Marion Gunderson Art (and the Farmer's Daughter)

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Iowa State, 34 --- North Dakota State, 17, September 3, 2009. (Click photo to enlarge.)

I’m mostly clueless about football, so shouldn’t express an opinion about the Iowa State team’s performance last night.  However, I do have a strong opinion that it is almost sacrilegious when AC/DC blaring painfully loudly (to the point of speaker distortion) drowns out the sound of the Iowa State fight song.

Early in the game when the band played the fight song (with no AC/DC competing this time), there were only a few people in our section that stood up and clapped.  When doing a quick scan, it appeared to be the same throughout most of the stadium.  It seems the football environment Iowa State is trying to create is not at all the counterpart of ISU’s basketball Hilton Magic (although, maybe that has changed considerably, too?).

Cy (now in Rolfe, Iowa), a statue built in 1975 by my 1981-Cy's-Favorite-Alum father, Deane Gunderson. The boulders are arranged in the shape of a cyclone. Also, on the front/tip boulder is a natural reddish large abstract shape of a cyclone. (Click photo twice to magnify boulder detail.)

During the game I sat next to my father.  Because of the almost non-stop loud and demanding advertising (when the game wasn’t going on or music wasn’t blaring), there was barely a stretch of thirty seconds (literally) between plays when it was quiet enough that I could converse with my father.  The announcer kept instructing us to direct our attention to the video board for us to watch/listen to yet another advertisement.  Throughout the entire evening it appeared to be one huge commercial…under the guise of a football game.  It seems like an oxymoron that ISU has returned to vintage cardinal and gold, but has moved “forward” with such commercialism.

I did enjoy myself, but more from the standpoint of being with family, as opposed to enjoying the football game and the surrounding environment.  The weather was so comfortable and gorgeous.  (If you didn’t already, notice the full moon and short sleeves in the photo.)  Also, it is always fun to see family and friends at games.  I feel fortunate to have gone, but I think Iowa State needs to reevaluate its make-the-fans-want-to-return-and-want-to-donate-to-the-program (i.e., marketing) strategy.

After observing my 90-year-old father seated at my right last night, and talking with twenties-something fans seated to my left, I don’t think my opinion is generation-based.  However, the attendance last night was almost 49,000.  Maybe that means my sentiments are those of the minority…or, maybe not.

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(I might not have another post until after the holiday weekend.  I’ll most likely have more about Oregon and Mr. Spaulding next week, including the beginning of a transcript about Mr. Spaulding’s relationship with explosives.  Also, I’ll have a new print image of one of Mother’s watercolors posted within the next two weeks.  Hopefully within the next few months I’ll post more about my father’s Cy.)

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Tags: CY, football, Iowa State, statue

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