I think its more due to the fact that we intermingle with eachother more then any other fanbase. I have lived here my whole life and i know almost as many husker fans as i do Iowa fans. Husker fans are everywhere here. There are probably more Husker apparel on people here UNI which is the 3rd largest college here. That is where the rivalry comes from, it has nothing to do with any other sport other than football. Hawkeyes wanted to be Nebraska in the 90s and they got sick of it being shoved down there throat so every time they get a chance when we lose i heard about it. Even when we were in the big 12 i heard about it from them. But enough jibber jabber back to the hate. Ok Iowa citizens are stupid..............uhhhh i mean....... Iowas women are ugly........ummmm...Iowas weather is crappy.............................The color Yellow is Stupid.
I kind of wonder if the rivalry has a gradient as it goes across Nebraska. I'd like to hear someone from Scottsbluff, North Platte, Alliance etc. chime in on what they think of the Iowa rivalry. I work in Omaha, live in Lincoln, and even 50 miles down the interstate there seems to be a difference. In Omaha their are Hawkeyes in the next cubicle, Lincoln, no so much....I can't help but think it dwindles as you go west.
Whatever the case I do love this thread it's really funny.