Hawkeye fans in Kinnick Stadium wave to kids at Stead Family Children's Hospital. | facebook.com/iowahawkeyes/photos/a.10151666660791574/10154916130551574/
Hawkeye fans in Kinnick Stadium wave to kids at Stead Family Children's Hospital. | facebook.com/iowahawkeyes/photos/a.10151666660791574/10154916130551574/
For many, the highlight marking the return to college football for stadium-packing fans didn’t play out on the field.
“The wave… best college tradition,” Pam Berkland posted on Twitter following the No. 18 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes’ 34-6 win over Indiana at Kinnick Stadium in the Big 10 opener for both teams.
Four years after the tradition commenced in earnest, fans sprang back into action on the night of Sept. 4, joining players from both teams in turning to the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital at the end of the first quarter to wave to kids receiving treatment at the nearby hospital, Iowa News Now reported.
In truth, the rallying cry never really stopped, with fans joining in to do it virtually during the 2020 season when fans were not allowed in Kinnick because of lingering COVID-19 concerns, according to Iowa News Now.
The first wave took place on Sept. 2, 2017, as the Hawkeyes faced off against the Wyoming Cowboys.