The text message
It was January 1st of 2013 and the games on New Year’s day had kicked off when Seth sent Mike a text message: “Would you be up for some random college football road trips in the future?” Mike’s simple reply of “Yes” confirmed the mutual interest and the idea was born. Well, kind of.
The back story
Mike had been an Iowa Hawkeye fan & season ticket holder for several years in the mid-2000's. Seth had Cyclone season tickets for close to 20 years and graduated from Iowa State. They had each been to countless games watching their own teams and even spent a handful of Saturdays together when one of them had an extra ticket to a game. From the “tornado game” in Ames when Iowa State upset Colorado in 2005 to the 2008 game at Iowa when the Hawkeyes kicked a late field goal to upset #3 Penn State, the two had always enjoyed college football. But the idea of being neutral fans at a college football game where they really had no rooting interest in either team was different.
The first road trip
The morning of Thursday, October 10th, 2013 started a three-day, 1,300-mile journey to see three games in three days. Thursday night it was Rutgers at Louisville. Friday it was an hour drive to see Temple and Cincinnati. Then Saturday was a chance to see #1 Alabama at Kentucky. The idea was just to enjoy some football and friendship for a weekend, but the pageantry of college football soon took over. No longer was Mike and Seth dressed in their Hawkeye & Cyclone gear while knowing every word of their schools fight songs. This was something new. A new team, a new stadium, new traditions, and the opportunity to watch a college football game without the emotions of a win or a loss. This was Mission: College Football.
Meet the guys
Seth & Mike met in high school, worked together at Dairy Queen, and spent the first few years at the same college. Now they live a few hours apart (still both in Iowa), yet try to get their wives and kids together as often as possible and always schedule a few weekends each fall for a few college football games.
The Map (See the map of teams we've seen)