Paint the tower -- The petition

This might've been done before, I can't really remember. But I do know that the bleechy white water tower outside of Kinnick Stadium has long been considered a missed opportunity by Iowa internet fans to help identify the UI, Kinnick Stadium and Iowa football.

During Monday's session at the Big Ten media days, Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said he'd sign a petition to get the tower painted something Hawkeye, anything Hawkeye or Iowa. Here's a link to that story.

“If a petition gets signed, I'd join the fans,” Barta said Monday at the Big Ten media days. “I've been a proponent of putting a logo on the water tower for some time. I've learned that it's not that simple, that there are some groups in the community who don't want a logo up there.”

Proving once again that Hawkeyes fans are some of the most internet savvy bunches out there, here's the petition. As of Thursday morning, 1,334 signed, including me. Why not?

In a discussion with poster MF on the Barta piece, he brings up several good, logical points on why it's not painted. His best point was money. It would cost money for this, an expense that wouldn't look too great right now in the face of layoffs at UI hospitals.

If the person who started this petition reads this, please, drop me an e-mail -- marc.morehouse@gazcomm.com. I'd love to talk.

The photo above is from e-mail Dan Pilgrim who writes, "Let's just put a giant helmet on the thing."

Here's a link to a photo from Bruce Johnson of Cedar Rapids. I also posted the picture below, even though the gold "I" is kind of small.

Bruce's son, Zach, is attending graduate school at the University of Idaho, which has athletic color schemes similar to the Hawkeyes' black and gold. At U of Idaho, the school has a white water tower with a big, block gold "I" on it. If you go to the link, it's kind of small in the picture, but you can get the idea.

Outside of money and the message that would send in these economic times, there is no logical reason to keep Iowa's identity off the tower. (Maybe helicopters landing at the hospital? Just thought of that one.)

I know you Hawkeyes can internet with the best. If you have a Photoshopped water tower design, feel free to e-mail me at the e-mail above.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: I e-mailed Derek Yoder, the gentleman who put together the online petition, to see what prompted this and what he hoped it would accomplish. Also, I asked what he'd put on the tower.

Here's his response:

"Basically what prompted it was the comment from (UI athletics director Gary) Barta on media day about lending his support if a petition were started, so I checked around in the hawkeye forums, figuring that if one had been started it would have been posted there - but I didn't see anything so I started one up.  I posted it in the forums hoping it would get some legs and emailed it to some of my fellow hawkeye fans/friends and hoped to get it rolling.  I wasn't sure if it would take off, but as I write this we're over 1500 signatures in just over 2 full days of being up.  I've always been a huge hawk fan and graduated from the UI college of pharmacy in May and that was always one thing that seemed to come up at various times in discussions -  how people felt it needed to be painted.

As far as plans with it, I haven't really thought about how long I'm going to let it go before I would eventually close it.  I think it has a lot of potential to gain momentum through the season once people really start thinking about football, and as word gets around that it is there to sign.  I think part of where to go with it also depends on how successful it is...

I understand that times are tough all around, and that painting the water tower is not a huge priority at this exact moment, but to my knowledge there has never been anything to show how many people were actually in support of painting the tower.  I think most people would be willing to put anything hawkeye-related up there.  Personally, I am a big fan of leaving the tower white and painting "IOWA CITY" but replacing the "o" with a tigerhawk (in gold lettering/logo with a black outline) facing the stadium and possibly the UIHC logo on the side facing the hospital if that would appease them.  I think this design would help promote both the University AND

the town - it isn't all that uncommon to run into someone in another state and have them say "The U of Iowa, where is that?  Des Moines??"  Especially with the leaps and bounds we have taken in national television coverage over the last 10-15 years, it would provide a nice "cut-scene" for all the broadcasts that would help people in other markets to better recognize the school/town, which is never a bad thing.

Thanks for the promotion in the blog - the more, the merrier...If you have anymore questions, just let me know!!"

EDIT: Reader and Hawkeye fan Andy Tuttle sent me a picture this morning from Purdue.

Et tu, Purdue?