AMES, Iowa
Stadium experience: Jack Trice Stadium is just a patch of grass with concrete stands on each side and a glittering football complex in one end zone. But still, it's a great atmosphere, thanks to the Cyclone fans. With no football tradition, Iowa State people still show up and cheer loudly. Even on cold days, the tailgating is supreme. Ten minutes before kickoff, you'll think the crowd is scant. Then here come the Cyclone faithful, filling up the stadium.
Where to eat: No Big 12 town is as closely associated with a single restaurant as Ames is with Hickory Park. You don't think of barbeque and Iowa as any kind of tandem, but it works. Hickory Park opened in 1970 and quickly became a Big Eight tradition that continues today. Last time I was there, it was Halloween weekend, and the staff – and a good many of the patrons – were in costume. It was grand fun.
What to do: Not a lot. I love Ames and I love Iowa, but everything in Ames revolves around the university. If you need something besides the ballgame, make the drive to Iowa, pull off I-35 in Madison County and visit the bridges that Clint Eastwood made famous.
Why go? This is a little like the West Virginia trip, in that you get the feeling of being somewhere different. On the 30-mile drive from Des Moines to Ames sits an I-35 mileage sign that reads “Minneapolis 230.” When you care how far it is to Minneapolis, you know you're in a strange land. The game-day experience is similar. It's not Tennessee or Texas. But it's a place where they care about football even when they've been given little reason to care.
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