MINNEAPOLIS — Pride for the state of Iowa runs deep and so does the love for the ISU Cyclones and the Iowa Hawkeyes. The one thing to bring that Cy-Hawk rivalry together is Monday Night Football.
Fans from the state couldn’t be prouder to see the success of George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Brock Purdy, and Kene Nwangwu in the NFL regardless of their ties to either university. Kittle and Purdy brought their San Francisco 49ers to Minneapolis Monday night to face Hockenson and Nwangwu of the Vikings at US Bank Stadium.
Despite all the accolades and legendary success between Hawkeyes Hockenson and Kittle, and Cyclone Purdy, Monday night was a night for Iowans to be proud and fans let everyone know about it.
The historic start for Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant, has Cyclone fans fired up.
“I think you have to be a believer, right. The Cyclones seem to mature and get better as they go into the pros. So it’s fun to see them play. I don’t think anybody expected him to be this phenomenal, but it’s awesome to watch, right. The confidence isn’t wavering, you’ve got to love it,” said Jeremy Boka of Altoona.
The ties to Iowa continue onto the sidelines as recent Iowa grad Elizabeth Weidner is a Viking cheerleader. “Of course I’m gonna cheer for T.J. Hockenson, how can I not, but I hope that Kittle does a good job too.”
The bright lights at US Bank Stadium brought out a legendary Hawkeye — Dallas Clark.
“I think T.J. has done phenomenal coming from Detroit and Purdy has taken the NFL world by storm and stay calm and collected through the roller coaster ride really shows his maturity. Obviously, Kittle is Kittle and just a wild man and unbelievable weapon for Purdy,” said Clark.
T.J. Hockenson shined bright with 11 catches and 86 yards, while Vikings teammate and former Cyclone Kene Nwangwu had 41 return yards. George Kittle had five catches and over 70 yards. Brock Purdy was 21 for 30 for 272 yards and a touchdown, but two costly interceptions helped the Vikings to a 22-17 victory.
In all, the game was a great win for the state of Iowa.
