TAMPA — As Iowa and Vanderbilt fans scattered throughout Clearwater Beach outside of the Hilton Clearwater Resort and Spa on Monday, a palpable buzz wafted through the Florida breeze.
Despite a much further travel distance, the number of Hawkeye fans on the beach outweighed the Commodore fans by a solid margin. Whether they flocked in from Iowa or currently live in the Tampa area, fans are excited to see the upcoming showdown between No. 23 Iowa and No. 14 Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
As games of three-legged racing, soccer, and a key lime pie eating contest commenced, Iowa fans swarmed the beach and interacted with Hawkeye football players, band members, and cheerleaders.
One fan in particular stood out among the crowd, wearing a large baseball-style cap adorned with Hawkeye logos and pins. Marty Polka, also known as “Moose”, as written on the back of his gold Iowa t-shirt, is a native of Norwalk, Iowa, just outside of Des Moines.
The 60-year-old has been attending Hawkeye football games since he was four years old and has been a season ticket holder for many years. Polka said the ReliaQuest Bowl will be the 11th Iowa game he’s attended this season.
“I never go to Ames, can’t go there,” Polka said. “And I didn’t go to Rutgers, but I’ve been to all the other games this year.”
Polka looks forward to the Hawkeyes’ matchup with Vanderbilt this week, and has especially enjoyed watching the Iowa offense grow this season.
“I just like how the offense is changing, and you can see it’s going to be a lot better,” Polka said. “We used to average like 12 points per game, but now up to 28. The offense still isn’t there, but it’s coming.”
While some Hawkeye fans are attending their first bowl game, others reminisce on their favorite moments from past Iowa bowl games.
Derek Bontrager, a lifelong Hawkeye fan from Kalona, Iowa, said his favorite bowl game he’s attended was the 2010 Orange Bowl, where Iowa defeated Georgia Tech 24-14 on a frigid Miami night.
“You couldn’t buy a sweatshirt in a local Walmart out there,” Bontrager said. “It was like 45 degrees at kickoff.”
Bontrager’s thoughts on the 2025 Hawkeyes were similar to Polka’s — positive. The Kalona native emphasized how close Iowa was to having a special season and potentially making the College Football Playoff.
“This team is much better than the record indicates,” Bontrager said. “If a play or two here to there goes the other way and we’re at 10-2 or 11-1, they’re probably playing in the playoffs.”
Living in the Tampa area as an Iowa fan is Josh Boyer, a Hillsborough County law enforcement officer. Boyer was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but moved to Florida when he was just five years old, carrying his Hawkeye fandom with him.
Boyer said he’s enjoyed watching this year’s Iowa team and is excited for the future, particularly four-star quarterback Tradon Bessinger, who signed with the Hawkeyes in early December.
When it comes to beating Vanderbilt, Boyer said the key for Iowa will be to lean on its sound defense and play complementary football.
“Defense is our main thing,” Boyer said. “So as long as we play good defense and it stays that way, our offense will feed off the defense.”\
Playing strong defense was a consistent key to the game for Hawkeye fans, with Storm Lake, Iowa, native Nate Sutton emphasizing the importance of containing Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia.
“They’ve got to control Pavia,” Sutton said. “That’s the whole game plan. They’ve got to keep that guy in check. If they keep him in check, they’ll win this game.”