Rivalry Week: Birth of a Rivalry?

With Nebraska entering the Big Ten this season, the Big Ten is banking on the beginning of a rivalry between Nebraska and Iowa. As two of the largest corn producing states, the hope is that the competition from the corn fields will move to the football stadiums. The Big Ten is taking this seriously, even coming up with a name for the game and providing a trophy.

It will be called The Heroes Game:

The schools are taking this "Heroes" tag seriously. They plan to recognize one Iowa citizen and one Nebraskan for an extraordinary act prior to each year's game. Friends, neighbors or co-workers can nominate people for the heroes distinction, and those chosen will be honored on the field during the game and will have their name and hometown etched on the Heroes Game trophy. The schools also plan to use proceeds from the game to benefit the Iowa and Nebraska chapters of the American Red Cross.

So already they're creating a tradition for this trophy, and it's a great one. Having lived in the Midwest for the last five years, there seemed to be a greater sense of others. I have no doubt that this trophy will inspire some great deeds.

For Iowa, this is their third trophy game. I'm pretty sure every Big Ten team has at least a couple. For Nebraska, this might be something new. They sort of had one with Missouri, but it wasn't important. This could be important:

"I think we had a trophy with Missouri, but frankly I don't think I've ever seen the trophy and I don't know what it's called," Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne said. "This is new to us, and I think it's a good thing." 

"We have had a couple of what might be called rivalry games in Nebraska, and some of them were maybe not so healthy," Osborne said. "They were not of our choosing. Somebody decided we were their rival, and as a result it got a little bit nasty at times. I never did understand that. ... 

"[Iowa and Nebraska] come from similar states, with high-level character, good work ethics, a lot of agriculture and good family values. So I think it will be very good."

 A lot of those similarities begin with the reliance on corn. These are blue collar states where agriculture is integral to their economies. Along with Illinois and Minnesota, these states account for over 50 percent of the country's corn production. Iowa is the leading producer and Nebraska is the third largest. They're a little corn crazy, and that could extend to the game.

They do have some history. Iowa went into Nebraska in 1980, where the Cornhuskers thoroughly kicked the Hawkeyes' asses 57-0. The following year, a motivated Hawkeyes team got revenge, defeating the Cornhuskers 10-7. That game marks a historical basis for a rivalry to build:

Traditions don’t just happen. They have to start somewhere. They have to be earned. 

As Iowa prepares to play Nebraska this Friday, the first game in which both schools are members of the Big Ten, it’s a good time to remember the 30th anniversary of another Iowa-Nebraska game.

 For this rivalry to really take off, the players have to buy into it. The potential intensity in the stands and between the schools is for naught if the players don't play with the same intensity. Luckily, it seems that the intensity and the competitive spirit will be there. Iowa cornerback and Nebraska native, Shaun Prater, had this to say:

"I always used to hear stories," Prater said. "One team used to claim that the other team was cheating, they were watching their practices. It's a rivalry that's going to be a good one. We're pretty close to one another. Nebraska joining the Big Ten, I think it was a great idea. 

"I'm looking forward to playing those guys."

Likewise, Tim Marlowe, a Nebraska receiver, who might be on the opposite Prater, is looking forward to the game:

“We play for us, we play for our team, we play for our coaches, our families, the state of Nebraska,” Marlowe said. “We have a lot of pride. We still have a chance to win 10 games. We have a great Iowa team coming in. We hope to beat them, get to a good bowl game and hopefully end the year 10-3.”

This has the potential to be a very spirited game. These two schools come from very spirited states and I expect that they'll be competing against each other in many different ways. This game has the potential to build into a tremendous rivalry. All the aspects you need are there: the tradition, the history, the intensity. This could be the start of something great.