The Cy-Hawk Trophy

Tomorrow at 3:30, Iowa and Iowa State will battle for maybe the most frequently redesigned trophy amongst all of the storied college football rivalry trophies, the Cy-Hawk Trophy. In the past, the trophy was kind of boring:

But last year, the Iowa Corn Growers unveiled one of the greatest bits of corporate propaganda ever:

"I think they can do better," Gov. Terry Branstad chuckled Monday when asked about the trophy. "I'm sure they're going to take another look at that."
Critics seem to find the trophy of a farm family around a bushel of corn and a corn stalk a little bit, well, corny. Since its unveiling Friday at the Iowa State Fair, the trophy has been widely panned and compared to a garage sale leftover or a fireplace mantel centerpiece.
Newspaper and television websites have been filled with people unhappy about the new trophy, which was sponsored by the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Former coach and Hawkeyes legend Hayden Fry said the trophy is "nice-looking," but it doesn't relate to football.
"The farmer, family and corn is all wonderful, but I don't really get the relationship to a football game," he told The Des Moines Register.
Others were less diplomatic.
"Gosh, you don't suppose it's advertising?" asked Bob Uetz, an Ames High School teacher who helped renew the football series in 1977. "That thing is awful, my God."
Mike Ellis, who makes trophies for American Awards in Des Moines, said the new Cy-Hawk trophy was "a little weird for a sports trophy."
"Seems like something you'd see at the state fair," he said.

So this year we have something looking like this:

 Seriously, if I were an Iowan, I'd bring back the original.  I do love the ridiculousness of last year's trophy.  Maybe people would have appreciated it more if somebody from the government was featured giving the farmer a direct payment. 

And if you missed it last night, Cincinnati beat Pitt for the also awful Paddlewheel trophy.