There's a good reason scalping is legal in Iowa.
No. 1 teams don't visit very often at night. When they do, the University of Iowa loses. Ordinance? We don't need no stinking ordinance.
The combination of a legally casual attitude and No. 1 Ohio State coming to town for a night game has turned Iowa City into a scalper's haven.
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| It will be party time outside newly renovated Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night. (Getty Images) |
Where's Monte Hall when you really need him?
Then again, who cares? The country's 272nd-largest metro area is off the chain. The home of the ACT is N-U-T-S. They're calling it the biggest game in Kinnick Stadium history.
Assuming all the fans descending on Kinnick get into Kinnick. That's where the sports bars come in.
"We're expecting it to be the busiest day of the year," said Jeremy Brade, general manager at Slugger's out on the Coralville Strip on Highway 6. "I think this town is going to be turned upside down. I heard one customer say: For one night of the year all eyes are going to be on Iowa City."
For better or worse. No. 13 Iowa's only other true night home game came 14 years ago against No. 1 Miami, a 24-7 loss. The cover of darkness and Grade A opponents has not been a good combination. Iowa is 0-9-1 all time against No. 1 teams, 0-3 at Kinnick.
Still, the ticket market is through the roof (of tricked out, air-conditioned John Deere combines, no doubt).
A quick check of stubhub.com produced either Robert Gallery's lunch tab at McDonald's or the asking price of a parking pass in lot 2F.
Either way it's $298.
The arrival of Buckeye Nation jacks up the prices even further. Take it from us, we saw the Buck Nuts gather in Austin earlier this month. There were 4,000-5,000 in the stands. Many more than that, it seemed, were sitting around tailgates watching the game on TV.
