Big day for Hawkeyes and Cullens

My bride Mary and I celebrated our 40th anniversary on Oct. 19. That isn’t remarkable; lots of people celebrate 40 years of marriage. But our wedding happened to occur at the same time as the biggest football game in University of Iowa history.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon as we marched down the aisle of St. Mary’s Catholic Church here in Storm Lake, headed to the reception at Buena Vista University’s Siebens Forum. The Forum had just opened a few months earlier and our reception, if not the first, was one of the first in the new facility. We held it there because I was employed in the public relations department at BVU at the time.

Unfortunately, our wedding and reception occurred at the same time that the Iowa Hawkeyes, ranked #1 in the nation, were playing #2-ranked Michigan Wolverines on national television. It was a barn-burner of a game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, living up to the hype.

It also meant that our reception turned into more of a buffet and open bar for many of our guests who spent most of their time watching the game on TV in the Centennial Room. I may have snuck down there a couple times myself.

Iowa trailed 10-9 with 5:27 to go in the game and had the ball on their own 22-yard line. Quarterback Chuck Long drove the Hawkeyes to the Michigan 12-yard line with two seconds to go in the game. Then Rob Houghtlin kicked a 29-yard field goal with time expiring to win the game, 12-10. He never had to buy a drink in Iowa City that night. And nobody at our reception had to buy a drink either.

It was the only time Iowa has played in a #1 vs. #2 game and many fans believe this was the greatest game in Iowa football history.

Oh, did I mention we were cutting the cake when all this was happening?

Megan Jones, our state representative and assistant Buena Vista County attorney, commiserated with us in a note after she saw our anniversary announcement in the paper last month.

“My parents share an anniversary with you,” Jones wrote. “Hopefully you did not get married at the same time because their wedding ceremony was empty as everyone was in their cars listening to the Iowa-Michigan game. That final play is on YouTube and they’ve made us watch the reason their wedding was almost unattended! Ha!”

Iowa went on to compile a 10-2 record, winning the Big 10 championship and played in the Rose Bowl, where the Hawkeyes lost to UCLA 45-28 and finished the season ranked #9. Michigan had a 10-1-1 record, beat Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl and finished the season ranked #2.

And John and Mary Cullen? We went on to make Storm Lake our home, raise two wonderful kids, enjoy lifelong friends, create this newspaper, and live happily ever after.