It felt like it was a typical game day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The concession stand was open. The fans stood up for the playing of the national anthem. The band was going and the cheer squad was in formation. When the opposing starting lineups were introduced, there were loud boos. When their Hawkeyes were introduced, the crowd roared.
There were the typical fan engagement activities such as the dance cam, T-shirt giveaway, sinking a putt to win a prize and the Panchero’s Burrito Lift.
It was everything you could ask for even though the Iowa women’s basketball team was 810 miles away in Dallas. It was playing for the national championship against LSU in search of its first-ever title.
In order to give the fans the vicarious experience of a lifetime, Carver was opened free to the public to watch the game on the jumbotron. Originally, there were plans to host a watch party to witness Iowa’s eventual upset over South Carolina on Friday, but bad weather forced the event to be canceled.
On Sunday, the sunshine was out, it was in the 50s outside, and the fans poured in by the thousands to witness history.
The first quarter can only be characterized as a period to get the juices flowing. For every Iowa basket, the crowd was on their feet and cheering with thunder. The…
