Black Hawks season ticket holders are special folks with and uncommon devotion to their favorite team. Here are a few of their stories from recent editions of Hawk Tawk Mag-E-Zine - the exclusive season ticket newsletter - which includes features about the Hawks, details about upcoming events, updates from Black Hawks players, and more.
For nearly 25 years, Les and Karen Andrews have driven tens of thousands of miles to watch the Black Hawks. And that's just for home games.
Les and Karen live closer to Mason City than Waterloo. In fact, they started watching USHL hockey while following the North Iowa Huskies in the 1990s. When the Huskies moved to Cedar Rapids, the couple switched their allegiance to the Black Hawks.
"We were hooked on hockey, so we became season ticket holders in Waterloo (even though it takes us an hour and 25 minutes to get there)," says Les, a U.S. Navy submarine veteran. "We are grateful for the memories (especially the 2004 Clark Cup championship when they barely qualified last for the playoffs) and plan to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary at the Valentine's Day game on February 14th this season."
When the weather is at its worst, the Andrews' will actually drive a little farther to stay on four-lane roads the whole way to Young Arena.
"There have also been many times when we would just rent a room and stay in town" due to the weather, says Les, adding, "Some people are surprised that we are willing to drive that far, but we usually have had no trouble finding people to give our buddy tickets and rain checks to."
The Andrews say they have liked the earlier start times, as well as the high degree of sportsmanship in recent seasons.
"Karen and I are very happy to see some of the players kneel down after the games to pray, especially when players from opposing teams put aside their differences and join them."
In past seasons they have followed the Hawks to distant outposts like Fargo and Kearney, so the drive to Young Arena is actually pretty easy by comparison.
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When other families in New Hampton were packing their cars for the trip to Iowa City or Ames, Kerstin Schwickerath's household was making plans to be at Young Arena.
"Growing up, we weren't a football family," says Schwickerath. "Instead, my parents took me to Waterloo Black Hawks games. We always sat in Section M, and I still have the bell I used to ring 20 years ago when I was in elementary school."
Although she went to the University of Northern Iowa, Schwickerath concedes that she didn't make it to as many College Nights as she might have wanted to. Returning to Chickasaw County after graduating, there was a lot to do. In addition to being a mom and working full time, Schwickerath has also organized New Hampton's Maker's Market, she is on the Board of Directors for the local Chamber of Commerce, and last fall, Schwickerath was voted into a New Hampton City Council seat.
And amid all that, Schwickerath found Black Hawks hockey again.
"About three years ago, I really started going regularly. In 2023, I became a season ticket holder, and now I bring my daughter."
Schwickerath is enjoying the chance to relive an experience from her own childhood now as the mom of a two-year-old.
"She's been coming since she was three months old. Anytime we watch an away game, she shouts 'Go Hawks!' and always asks to watch 'hochey!'"
And although the trip back-and-forth on Highway 63 means a lot of miles each season, the Schwickeraths went a lot farther to watch the Hawks last spring.
"We got to witness the magic of the 2024/25 season and even traveled to Muskegon for two of the Clark Cup Finals games. The Black Hawks have built something you just can't copy: the energy, the people, the passion of the fans. It's special."
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During turkey or deer season, Kala and Tyson Trunkhill are well camouflaged when they head for the woods, but on game night, they're not hard to spot wearing Black Hawks colors in Section E.
"Hunting season and hockey season conflict a lot but that's when we hunt in the morning and attend the games at night," says Kala. "I think there has only ever been one missed game due to hunting…What really conflicts with hockey is NASP archery."
The Trunkhills lead the Denver Schools Archery Club, which has produced some of Iowa's top youth competitors in just a few short years. They operate Sticks and Stones Archery, a full-service archery shop for bow, crossbow, and other archery equipment in Denver. Kala also teaches third grade in Dunkerton.
While hunting can sometimes be a solitary pastime, the Trunkhills enjoy hockey because it is just the opposite.
"We do it as a family," Kala says. "We make it a family event as much as possible. Not to mention the other great Black Hawks fans and Young Arena staff we've met through the years."
Tyson became a Black Hawks convert around 2000. He grew up watching the North Iowa Huskies. That team moved to Cedar Rapids, and Tyson moved to the Cedar Valley for college while he served in the Iowa National Guard. Kala arrived in the area more recently and was hooked after coming to a game as part of a group with the Waverly-based service dog organization Retrieving Freedom.
Together, they have some great memories from Young Arena, like "…renting a suite for our friends and family on the Friday night before our wedding a couple years ago," Kala recalls. "It was fun to share something that we enjoy with some of the closest people in our lives."
Besides coming to the rink, Kala and Tyson have enjoyed meeting Black Hawks players during alumni watch parties and even a few times in Kala's classroom for reading programs with her students.
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Jay Koweil's fan credentials reach back to McElroy Auditorium when the Black Hawks' roster still had senior players in their 20s and 30s.
"Me and my older sister would walk to the games or get dropped off," says Koweil remembering the games he watched as a teenager before he was old enough to drive to the Cattle Congress grounds.
"We would always stand behind the Black Hawks goal under the Longines clock. Then my parents started to go and a lot of our neighbors too. Saturday night at 8 p.m., it seemed like everyone in Waterloo was there."
After playing pickup games on the neighborhood ponds, Koweil skated in the community's rec leagues for kids and learned the game from a player's perspective. He has been absorbing hockey nuances for most of his lifetime and seen the Black Hawks at both high- and low-tides. The ebbs have made the highlights all the more satisfying.
"The most memorable moments were being there throughout the entire series and present on home ice to see them clinch the Clark Cup [in 2004]," Koweil says, adding, "I think it was extremely special since a lot of the championship banners hanging in the rafters were achieved before I was in attendance."
By 2004, Koweil had a better vantage point than when he was watching as a kid.
"Some friends that were season ticket holders decided, 'let's sit center ice, close to the top, so you don't miss any of the action, no matter where it is.' And you don't have to be as concerned with pucks coming up that far."
Now Koweil is looking forward to seeing Waterloo's young Hawks go on to great things next year at Young Arena and as they go farther in their hockey careers.
Learn more about becoming a Black Hawks season ticket holder by calling the front office at (319) 232-3444 or find available seats from tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com.
