The Hyball is a weekly basketball column.

Standing at the top of the mountain with more climbing hooks in hand.

Watching Iowa-Northwestern on Wednesday, I was reminded of the Jay-Z lyric, "We have yet to see a ceiling, we just top what we top" while also thinking about this exact matchup from two years ago.

On January 28, 2022, it was a quiet, cold, dark, Midwestern Friday in Chicago, IL. Tend to live very day-by-day as a sports fan, so I probably didn't know the Iowa women's basketball team was in "town" until the afternoon. Though Northwestern brands itself ambitiously (comedically, really) as "Chicago's Big Ten team," Evanston isn't the easiest place to get to from most parts of the Windy City.

Still, I wanted to go.

I'd yet to see then-sophomore Caitlin Clark hoop in person, and the game had that pull on me that all Important Events share. That singer. That play. That athlete. Had to go. Had to. It was only a matter of putting together a squad.

I reached out to several Iowa alum friends and general hoops fans, and through a mixture of bad timing or, sadly, disinterest, I wasn't able to get any bites. Didn't matter -- went alone. Didn't care.

What I found waiting for me was basketball nirvana.

What was incredible about this experience wasn't only the basketball, or even the star herself -- but the ease of operation. I rolled into Evanston*, parked right next to the stadium (for free), and probably waited behind no more than three people in line before buying a $10 or $15 ticket at the box office, walking in, and finding a seat in the front row only a few seconds before tipoff. It was stupidly easy.

*as anyone who has attended an Iowa football game can attest, one does not simply "roll into Evanston"; parking isn't always the most fun or convenient there.

As the women's game grows, it's moments like these I've started to miss. Of course, I want every game to sell out and smash ratings records, but this, back then, had the purity of watching the band you love play in a tiny club that's maybe half-full. You're happy when they grow, you want more people to love this as much as you do — but you still do miss a part of the old way of things, even if it doesn't always make sense.

* * *

In 2024, the sports world and society at large knows.

Iowa women's basketball can't just sneak into Evanston, or anywhere else with a couple hoops and thousands of seats, and go quietly back into the night when the clock hits zero. These days, the Hawkeye experience is buried in bracelets and photo ops and homemade signs. There's always another autograph request. These women are their own Beatles.

Sadly I could not attend Iowa-Northwestern year, as my daughter was born less than a month ago, and she and I decided to hold it down at the house -- but one of the very same friends I invited two years ago did. And he took his daughter, wife, and son.

Lose one, gain four. Easy math.

Don't know what they paid for tickets, but two individuals listed on Stubhub near the 7 p.m. start time were listed at $169 and $355. Times, they are a changin'.

I spent a good chunk of the day eager for the 'experience report' from my college buddy as well as good friend and SB Nation writer Ricky O'Donnell, who was also seeing Queen C in person for the first time:

Like it tends to go with this dream of a team, you could feel the pulse pulsing before a single basketball hit the floor.

I wanted both of them to see what I saw. The way Clark glides. The inevitability of those deep threes. The role players. The angles. The true beauty of the women's game; its perfection and its flaws.

And, of course, witnessing greatness. I've seen Caitlin Clark once at Northwestern, twice in Iowa City, and in multiple Big Ten tourney sessions.

She's a clean 8-0 in those games.

While I'm still waiting on Ricky's piece, my college friend texted: "It was a blast. Packed house, so much energy, it was palpable... So grateful we go to see her in person wearing the black and gold! In person, I was actually more impressed with her passes than her shooting! Such vision and amazing crispness."

All angles.

TV cameras caught him, his wife, and two kids waiting in a line that, uh, looked like *this*.

It's fitting Iowa had a Taylor Swift theme two games ago, because this, on a smaller level, continues to remind me of the pop star. It's this exponentially mutating joy that keeps catching more and more people. But we're not talking about victims -- just converts. In the same way you want her to play the song (or, let's face it, songs) that means the most to you, I wanted my friends to get the true Iowa women's basketball experience. The 'cherry on top' kind. I'm talking...

