Arizona official raises concern about fan behavior at Iowa game
More fallout from the Iowa Hawkeyes’ visit to Tucson: In an open letter to fans this week, Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne acknowledged some Wildcat supporters were not “welcoming” to Iowa fans at Arizona Stadium on Saturday night.
In the letter, posted on the Wildcats’ athletic department site, Byrne outlines how the campus and community have made he and his wife feel at home before noting that “Saturday, we saw some of our fans not be as welcoming to our visitors from Iowa.”
Iowa fan Joey Scheck cheers for the Hawkeyes in Tucson last Saturday. (Arizona Republic photo)
The Wildcats defeated the Hawkeyes 34-27 in a game televised nationally by ESPN.
In the days that followed, videos began popping up on the website YouTube.com that showed a small group of Arizona fans cursing at, and making obscene gestures toward, Iowa fans who’d made the trek to Tucson.
Arizona officials told The Des Moines Register on Wednesday that Byrne’s letter is a weekly feature, but that his comments were a direct response to some of the videos posted on the Internet.
“Bad language and taunting of fans is not how we want to be portrayed,” Byrne’s letter continued. “We want to be known as having one of the loudest stadiums in the country, but we should also be known as having one of the classiest and most welcoming.
“I want to ask everyone to step up and encourage the people around them to represent our university in a first class manner and welcome people to our campus as we would want when we are traveling.”
Arizona officials said Byrne had asked for Wildcat faithful to maintain “very high standards of sportsmanship and behavior” in his weekly letter to fans last week.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
I once made the mistake of wearing a jacket with “Notre Dame” across the chest to an Iowa game. I’m not a Notre Dame fan, but had attended a game in So. Bend, and when you’re there, you HAVE to get something at the book store! I can tell you my fellow Iowa citizens were none too cordial to me that day.
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Go to youtube and watch the videos. I doubt they were calling you racial slurs and cursing/chanting at you in a group effort. There’s also a video that the ESPN guys didn’t catch on the 5 second sensorship delay. There was an Iowa fan (who was a kid) in the front row and the camera guy was zooming in on him. To the right of the kid was an old man (Arizona fan) who was giving the kid the finger, and then turned to the camer as it was zooming in and gave the camera the finger. You could read his lips, he was saying what the finger means…. to a kid… on national television.
Stay classy Arizona.
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I’d like to thank Arizona for not having any our fans deported or sent to a tent prison camp.
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I’m an Arizona fan who was at the game. I didn’t see any behavior like the kind described above, but I’d like to apologize for these idiots. That’s totally classless and I’m glad our AD Greg Byrne chose to address it. I think it was great to have so many Iowa fans there.
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Thank you, it is appreciated. We all have “those guys” in our fan base, it’s just an ugly reality.
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Thanks AZBret !! We ALL have those few fans that can get out of hand …. Your comment is truly appreciated – :)
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The people who become problems at the Mex Tech games I have attended(all against ASU) have been the thugs. They have no regard for women, children and elderly around them. They feel as though the world owes them a favor and will explicitly open their cursed enrich mouths and create a spectacle that not one single normal human being would be proud of.
Now, ASU has the same fans, but they usually have other ASU Fans telling them to shut the ___up or get the ___out. The games I’ve attended in Tucson and what was witnessed on youtube did not show any other Mex Tech fan telling their own to simmer down.
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As a sports fan I will say without doubt that I do not like sports fans. Much like alcohol, sports brings the ignorant jerk of Everyman to the surface. The way that sports fans boast, talk trash, get irate and fight can only be compared to racism and bigotry, neither of which are tolerated in the rest of society but are usually applauded in sports. If the best you can do in life is parlay your sports team’s success into your own self worth then it’s time for you to take a step back and start over.
P.S. Are we still confused on why UI wants to crack down on people drinking themselves stupid at home games? We have more nationally televised games that AZ so maybe, just maybe, Barta doesn’t want US to be the next YouTube sensation.
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I agree with you, Doug. I was at the game and was more disappointed by the IOWA fans! Alcohol definitely played into the behavior of MANY Hawkeye fans and it ruined the experience for me. I’m a short woman in my 50s who politely tugged on the shirt of the drunk Hawkeye fan in front of me to ask him to kindly sit down so the rest of us could see. (There was no one standing in front of him). Anyway, this guy blew a gasket and wanted to hit me! He whined to his wife (who was also drunk) that I “pulled him down” by the back of his shirt. He continued to make a scene the rest of the first half and thankfully decided to leave at half time.
It’s not just the 18-20 year olds that drink too much at the games. There’s a bigger problem with the so-called “responsible” adults that choose to get ____-faced and ruin the experience for all that have to sit near them!
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Hey “Born and Raised”…you have NO right to pull this guy down. Leave your hands off other people. If you have a problem, take it up with security.
