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Miami Notebook
By KEN FUSON
Register Staff Writer
01/01/2003

Miami, Fla. - More than the University of Iowa football team has something at stake in Thursday's Orange Bowl.

Gov. Tom Vilsack says the entire state does, too.

Vilsack, who's here for the game, said the state will benefit in three ways from the U of I's gridiron success this season.

First, "it gives us a venue and an opportunity to talk to companies with Iowa ties, like Ryder Trucks."

Second, "it creates a sense of pride within the state that gives young people a reason to say, "I'm from Iowa." "

Third, "it gives an opportunity for the rest of the nation to learn about Iowa. When 40,000 people come down here to support their team, I'd say that suggests something about the pride we feel."

By the way, Vilsack said he tried to contact California Gov. Gray Davis to place a friendly wager on the outcome, but he never heard back.

"Must not be too confident," Vilsack said.

Those recount jokes just won't go away

Look for U of I sophomore Jason Lees, 20, of Eldridge during the Orange Bowl telecast. He's been plotting his strategy for getting on TV.

He settled on this sign:

Can I get a recount? Banks for Heisman.

Someone else suggested this:

Welcome to Iowa City, Fla.

Population 50,000.

Team asked to bring special U.S. flag to game

Members of the 132nd Fighter Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard hope the Hawks will bring a U.S. flag to the Orange Bowl field that was flown over northern Iraq in an F-16.

"It would be a great tribute, especially for the men and women from Iowa that have watched this season's heroics on the field on the Armed Forces Television Network," said Tech Sgt. Jeff VerSteegh.

VerSteegh sent the flag to Miami with representatives of KCCI-TV in Des Moines. It was presented Tuesday to offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe and several players.

O'Keefe and the players said they would take the flag, and the request, to head coach Kirk Ferentz.

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Proud parents have sizable Hawk wardrobe

Following a college football team can be an expensive proposition for the parents of a player. Each player is given six tickets for the bowl game, but relatives must pay for their own travel arrangements.

"It don't matter," said Rich Pagel of Plainfield, whose son Derek is a senior defensive back.

Pagel and his wife, Jeanette, wore matching Hawkeye baseball warmup jackets, with "Pagel" scrolled across the back and their son's No. 25. That's just a sample of their Hawk attire.

"I've got long-sleeve shirts and I've got turtlenecks and I've got short-sleeve shirts," Jeanette said.

"But no long underwear," her husband added. "I gave all my long underwear to ISU fans."

Miami musings on holiday visitors

D.B. Cooley of the Miami Herald had this to say about New Year's Eve visitors to Miami:

"Yes, the bright lights and complicated rhythms of a city like Miami can knock many a visitor down to amateur status. But you're at a special disadvantage if there's more cornfields than cafes around where you live."

And this: "But it's not just the hayseed from Iowa, or the ploughboy from Kansas, that tends to fall into the amateur category, like a corncob down a silo. If there's one night of the year when the rookie manages to join the party, and the uninitiated becomes over-initiated, it's New Year's Eve."

Other than that, Happy New Year.