Initial reaction: It could be worse. After digesting it for a few hours, it's really just, meh. I neither like or dislike the trophy. The idea behind the "Heroes Game" is admirable, but i hate that it's called the "Heroes Game". I personally would prefer it to be called the "Nebraska and Iowa Honor the Heroes Game" instead. Why? Well, you can read all about that here.
The trophy lacks some things. Is there really a desire to win it? It's a silver football on top of a block of wood. I just don't see our players excited about parading it around town like an Oaken Bucket, a Pig or a National Championship. If Iowa wins it, it's no big loss. That, too me, seems like the anti-rivalry trophy. You're suppose to want it. You're suppose to want to take it from the opponent. I feel neither way about this item.
But I don't hate it. After the Cy-Hawk trophy debacle in August, I was scared about what this item might look like. They could have gone a lot of ways with it. A large bust of some famous person. A firefighter saving a cat from a tree. A Police officer pulling over a speeder. A plastic bowling trophy. Visually, the trophy looks fine. It's not too outlandish. It's very conservative and "safe". It just doesn't have a "wow" factor.
All-in-all it's not terrible. My disappointment lies in not getting excited about winning it. There's always the B1G trophy or the BCS National Title trophy to desire. I'll just have to go plant that iron cornstalk I was going to make in my back yard. At least they listened to corn nation and added laurels to the football on top of the trophy. You can't completely say that administrators don't listen to the fans. Right?