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Thank you, Wheels, for being a shining example of exactly what we’re all talking about.
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I am not saying the drunk Iowa fan was right in swearing/cussing…just that “Born” has no right in pulling this Iowa fan down…security is there to take care of disruptive fans.
On a side note, I guess I expect people to stand at football games…do people really go and sit the whole time?
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Agreed. You have no business putting your hands on anybody. I would send a few “colorful metaphors” in the direction of anyone that did that to me.
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50′s… maybe 59… looked like you were almost 70…
I was “born and raised” to stand and cheer the Hawks on to victory…
Sorry that I was excited to be there old lady…
Sorry you are short, ugly and angry about it…
Please stay at the retirement home next time… You will find peace and quiet there…
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Don’t be “SIT DOWN! I CAN’T SEE!” person. Everybody hates that person.
No offense.
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If I want to stand, I’ll purchase a ticket in the student section. If I pay the Alumni Club $50 bucks for a ticket, I would expect to be able to sit and enjoy the game around polite Hawkeye fans.
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Gary Barta should take a lesson from Mr. Byrne, when he’s finished adjusting the Iowa football alcohol policies. Hawk fans have no class!!
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I won’t hold my breath waiting for Barta to issue an apology or to chastise his classless fans. Nice to see them get a taste of their own medicine for once.
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A few years ago when Ohio State played Iowa in Iowa City – our entire tailgating group (amongst a parking lot full of campers) were Iowa fans, along with all of those around us.. My husband is an Ohio State fan and proudly wore is big red jersey !! EVERYONE AROUND were very friendly and invited him over for food & drinks wherever we went. The next day at the game, we had 50 yrd line seats – in a sea of black & gold, here was the RED jersey sticking out … Again – everyone around us were really nice to my husband and made him feel welcome. Walking back after the game – there was one younger Iowa fan who yelled obscenities at my husband – but was QUICKLY silenced by many Iowa Fans around him …. My husband felt very welcomed by our Iowa Fans in their HOME …. And I was so glad about that – because it’s going to take place again in November …. :)
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My word is there nothing that Iowa fans won’t whine about? I was waiting for a shuttle to take me to my car after the game. Two heavy set, middle aged men with Iowa shirts on cut right into line. When I mentioned that the line began some distance behind me, I was ignored. There was an older disabled man in front of me, and once the line began to move, the two Iowa “men” pushed their way past him and worked their way up the line.
Rude fans, big plays, mistakes, only 15 players from Arizona, etc… Ive read just about every excuse on here the past few days. It’s all part of the game. The only thing I haven’t seen on here has been 29 yards rushing… your bread and butter. Arizona 34 Iowa 27 deal with it!!! And oh yeah… Go Ball State!!!
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And why is this news? I regularly see Hawk fans swearing at and flipping off Cyclone fans. In fact, some guy was hanging out of his car screaming profanities at my wife and flipping her off at a gas station in Ankeny on the morning of the UI/ISU game. He’s lucky I wasn’t there… I see this all the time and I’m sick of it. And people say Nebraska fans are bad. They don’t have anything on the Hawk fans.
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Well, we knew Clone fans would be all over this.
Just like any other fan base, you’re typically deaf & blind to your own. You’re no better than anyone else, except they all keep coming on here and telling us they are. Arrogance in it’s true form.
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A Hawkeye fan casting stones about arrogance, let me write this down.
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You can find no more arrogant and ignorant fans than Hawkeye fans. They think their program is better than Notre Dame and equal to Ohio St and Texas and USC. Simply awful fans and loathed throughout the midwest
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Oh really! I think you have been rolling up the turf and smoking it. Have you ever been to a Michigan game, for example, as a visiting fan? Do you think Ohio State fans are cordial? Iowa fans are loathed throughout Ames, Iowa, which I sure is where your favorite team resides. What I read into your words is a chip on the shoulder, and Loserspeak.
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I live in Husker country so I’ll politely disagree with you.
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I was at the game and found almost all of the UofA fans before the game to be really cool. We were all hanging out at the same bar and they were all really welcoming. After the game there was some bad behavior but mostly from the stutdent body fans and mostly they were saying “Go Home”. Considering what could have been said it really wasn’t that bad. There will always be jerks but for the most part I had a positive expeirance before and during the game.
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I agree every fanbase has their jerks. However, I’ve been to 7-8 different road games as a Cyclone fan and never been treated as terrible as Iowa City. I’ve been to every Iowa/ISU game in Iowa City since ’02. I’ve been threatened to be gang beat, told my mom was going to get raped… the best was “go F farm animals with all your F@% friends.” I’ve been straight up shoved, my 14 yr old sister was called a s!ut. Always so welcoming!
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First, I’m betting most of that never happened.
