The moment the Hawkeyes running back set his first toe into the sand at the Outback Bowl’s Beach Party, he was besieged by well-wishers and awestruck Hawkeyes worshippers.
The beach party is an annual event that includes skydivers, performances by the marching bands of the two competing schools in the Outback Bowl, a tug of war between the combatants’ cheerleaders, a key lime pie eating contest and assorted other activities.
Mostly, it’s just a chance for thousands of visiting fans to spend four or five hours drinking, eating and meandering along one of Florida’s most popular beaches.
The players from the two teams are invited, too, and most of them mingled with the masses Tuesday in relative anonymity.
Not Greene. He was escorted by several members of the school’s sports information staff and trailed by camera crews everywhere he went.
The Jonas Brothers wading into a mass of teeny-boppers couldn’t have aroused more attention and affection.
“Good luck, Shonn,” Iowa fans shouted.
“Thank you, Shonn.”
“We love you, Shonn.”
Greene’s only objective seemed to be to make his way from the Hilton Hotel out to get a close-up view of the Gulf of Mexico. It was only about 100 yards — a distance Greene has traversed with regularity this fall — but he not only had to weave his way between the beach umbrellas but also had to push his way through thousands of adoring fans. Penn State’s defense provided less resistance.
The fans were snapping pictures frantically, pointing to their friends and shouting “That’s Shonn Greene.” Many just wanted to reach out and touch him. Behind him streamed an impromptu band of paparazzi.
When Greene finally reached the ocean, a few dozen more fans popped up in the shallows and looked up at their hero as he gazed out over the horizon. Some of them even had cameras. (Surely, they didn’t take them in swimming, did they?)
On his way back from the gulf, Greene exchanged greetings with senior guard Seth Olsen, who might attract almost as much attention from pro scouts as Greene. None of the fans seemed to notice the 305-pound Olsen.
Finally, Greene ended his excursion by stepping onto the stage near the Hilton and accepting a key to the city of Clearwater along with teammate Andy Brodell. The mayor, in presenting the key, made some mention of what the weather was like back in Ames. An aide finally nudged him and pointed out he had the wrong Iowa university.
“Oh, and the weather is just as bad back in Iowa City, too,” he noted.
Even that faux pas barely fazed the Iowa fans, who outnumbered South Carolina rooters at the event, possibly by as much as three to one.
When Judy Nelson of Orangeburg, S.C., got up on the stage to lead the Gamecocks fans in a cheer, her efforts were drowned by a chorus of “Let’s go, Hawks.”
“I hope the last person to leave Iowa turned out the lights,” one security guard observed.
A gentleman from Canada who just happened to be on vacation in Clearwater stumbled into the middle of the revelry and was stunned by it.
“I can’t believe the energy of all this,” he said, looking around at all the black and gold garb. “All these people came all the way from Iowa for a football game? Up in Canada, we love our hockey.”
But in Iowa, they mostly just love their Shonn Greene.
Don Doxsie can be contacted at (563) 383-2280 or ddoxsie@qctimes.com.
Kevin wrote on Dec 31, 2008 12:30 PM: