Hawkeyes Take Over Nashville.
Iowa’s loss to Nebraska was a brutal blow. It broke the Hawkeye’s seven-year winning streak against the Cornhuskers in the Heroes Game and knocked Iowa out of their first place in the Big Ten West. While the Hawkeyes will not be playing in the Big Ten Championship game, that does not mean the season or the fun is over. Instead, now is the time to ask the question: Where are Iowa football fans partying for New Year’s this year?
The most likely scenario is that Hawkeyes will head to the Music City Bowl on December 31 in Nashville, TN. While the official bowl game matchups will not be announced until this weekend, there is already a sense of excitement among Iowa fans to play in this bowl game. Iowa was scheduled to play this bowl game a few years ago, but ultimately did not get to play due to COVID-19 concerns with Missouri’s team. The chance for Iowa to face an SEC opponent in a bowl game has been a long time coming.
This bowl game is a dream scenario for any Hawkeye fan looking to travel for the game, or simply have a memorable NYE. Nashville may not be the warm weather that Peach Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl attendants will experience, but it is warmer than Iowa City and the rest of the Midwest, making it a great travel location for some winter weather relief.
Nashville is best known as the home to a rowdy, howdy party scene. It is exactly where you want to be to make epic NYE memories. It is also a city already filled with Hawkeyes, thanks to a very active Iowa alumni community. Each week game viewing parties are held at the Tin Roof, a bar located in downtown Nashville on the world-famous Broadway Avenue. The best part is that this bar is owned by an Iowa alumna and is the very home of the Nashville Iowa Club, making it the perfect place for Hawkeyes to congregate after the game to celebrate their final win of the season — or if necessary, commiserate together drawing their disappointment, one drink at a time.
If however, we find out this weekend that the Hawkeyes are not chosen for the Music City Bowl it does not mean the season is over. There are still some other bowl game options for the Hawkeyes. One being the Pinstripe Bowl in Bronx, New York, or the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina. Between these two options, it should be no surprise to learn that I am fully behind the Mayo Bowl. Yes, it is the less prestigious option, but Charlotte is likely to be warmer than New York, not to mention the traditional ending of this game is for the head coach of the winning team to get a Duke’s mayonnaise bath. I can’t help but admit that seeing coach Kirk Ferentz get slathered in mayo would be pretty satisfying after the number of the bad calls we had to endure this season (sticking with Petras as starting QB, cough, cough).
As always, DM me on Instagram to keep the conversation rolling, @emmiwitdahoops.