Secondly, the Iowa/ISU rivalry is heated. The reason you’ve been treated nicer elsewhere is because nobody else cares about ISU. It’s like when Indiana fans come to Iowa City. Really, who cares?
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All of that happened. I have several witnesses, Tavern Hawks who rarely get out of the park don’t know how to handle themselves after several PBR’s. “The reason you’ve been treated nicer elsewhere is becuase nobody cares about ISU.” Classic,
classic hawk talk. The reason I was treated nicer is because I was nice to others. I worked with a Wisconsin Grad and Madison native, who worked within the Big Ten for years. He told me many times it is common knowledge, Hawks are most hated fanbase within Big Ten.
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Oh please, everyone knows the most hated is Ohio St. Grow up and quit trolling.
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Yes, there weren’t all that many bad ones, but the ones that were bad were really awful, juvenile, disruptive halfwits that ruined the experience. We had a Wildcat season ticket holder’s parking pass up by the gate and had great conversations with nice Wildcat fans before the game. They are normally much classier fans than the ASU fans, who are some of the worst, as evidenced by their treatment of Iowa fans at the ’04 fiasco. It was a really great bit of revenge when Iowa turned their season around that year and finished ranked ahead of the Sun Devils. I hope we can do the same this year.
It would be nice to get them in the Rose Bowl and beat them like the proverbial rented mule.
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I was there at the game. Nice seats. 50 yard line 38 rows up, spoiled by an idiot, possibly drunken, possibly mentally challened AZ fan whom the other AZ fans, to their credit, kept trying to quiet down. He was purposely yelling unintelligble stuff in his ears the whole game and just yelling all thte time about nothing, even during breaks and lulls. This “Goober” finally ran out of fuel when Iowa was making the comeback. A couple more AZ fans, another drunk and his igorant dad, tried to pick a fight with my buddy’s son, who would have wiped them both out, I’m sure.
Most AZ fans were cordial to us, but there were some halfwits making comments after the game. They don’t have a winning football tradition down there so they don’t know how to act when they do win. They are so used to getting pounded by USC et. al. for years that they want to go overboard when they win. I can see hard feelings when your team loses, but if you can’t be a good winner, you have a character problem.
Iowa and schools like Nebraska, etc., have winning traditions are rarely act like that to the opposing fans. We make them feel welcome as guests, most of the time, except for a drunk or two now and then.
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AzHawk70…. You said “They are so used to getting pounded by USC…”
Fact: 2009 Arizona 21 USC 17
Go Ball State!!!
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I’m surprised you can type with that big chip on your shoulder.
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Wow. Not one person on here is even trying to disprove my original post, everyone is just casting more stones. I wonder why things never get resolved. Amazing.
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I’ll comment on your first post; well said!
And your second post was even more true.
“wheels”, “AZ Hawk Fan”, and “Sal” are obviously a few of the ‘bad apples’. Would you guys talk to your mother that way? Wait a minute, I’ll answer that myself; yes, because you have no respect and no class.
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You’re having quite the little argument with yourself, aren’t you? Let us know how it turns out.
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How am I a bad apple by saying people shouldn’t touch other people? What is wrong with asking security to take care of things instead of taking things into your own hands? OMG.
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Not everything is about you, Doug.
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I am an Arizona State grad, and have been to three ASU/Mexico Tech games in Tucson. Wild kitty fans are the most abhorrent, despicable fans alive. They amount to nothing in this world and what my friends and I have done at that stadium I might not be proud of, but similar things have happened to us and we responded. I give major props to those who took the abuse and rose above their counterparts. However, the abuse heard about from the Iowa game against Mexico Tech is minimal compared to what is seen and heard of at an ASU/Mex Tech game.
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[...] fairly common at major college football and college basketball venues, they were enough to warrant a note of concern from Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne. His counterpart in Iowa City, Gary Barta, had this to say to Ryan Suchomel of HawkCentral.com this [...]
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I was waiting for a shuttle to take me to my car after the game. Two heavy set, middle aged men with Iowa shirts on cut right into line. When I mentioned that the line began some distance behind me, I was ignored. There was an older disabled man in front of me, and once the line began to move, the two Iowa “men” pushed their way past him and worked their way up the line.
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Those were Iowa State fans who were drunk and wandered into the wrong stadium. Two fans…okay….but I have gone to a lot of Arizona games when I lived in Tucson for three plus years…and rooted for them, except for last weekend. How about the bottles of water the fans threw in the Oregon game and knocked an Oregon cheerleader out cold? I saw a lot of fans like that down there at your games. If you want to take a gander at some of your classy fans Saturday night, check this out: Are you proud of fans like that? I’ve never seen anything like that at Kinnick and I’ve been going to games there since the 1960s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Q4GQTp18I
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Here’s the YouTube footage of some very classy Wildcat fans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Q4GQTp18I
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Ugh. Embarrassing for humanity.
