Drop the curtain on RVTV.

I'm finally home. I feel like I played a football game. I'm sore, sick, and exhausted, but I had a week I'll never forget.

RVTV reminded me how nice most people are. I need that because a lot of SoundOFF e-mails tend to be negative and nasty; not toward me, just in general. It stuns me how many folks dropped by the RV just to say "hi", and in many cases, to give us food, drinks, or a gift, expecting nothing in return. I wish I had time to thank everyone. (The food was appreciated. Looking back, we ate exactly one mean outside the RV. Everything else was at the table while working on the computer or editor---all seen by Web cam, not to mention Shawn's Magnum PI sleeping poses.)

I also loved male-bonding. Nothing beats being a dad, but every once in a while, it's good to hang out withe fellas, quote movies, make sophomoric jokes, and see who can smell the worst (Chris).

I'm blessed to work with guys like Shawn and Chris. They worked their butts off all week and turned in some memorable stories, many of them funny. Check out Chris as a heckling Hawkeye fan on ISU's campus or Shawn visiting Story County's Hawkeye Hideout by visiting the www.whotv.com video player. I'm proud of those guys, and they were fun to hang with.

I want to be mad at the ISU Marching Band, and Channel 13 reporter Jon Cahill, but I just can't. Punking us into staying up late and then blowing us out of bed at 6 a.m. with music turned up to 11 is funny. Can't be mad if it passes the "got ya, and it's funny" test. Can't believe how many people have asked me if that was staged. The answer: heck no. I wouldn't allow myself to be seen with that many eye boogers. Did you see Chris? He couldn't function.

I loved when Jenny and the boys came to visit. They spent most of the day in our Hot Springs Spa hot tub and had a blast. The kids ate all the cookies and cakes we never got around to. I missed them so much during the week (the kids, not the cookies and cakes); it was the blast I needed to make it to the finish line (especially after that wake-up call).

Jamie Pollard delivered. He put my face on a coin. I vowed not to leave until it happened---especially since Gene Chizik and I started the week with the same number of career head coaching wins, but Gene's one up on me now. (Big thanks to Pollard and ISU for hosting us all week. We had everything we needed, within reason.)

The Friday night ten p.m. news was a blast. Cyclone fans finally started showing spirit after a relatively flat week. Next to no one gave ISU a chance---including me---and look what happened. The ISU people at the RV rally started believing a little as the game approached.
They've seen ISU stun Iowa more than once.

We learned Iowa's not great. Turns out Northern Illinois and Syracuse are both awful. Iowa's schedule will make sure Iowa wins no fewer than six games, and probably eight, but the Hawkeyes have a lot of room for improvement. Can you believe Kirk Ferentz is 3-6 against ISU?

How did ISU get so much better from week two to week three? I have no idea. The Cyclones were a disorganized, mistake-prone mess those first two games. What a difference a confident, poised Bret Meyer makes, not to mention the game's star, Bret Culbertson. I couldn't be happier for a student-athlete. Every time Bret missed a big kick, he faced the media, accepted responsibility and never let it define who he is as a man. This guy deserved a moment, and boy did he have one against Iowa... all 15 points, and the game-winner. Culbertson told Shawn and me he thought about stopping by the RV several times. Good thing he didn't. Whatever Culbertson did worked, and it's nice to see a good guy from Des Moines Lincoln find redemption.

I cleaned out the RV, chugged some Red Bull, and headed back to Des Moines about an hour ago. I'm writing this from home. The nice folks at Great Outdoors RV Store were nice enough to pick up our now "slightly used" rig. They better bring Lysol.

I'm so tired my thoughts are all over the place, and likely somewhat incoherent, but I just mainly wanted to thank all of you who watched, read, or visited RVTV. You made it a fun experience, and we really appreciate it.

See you on SoundOFF... if I get my voice back (cold, not hoarse).

Keith