Depends upon the age of the fan. Those of us older than 35 or so are well aware of the history and Iowa's place in it. There's an extreme element of the fan base that believes the only thing separating Iowa from the likes of Ohio State is a coach who will "try harder" or whatever.
Iowa's football history is definitely not elite. Some periods of good to excellent, with individual years where Iowa is very good. But years where things don't go right or where recruiting classes don't pan out effect teams like Iowa much more than the blue bloods of college FB.
Iowa's last 30 years have been very good (relatively speaking). Fortunate to have two good coaches who stuck around for a long time. If Hawks get 5 more conference titles in next 30 years, I'll have enjoyed a good life as a Hawkeye fan.
This is a post I can get behind from an Iowa fan. Hey... as an ISU fan I understand ISU's history when it comes to football and it isn't pretty. I don't shy away from it... because it makes the average results of Danny Mac and Paul Rhoads look pretty dang good and it builds hope that ISU could become a decent program in the future. I think fans of programs with mediocre to well below mediocre results historically enjoy each victory a little more, enjoy each bowl game a little more, etc...
ISU's win over #2 Okie State is a game that ISU fans will never forget because it isn't often that ISU has beaten a team ranked in the top 10 let alone a top 2 ranked team. Similarly... Iowa fans were pumped to go play in the Orange Bowl because it isn't every year they play in a BCS game.
On the other side of the coin you have spoiled fans like those from Nebraska, Michigan, and Notre Dame. They have all recently had struggles and their fans have been on the ledge and ready to jump. Being spoiled with too much success sure seems like it takes the enjoyment out of it. Going 10-2 is something to celebrate but the fans of these programs are on suicide watch with results like that.