Kinnick Stadium -- then Iowa Stadium -- opened in 1929. For 87 years, to the best of our knowledge, the turf at midfield has been bare. No logos. No text. Nothing but green grass, whether real or fake, and white lines of paint.

That streak ends on September 2, because after literally a lifetime of complaints from fans, IOWA IS PUTTING A TIGER HAWK AT MIDFIELD.

I thought I understood being an Iowa fan when I started blogging in 2006, and then I started reading message boards. The drive by hardcore fans for two additions to Kinnick Stadium -- a Tiger Hawk at the 50 yard line and a Tiger Hawk on the water tower -- were incessant. It's been eleven years, and that passion for paint hasn't changed one iota. When Kirk Ferentz was asked by Chad Leistikow about a Tiger Hawk at midfield during an interview last week, even he acknowledged the overwhelming, vehement fan support for something that seems so simple. It's an easy PR win for Iowa, a no-downside hat tip to fans who have spent the spring hearing bad news and longing for kickoff in fall.

So let's all enjoy the Midfield Tiger Hawk this year for what it is: A win for the die-hards, for whom there are so few victories in an athletic department that is so often content to take their money and ignore their complaints.

Oh, also, it's a kickass logo.