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It’s funny how it takes a lose for Iowa fans to cry about other team’s fans, etc. I vividly recall walking up to the gate last year at the Iowa vs. Iowa State game wearing my UNI Panther football shirt, after Iowa narrowly beat UNI the week before, and many Iowa fans making personal comments toward myself and my father using profanity and other choice words. Stop blaming alcohol and other teams fans. You yourself do the same thing.
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TomCat: I’m guessing this is because you are a pathetic little weasel that no one listens to; no one cares if you exist or not. That is why you have to troll other teams websites. Go crawl back into your hole or go to the next team AZ plays. BTW, Iowa crushes AZ 9 times out of ten, but they fortunately got their 1 last Saturday. If even 1% of AZ fans are like you, I can see why they have problems.
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Nice. I’m glad to see you were able to stick to the facts of game, and stay away from the personal insults. Anyway I hope your mommy doesn’t take away your computer privileges after reading your comment.
Go Ball State!!!
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Its unfortunate for the good Hawk fans out there that so many people that travel, go to, or support the Hawkeyes are what are now commonly referred to as “Tavern Hawks”. I’ve personally seen some of the most vile and atrocious acts performed by these people while in Iowa City at Kinnick or on the road. Imagine having someone threaten to pour a cup of urine on you, dropping a beer over the edge of the stadium rail (10 feet over your head) on to you and your kids, confronting you, wife, and young children and cursing and threatening you. The list goes on and on…all events that have happened in Kinnick.
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ALL OF YOU have got to be kidding me!!!! Obviously, no one who has posted has ever seen the most vile, repulsive,and totally unacceptable opponent taunting that takes place in any college football stadium. All you have to do is go to the Maine/Hawaii game some time. VERY UGLY, but somehow everyone survives and attends the luau right down the street together, walking hand-in-hand. Go figure.
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After reading a few of the comments here I just had to comment and I am an AZ fan. I flew out and attended the game in Iowa City last year and prior to the game, on the ped. mall at the bars, and while tailgating I was treated with so much respect that I actually thought it was strange (Mid-Western hospitality?). Oour group of 10+ was welcomed into the Iowa season-ticket parking lot and many Iowa fans offered to let us set up a tailgate spot right in front of them and even offered us food/drink. I have to say that I have never had as good of a pregame and tailgate experience (magic bus was kind of strange yet cool). The game obviously did not go our way and that was when things changed. During the walk back to the hotel we were verbally abused, had half-empty beer cans thrown our way from across the street, flipped off, etc…and all the “go home” comments that are expected. Just like at AZ, many of these were drunk fans that were drunk after a day of tailgating and then cocky from the win. I had to remember that there are a few bad apples among the masses. In AZ, just like at EVERY other Pac-10 school, the tradition is not what it is in the mid-west and south. Fans can be a bit more rude but come on…deal with it. If you get angry by a fan flicking you off, cursing at you, chanting over-rated, or telling you to go home then you have some issues. I have lost a lot of respect for Iowa fans after reading some of the comments here..You have tradition, please start acting like a big-time school and not one that crys when things don’t go your way. God help Iowa fans if you ever have to play Miami, Florida, Rutgers, Syracuse, or any other school with notoriously rude fans..Sorry for the long story and rant, but I had to say it.
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What I find funny about Greg Byrne’s letter is; “wanting to have one of the loudest stadiums in the country” at Arizona, yeah ok, haha. You didn’t even have 58 thousand people attend Iowa game! At least Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City sells out every game with 70+ thousand people on a weekly basis! What is your average?
Hey Greg Byrne and to all you Arizona fans, if you want to have a really loud stadium, you got to add at least 12 thousand more people to your stadium, then you’ll know what “loud” really means!! Keep on screaming Arizona fans, haha lol
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Not sure if your comment even deserves a reply…UofA’s Stadium ONLY holds 58K and it was a sellout. I am glad you are able to seat 70K in a stadium that seats 70K..what an accomplishment.
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Really ZonaHawk? Really? Autzen has 59,000 capacity and BLOWS KINNICK OFF THE MAP when it comes to noise. I grew up a Buckeye fan and am a Zona Alumnus and have attended games at both Kinnick and Autzen. Kinnick, while loud, isn’t even close to the decibel level at Autzen. That isn’t to say that Kinnick isn’t crazy mind you, it just shows that stadium dynamics can compensate for crowd capacity. Autzen is just as loud as the ‘Shoe, Beaver Stadium and Michigan Stadium, all of which are over 100K!
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And no, Arizona Stadium isn’t as loud as Kinnick but we also don’t have tradition like they do in Iowa City. Football isn’t a way of life in the southwest like it is in the midwest.
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