan Davis who might be utilized to display his enormous talent this year. At tight end Allen Reisner is a proven commodity and the sky is the limit for incoming freshman C.J Fiedorowics just don't ask me to pronounce it.

    The offensive line remains untested but I am confident that Ferentz and the boys will have them more than ready come game time. 

     Iowa has become accustomed to doing more with less this is the year they will do more with more and once again the words of the late Russian Premier might echo through the heart land and beyond and Iowa will take it 's rightful place among those other immortals called champions.

 
 
 
 
Ed Podolak interviews Kirk Ferentz on the prospect of the upcoming 2013 season.
 
 
Ed    Coach 2013 has all the makings of an interesting year. What do you think
of Kinnick stadium’s new location.
 
Coach Ferentz   Well Kinnick Three Mile High stadium makes for an appealing venue plus we don’t need to worry about astro turf or natural grass issues anymore since we will be playing on the frozen tundra. Of course we need to blow torch the playing field prior to each game to reveal the underlying field but those are just simple logistics.
 
Ed   What about this year’s schedule and the new look of the Big Ten.
 
Coach Ferentz   Well we lost Penn State to the Big East that was most unfortunate and all their games are going to be underwater this year. It will be fascinating to see how that slows the pace of the game and magnifies the performances of all those great athletes.
 
Of course their fan base will probably be greatly reduced unless you are PADI certified to scuba dive you will be forced to watch  games in boats with glass bottoms. The big loss in TV revenues is also going to greatly hurt the bottom line.
 
Ed    Well at least you finally have both Nebraska and Missouri in the Big Ten now
 
Coach Ferentz   Well sort of with the crust and tectonic plate shifts they have both actually merged and have become part of the state of Iowa. The acquisition of Arizona was also  fortuitous but it occurred at the expense of the Pacific Basin breaking off. Furthermore who would ever thought Hawaii would be joining our conference but of course it takes them much longer to get to the Continental US than before.
 
 
Ed What do all the new environmental changes  bring to the program.
 
 
Coach Ferentz   Well of course it’s great to have all those new mountain ranges which are just lovely for the fans and scientists are telling us once the glaciers melt in a couple of hundred years we will have more than ten thousand lakes that kind of takes away from the Gophers old calling card. Well but the truth be told after the great glacier melt Minnesota will be up to more than twenty thousand lakes.
 
Plus in a couple of hundred years we will have a great tourism draw from skiing and water sports. Can you imagine how that’s going to impact recruiting.
 
Ed   Once again it looks like the Hawks have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming year it really is going to be an exciting football season.
 
Coach Ferentz   it sure is Ed and I am really optimistic about the Bowl situation I really think we have a solid shot of getting to the Rose Bowl in Denver this year and the beaches there are just magnificent surrounded by all those mountains I can hardly wait!!!!

Ed    I think I need a drink oops did I say that?