- Caitlin Clark double digits in multiple categories

- At least one or two clean made stepbacks

- At least eight or nine "Ohhhhhh AHHHH" passes

- Kate Martin being unequivocally herself

- Sydney Affolter rebounding or *almost* rebounding one she has no business getting

- A Hannah Stuelke sprint-and-catch bucket

- Gabbie Marshall canning a few

- A Molly Davis floater

- The catch and finish skill of all of Iowa's posts

- Taylor McCabe punctuating with one or two of her own

- Breaking 100 points

All of these things happened against Northwestern.

And while the (play) war is fought in the (play) trenches, the generals move bigger pieces on the board. Caitlin Clark slid into No. 2 on the all-time women's basketball scoring list, and yeah, she's likely going to pass Kelsey Plum in a few more games. But what about after that? Pistol Pete, you say? But what about after that? Can I interest you in Lynette Woodard's mark?

Reminds me of the reverse gender example going on in men's tennis right now. Sure, you caught Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's slam totals, but now top Margaret Court* to really seal it, Novak Djokovic. When Tom Brady stood alone with five Super Bowls, he said his next goal was topping Michael Jordan's six NBA rings.

*Editor's opinion: Margaret Court is the most shambolic "great" player in major sports history. Serena Williams' 23 open-era wins are the real standard in tennis. - AJ

These record chases are what put a bow on this column. Because in the same way there will always be new carrots to chase, there will always be new fans to create. And with the stew this women's team is cooking, don't be surprised to see more and more people eagerly holding out empty bowls in every new (and old) city they hit.

The people are always hungry.

"Placate the greats."

1/27 - No. 5 Iowa 92, Nebraska 73: May this forever be remembered as the Taylor Swift themed game. I loved how the announcers got on Iowa for the promotion, like "Did these passionate fans really need even more of a reason to get hyped?"

1/31 - No. 3 Iowa 110, Northwestern 74: Never thought I could top my "Kate Martin, whom I'd fight along side in a thousand-year war" description from last season until "Kate Martin, who would give you her phone charger even though yours had more battery than hers" popped into my head a few games ago.

She is the best. There is no one else.

2/3 - Iowa (3) at Maryland: Think this one's gonna be a scrap.

I'm not mad at Iowa for blowing it late to Indiana earlier this week. I am mad at Iowa for coming all the way back from the first half deficit after I mentally disengaged, only to hook me back in and make the loss sting that much more. Still, nice to see Payton Sandfort get his swagger back.

Also, this might be the only Perkins Place that doesn't end with Tony Perkins dunk.

Saucy.

In honor of T-Swift day, my favorite from her as of late.

It's always pretty great when your team stinks, but you get a really nice stat to validate all of your despair. This Michigan team tends to perform pretty well in the first half before a linear second-half collapse. It seems every game goes like this.

Well, in the Wolverines' last collapse against MSU, the broadcaster aired a stat that said Michigan was something like +1 or 2 points for its first-half season differential and minus 7 or 8 in second halves. Brutal, brutal execution down the stretch.

TLDR - Check out this defense:

Sent this clip to my Spartan buddy. His answer? "A bad zone."

Believe it or not, this is my first time writing since my beloved Michigan Wolverines won the national title*. An accomplishment I would call No. 1 on my most coveted sports fan experience bucket list. In a way, I am still gathering my thoughts, which are supplemented further by my daughter being born only 10 hours after the game ended.

Went a little nuts, OK?

I was also never the biggest Harbaugh guy, so M winning and him leaving really feels too perfect for words. That said, here are words.

Because this is Go Iowa Awesome, we must also discuss Kirk Ferentz finally hiring an OC. And by we, I mean Pat Vint. Read all of this. The best part, probably:

Good grief.

Really, really love this dude. Multiple laugh out loud moments and clever expressions in every video.

HVL is still my gal, but this was undeniably funny.

Not my gal?:

My gal:

Not my gal:

OK, think I've run outta arrows in the quiver after that one.

There will always, always be more carrots.

Bobby Loesch is a weekly contributor to Go Iowa Awesome. Find him on Twitter @bobbystompy, Instagram @bobbystompy, or email at bobbyloesch [at] gmail.com.