But one thing is likely.

The Becker Family

If the Hawkeyes do manage to make it three consecutive postseason appearances under Coach Kirk Ferentz, Mary and Todd Becker and their two adult children, all of Cedar Rapids, probably won’t be doing any exotic traveling when the game is being played.

The Beckers found a different sort of way to watch the Hawkeyes close their season last Jan. 2.

When Iowa lost to Southern California, 38-17, in the Orange Bowl, the Becker family was watching the game on TV at—of all places—a military base in France.

The story began long before the Hawkeyes tied for the Big Ten Conference championship with an 8-0 record and finished the regular season at 11-1.

"We were planning our vacation," explained Mary Becker, a kindergarten teacher at Trinity Lutheran School in Cedar Rapids. "The summer before, Todd (a Cedar Rapids attorney) and I had seen Monte Carlo while we were on a cruise, and Todd wanted us to go back with our kids."

"It’s rare for us to be gone at that time of year, and we arranged the family trip before the Hawkeyes did what they did last season—which was kind of unbelievable," Mary Becker said.

"They were in the Orange Bowl, and Justin was pretty upset that we’d have to leave the country when Iowa was there. Our trip was from Dec. 28, 2002 to Jan. 4, 2003.

"Before we went, we thought we’d make sure we could watch the game on TV somewhere. We called ahead to Monte Carlo and were told, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s an American sports bar here.’

"Well, when we got there, Justin went to investigate that, and they didn’t know anything about American college football. All they cared about was soccer, which is their football."

"We were pretty disappointed to find out we weren’t going to be able to watch the game," Mary said. "A couple of days went by and—it was actually my idea—we called the U.S. Embassy.

"The day before the game, Todd called there and said we really wanted to find some way to watch the game. He asked if there might be a military installation that might have a connection to it.

"A few phone calls were made, and a general got back to us and said, ‘I’m going to give you the name of a guy who is the security officer of an Air Force base in the small town of Fos, near Marseille, in France.

"We left our hotel in Monte Carlo at about 9:30 p.m. and drove in the dark through the mountains, arriving at the small town at 1 a.m. We got a hamburger—which was quite an experience, too, because nobody spoke much English—and we had the cell phone number of a man who was supposed to meet us there."

Another problem.

"The man overslept and had his cell phone turned off, so he wasn’t getting our calls," Mary explained. "We were nervous about that. He called apologetically and said he had turned the phone off. But he said, ‘I’m going to meet you there.’ So we met in this little town in the middle of the night and he drove us out in the country on dirt roads to this fenced military base.

"We had to give up our passports and sign in. They said there were nuclear weapons on the site. We learned later that it was a French base that cooperated with the American military."

"There weren’t many people in the room," Mary said. "Our guide who let us in was from Colorado Springs, and he happened to be an Ohio State fan. He even invited us to come back and watch the Ohio State game [for the national championship] the next night, but we didn’t.

After a 10-10 tie at halftime, USC took control of the Orange Bowl game and turned it into no contest. No amount of joy about being able to see the game on TV in France and no amount of beer could make it an entirely happy experience for the Beckers.

"With the game starting at 2 a.m. and ending at about 6 a.m., we didn’t get back on the road until 7 a.m.," Mary said. "We hadn’t had any sleep, and I drove back. I’m always the designated driver."

Like last season, Mary is attending a number of Iowa home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City this season.

But it’s for the purpose of working, not tailgating or watching much of the football action.

"I work as a fund-raiser for our church," she explained. "We have a crew of 12 to 18 people who are assigned to take tickets. Todd would rather stay at home and watch the games on TV.

And if Iowa, which is off to a 2-0 start heading into Saturday’s game at Iowa State, should go to a bowl game following this season?

"I think we’ve learned our lesson," Mary said. "I know one thing—I don’t think Justin will go with us if there’s another December-January vacation."