Iowa’s governor was among those who voiced their displeasure with the design of a new Cy-Hawk Trophy which was quickly abandoned and replaced with the interim trophy used for Saturday’s game.
The Iowa Corn Growers are sponsoring a new trophy for the series and their initial design featured a farm family clustered around a bushel of corn. Branstad says the trophy used Saturday, with its square base and football on a pedestal, was a good interim step, although the football fell off during the post-game celebration.
“Certainly the fans seem to be pretty happy with the way it was done,” Branstad says. Shortly after the much-maligned trophy was unveiled at the State Fair, Branstad said he was “sure” the Corn Growers would regroup. “I just said, ‘I think they can do better,'” Branstad told reporters this morning. “And they are going to do better.”
Branstad’s lieutenant governor, Kim Reynolds, is following the controversy, too. “I think they’re asking for input on this next one, right?” Reynolds said this morning. Branstad quipped, “Input’s good,” and then he started laughing. Reynolds added, “I think they’re going to take a different route.” So what is the governor’s input?
“Something that’s related to football,” Branstad told reporters, laughing. Branstad, a graduate of the University of Iowa, called Iowa State’s triple-overtime victory this past Saturday a “heck of a game.” The Cyclone players rushed to the Hawkeye’s side of the field at the end of that third overtime to seize the trophy. In the midst of the on-field celebration, the football on top of the temporary trophy fell off.