Iowa’s new ritual — “The Wave”
Hawkeyes salute the children’s hospital next door between quarters
IOWA CITY, IOWA» Nine-year-old Maddox Smith can no longer play football, not after being treated for a golf ball-sized brain tumor and a rare genetic disorder that caused tumors to grow on his nerve cells.
Maddox has spent many, many days in the hospital. Like dozens of other children slogging through long weeks of recovery, he also has been part of college football’s newest and most heartwarming tradition.
“The Wave” has become a national sensation, with nearly everyone in 70,585-seat Kinnick Stadium turning to wave to the pediatric patients watching from University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital — a 12-story building that sits right across the street — at the end of the first quarter. The gesture was born through a combination of limited space, social media and the “Kid Captain” initiative, a partnership with the Iowa football program designed to highlight the youngsters fighting so bravely nearby.
“We were looking for ways to do something special,” said Cheryl Hodgson, the communications director for the hospital. “It’s so interesting to us to see how ‘The Wave’ has captivated everybody.”
The Hawkeyes honored Maddox before a recent game through the “Kid Captain” program. He got a jersey, tickets, a standing ovation at midfield and, most important, a welcome distraction after years spent fighting for his life.
“It’s just a way to give back, to make them feel part of this family that we have every Saturday,” said his father, Michael Smith. “I think it’s great for the whole country to see this.”
The story of “The Wave” actually dates to 1919, when the university opened its original children’s hospital at the location of the current one.
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics opened close to the pediatric facility in 1928. Kinnick Stadium was built a year later, separated from the children’s facility by a tiny two-way street.
Since few could have envisioned how much college football and the needs of the hospitals would grow in the decades to follow, sharing such a small footprint didn’t seem like a problem. Kinnick Stadium went through multiple renovations and expansions over the years. But the side of the field adjacent to the hospital had to be left alone because there simply wasn’t any room.
When it came time to build a new children’s hospital, designers were forced to get creative because the facility had to remain connected to the school’s other nearby hospital.
Thus, a new hospital — with pristine views of the field — was opened in February.
According to Scott Turner, the executive director of the hospital, designers accentuated the locational quirk with what they call the “press box,” an event and game-watching space for patients and their families, on the top floor.
On game days, patients and their families can watch the game and, after the first quarter, wave back.
“We know that providing distraction and a sense of normalcy allows people to escape the type of things that they’re dealing with,” Turner said.