YouTube/KHAK
College football is a sport filled with long-standing traditions, but there’s always room for a new weekly ritual, especially if it’s as good-hearted as what Iowa Hawkeye fans debuted on Saturday.
The university’s new Stead Family Children’s Hospital was built overlooking the stadium, offering patients views of the game below. With this in mind, the crowd that had gathered to watch Iowa take on Wyoming on Saturday took a moment after the first quarter to turn and wave to the children fighting disease and their families that were watching along with them.
Best new tradition in all of sports? #FTK@UIchildrens 💚 pic.twitter.com/8PU35XhhoN
— University of Iowa (@uiowa) September 3, 2017
It’s a beautiful idea, based in love and empathy, and in its first game appeared to be a huge hit, with tons of fans taking part and earning the Hawkeye faithful a shout out on SportsCenter that you can watch below.
This is why I’m proud to be a Hawkeye fan. This is what it’s all about: pic.twitter.com/JFxCuXbFku
— Devin Keller (@DevinMKeller) September 4, 2017
The new tradition also inspired support on social media.
Hawkeye fans turn and wave to the Children’s Hospital at the end of the first quarter. New tradition this year. Iowa proud. pic.twitter.com/S3FWHEm2vs
— Matt (@twilek7225) September 2, 2017
#FTK@UIchildrenspic.twitter.com/l0zlvIJoHk
— The Iowa Hawkeyes (@TheIowaHawkeyes) September 2, 2017
One of the most valuable things about sports is their ability to bring us together, setting a large group of people in a certain place, for a certain time, all joined together by the common hope of a victory for the home team. For kids in the hospital, it’s easy to imagine that sense of shared experience becoming a rarity, with treatments interrupting the regular cadences of childhood.
With this tradition, Iowa fans get to share their love with some young fans and their families that surely appreciate it.
The Hawkeyes next home game is September 16 against North Texas.
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