It’s A Great Time To Be A Cyclone!
Or is it? As one of the many die-hard Cyclone fans, am I expected to buy into all it seems we have left: our belief in Jamie Pollard’s skills and the dreaded four letter word that most fans cling to at all times, the ultra-motivator known as ‘hope’?
Are we really headed in the right direction as an athletic program, with elite status and national attention being the norm, or is this just another detour on the long path of disappointment we as Cyclone fans have experienced over the years?
I’ll address these questions in a second, but first I’d like to thank Dan McCarney, and all of the past coaches who have patrolled the sidelines over the years for Iowa State (in all sports), for their service to the fans and for helping to establish the current status of the Iowa State athletic programs.
Most of the time, coaches who move on are forgotten within a few months of their leaving. Contrary to popular belief, a coach doesn’t have to win every game or five national championships to have an extraordinary affect on a program for years into the future.
Heck, with no Jim Walden, there’s no Troy Davis. Take T.D. out of our football history and what do we have? I’ll save that discussion for another time.
By the way, it’s not a coincidence I used Mac’s mantra as the title of this article. It’s seems pretty ironic, that what might just be the best time ever to be a Cyclone (remember hope), it goes on without Mac as the football coach.
I won’t forget.
But for now, it’s time to focus on the future. And if you haven’t already, it’s time to hop on the J.P. bandwagon, because if his current plan works, you’ll need a Corvette to catch it. If a complete overhaul is what it takes to get us to the next level, then g..g..g…iddy up!
Really, what is there not to like?
Our wrestling program is now in the hands of the most successful wrestler in NCAA history in Cael Sanderson. He’s only been an assistant for a few years, but how could we let the second coming of Dan Gable slip away again? Well, we couldn’t. I’m not saying Cael is the coach that Dan is or was, I’m just saying I have hope he can be someday.
As one Mac is on his way out, another is beginning his legacy. Basketball’s head man is the new BMC (Big Mac on Campus). He comes from a successful stint at UNI and is the hard working, no-nonsense, do your job or sit on the bench type of coach this program has needed the last few years. Greg McDermott gives me hope too.
Bring in a football coach with similar attributes and we may be onto something.
Now for the bad news. Hold on tight for this one. Here I go again. As much as I like Jamie and Cael and Greg, it all comes down to what we do as fans to support the current programs. It’s time for us fans to reach down and embrace hope and belief like never before.
Are you kidding me?
Nope.
You see, in order to get superior student athletes that are going to take our sports programs to the next level, we need to have a few things, including great coaches, facilities and fans. Let’s just assume for a second that we do indeed have, or will soon have, great coaches.
How about facilities?
While we’re probably not the bottom of the barrel, I’ve never seen a College GameDay feature on our 15 acre weight room. Facilities come from a plan and funding to execute that plan.
Jamie has put the plan in place, now it’s up to us to do our part to make it happen. Your part may just be to come to one game or one meet next year. Or you could be the one to donate a couple million dollars (I wish I were that one). We all just need to do our part.
As I write this article, I’m also preparing for my semi-monthly road trip back to Ames for the final football game of the year against Missouri. It’s my one last chance to watch Dan and the 2006 Cyclones in action. I’m excited, mad, glad and sad all at the same time.
I’ll be leaving Atlanta, where I currently live, on Thursday afternoon in my ‘94 Accord. I hope to be back in Iowa by sometime Friday evening. I’ve only missed one home game this year. It’s the least I can do to support my beloved Cyclones.
Some of you are probably wondering why I would drive half-way across the country to cheer on a 3-8 squad with a lame-duck head coach. Well, because I have the hope and belief that this program will survive and succeed far beyond this season.
How much hope and belief do you have?
BFuller
isuisu.com
P.S. We’ll see you at the game!
Move Your Feet, Lose Your Seat
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The following story will appear in the next issue of the Iowa Sports Connection.Move Your Feet, Lose Your Seat
Back when I was going to school at Iowa State, if you moved your feet at a football game, you didn’t lose your seat, you just ended up in somebody else’s empty seat. Ah, yes, the ‘Die-Hard’ days.
