The Hlog

Not-So-Mellow Yellow

Had you just rolled into downtown San Antonio Friday afternoon, you might think the University of Iowa was getting ready to hold an intra-squad game here. Is there a second team involved in Saturday's Alamo Bowl? The game is a sellout. Where are all those Texas fans who bought tickets to the game, lost in Poteet?

Poteet is small town about 40 miles from downtown San Antonio. I just wanted to use the name "Poteet" in print.

Everywhere you roamed on and off the Riverwalk Friday, it was Hawkeye fans, Hawkeye fans, Hawkeye fans. They love to travel to Iowa's bowl games, they love to travel Iowa's bowl games together, they love to be together when they get to Iowa's bowl sites, and by the looks of things, they don't leave their hotel rooms without wearing garb identifying themselves as Hawkeye supporters. The predominant color here, at least until Texas fans presumably start arriving Friday afternoon and evening and add some burnt orange to the canvas,  is yellow.

Now, Iowa's school colors are black and gold. But somewhere in time, yellow replaced gold. I'm no fashion expert, but yellow strikes me as being  louder than gold. Yellow is about as subtle as a Texas chainsaw massacre.  You wouldn't wear a yellow suit to peace negotiations between two warring nations, unless your message was "Our nukes are bigger than your nukes."  You wouldn't wear yellow to a funeral, unless the deceased was a parakeet. 

Yellow is an aggressive color. Maybe that's the point. It's also worn by  USC and Michigan. USC calls it gold, too, and Michigan calls it maize. No one wants to be called yellow.

I look down on San Antone from my hotel room and I see yellow. Sure, it's just the sign at the Denny's across the street. But I'm going for a theme here.

Poteet. Say it out loud. It's fun.   |    Login or Join to Post Comments