Fry Is Keeping His Hawkeyes Under Wraps

Some 75 fans braved blustery winds and an icy drizzle Thursday afternoon to watch the Iowa football team depart for the warmer climate of Southern California and the Rose Bowl.

“Heck, I’d go anywhere they show,” said Bob Knoll of Cedar Rapids. “It doesn’t matter what they’re doing, I’ll be there. I just came to try to see them off and wish them good luck.”

But Iowa Coach Hayden Fry wasn’t letting anyone see--much less talk to--his Pasadena-bound Hawkeyes. The players and their families were bused from Iowa City, 20 miles away, directly to a waiting United Airlines charter at the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport while fans and reporters were kept several hundred feet away.

Fry believes that keeping his No. 4-ranked team from “distractions” will give them a better chance at beating UCLA in the New Year’s Day game.

Fans gathered at the airport seemed to feel that Fry does indeed have the key to a winning combination.

“I say it’ll be 38-17, if Hayden doesn’t run up the score,” Knoll predicted.

“I would say about 32-17,” was the prediction of Virginia Straley of Cedar Rapids, who was decked out in Old Gold and Black from head-to-toe.

Also predicting a Hawkeye victory was Ron Kern, a well-known Fry look-alike in eastern Iowa.

Kern’s white duck pants, long black Iowa jacket, sun glasses and Amana VIP golf tournament cap attracted plenty attention at the airport, especially from small children.

“I’m not Hayden,” Kern told a little girl. “He wrote me a letter and said he wants to meet me but I’ve never met the man.”

Kern is not going to the Rose Bowl, but many of the fans at the airport said they will be making the trip in the next few days.

“I want to go with them,” Mrs. Straley said, motioning towards the airplane. Instead, Mrs. Straley and five family members will be driving west.