In those years (1993-1997), the football team had records of 3-8-0, 0-10-1, 3-8-0 and 2-9-0. That’s an 8-35-1 record. Talk about miserable. Fortunately I was there to witness this debacle weekend after weekend. If not, I don’t know if I would believe it.
I remember after every game, all I could think was 1. Where’s the after game party and 2. Did anyone in the athletic department even care that our football team was the laughing stock of the country? It didn’t seem like it.
Especially my first two years.
The team was really bad, but the crowds were just as bad too, if not worse. Granted there were some games, such as Iowa & Northern Iowa, where the bleachers would resemble a large high school crowd, but those turnouts were few and far between. I remember most games you could have your pick of seats.
So, it was time for a change.
Dan McCarney was hired, Troy Davis was plucked from the bench to become our superstar and what do you know, the crowds started to grow. At first I was a little upset…”Now that we’re winning a few games, all these people want to come in and sit in the seat (their seat), that I had been enjoying for the previous two years. Bandwagon jumpers, fair-weather fans…”
After I had passed out, then woke back up again, I realized that in order to reach the next level as a team, we needed to reach that next level as a crowd and as fans as well. I also realized that our team was still pretty bad. Our offense would score 24 points per game on average, but our defense allowed 37 points per.
So when people started coming back to watch the not-so-mighty Cyclones, it was a good thing. People once again had hope. Davis’ rushing abilities helped feed that. The few more wins helped feed that.
Mostly though, I think people believed and had faith in Dan. I know I did. Listening to him talk would make me feel like, “Hey, somebody does care. This guy wants to be at Iowa State. He wants to put a winning program together.”
All aboard.
Dan brought courage, determination, and a love for everything Iowa State, that people just couldn’t resist. It was contagious. We finally felt like there was somebody on our side. Somebody who would fight the fight every Saturday and enjoy the good times with us and use the negatives to get better if things didn’t work out as originally planned.
10-plus years later, Dan is still about everything Iowa State. But if you move your feet at a game these days, you will lose your seat. Back-to-back home attendance records will attest to that. You see, there is more help in town in the form of Jamie Pollard. More hope 
too. Dan did the heavy lifting, Jamie’s here to tone and shape.
So when we look up and see Jack Trice Stadium filled to the rim, let’s not forget where it all started. It was the hard work and dedication of a coach who, in 1995, took over a team that had finished as the second worst team in the entire NCAA by virtue of our one tie.
Did a lot more wins and bowl games come immediately? Nope. But, the thing that did change was the attitude of the football team and the attitude of the fans.
I used to get upset when more fans showed up to the game. Now I welcome them all with open arms.
I used to get mad at the team when they lost, but not anymore. I feel the pain right along with them.
I, as a fan, am part of this team. Dan tells me so. The attendance at our games tells me other people feel like they are part of this team as well.
But with all that Dan brought to the table back then, the most important thing to most fans then - and now - is wins and losses. When you add wins, you add fans. When you add bowl games, you add fans. It’s just the nature of the fan. Even great programs with great traditions lose fans when they’re not winning. It’s all in the company you keep. Winners are winners. Losers are losers.
In the first few home games this year, the Iowa State fans have shown they are ready to take this program to an even higher level. But what if we lose a few more games? Will the huge crowds dwindle? My guess is, in order to keep the Jack packed to the max, the ‘Clones need to continue putting a winning team on the field.
If that doesn’t happen…well, I guess the die-hards will have their pick of seats again.
Fugedaboutit.
BFuller
P.S. We’ll see you at the game!
Go Clones!
- Welcome to the official blog of isuisu.com - dedicated to the Iowa State Cyclones. Scott and I will be using this blog to post our predictions and post game thoughts on isu football, basketball, wrestling and more. Be sure to also check out our main site over at www.isuisu.com.
Thanks and we’ll see you at the game!
Later!
Brad
