My Cyclone Family

                Let me start off by saying I’m so proud to be a Cyclone. I was born and raised a Cyclone. I graduated from the greatest university in the world. I will always be ONE.

                That being said, it hurts a lot. I’ve had my heart broken by this school so many times. Most recently was Sunday’s NCAA tournament game where an obvious botched call happens on one side, and then a bad 3 point shooter drains a shot from beyond the arc at the last second to win. It hurts to type this right now. It is still so fresh in my mind and weighs heavy on my heart.

                So why do it? Why stick with this team after all this heartbreak? Why get excited just to be kicked in the stomach another time? It’s because this school and its fanbase are truly one big family. CyclONEnation as we call it. If we were not a family, would people stick around the same? Probably not is the answer. Usually to develop such a good fanbase you would have to win a lot and with more consistency. Yes, our family would love to see more wins (we have been getting them lately), but we do not require it. Our fans do not jump off of the bandwagon. Hell, there probably is not even a bandwagon built for us (yet). Our fans are die-hards who will be there through everything. I’m sure there are plenty of schools who would love to have the kind of fans we have.

                I have seen this school achieve its highs and lows. I remember watching the amazing runs with Tim Floyd and Larry Eustachy coaching the men’s basketball team. I remember Dan McCarney turning a nothing football program into a team that competes. But then I had to watch Wayne Morgan stand on the court and pretend to coach. I watched Greg McDermott seem to just almost be good, but never get there, for 3 years. On the football side, after separating from McCarney we went the hot coach of the year in Gene Chizik. The fan base was pumped! We brought in top level talent that would take our program to the top! Then the season started. He spent 2 years here and went 5-19. Following that garbage, Auburn offered him a job (for unknown reasons) and he won a national championship. Punch in the stomach as usual.

                So only a few years ago, the big two sports at ISU were left for dead. The fanbase was depressed. Trust me, it was obvious everywhere. We had nothing! Enter Paul Rhoads. Although I could not have told you who he was a month before he was hired, as soon as I heard him talk once I was all in. He just had a way about him. He was a local (Ankeny, IA) boy. He knew who we were as a school. He knew who the fans were. He knew CyclONEnation. He inherits an awful football team and then has the stones to say he expected a bowl win in his first year. We win the first game against North Dakota St. to generate some excitement. Then we played Iowa and came back down. No way were we getting bowl eligible. Then it happened. We went to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers. We had not won a game there since 1977 and we had not won a road game in conference play in 15 games. But we won. It was definitely not the prettiest thing to watch, but it was perfect. It was something I never expected. I cried. I cried some more. I do not know how he did it. We went on to become bowl eligible and then beat Minnesota in the Insight Bowl. He came through on his expectations. And the entire time he reminded us that entire time he was proud to be here and he was all in with Iowa State. He was OUR coach. He has then gone on to beat Texas in Austin for the first time ever in ISU history, beat Iowa twice and upset #2 and national championship hopefuls Oklahoma State, in what may have been the greatest game in Iowa State football history.

                With the football program receiving the perfect coach, our men’s basketball team needed someone to help carry the torch. We just lost our coach to Creighton. Yes, someone left a Big XII team, which has competed at the top level before, for a MVC team. That one hurt, even if he was stagnant as a coach here. Enter Fred Hoiberg, or as he is known around CyclONEnation, “The Mayor.” The hire was a risky one. Here is a guy who grew up in Ames, IA. He was a star for Iowa State. He played in the NBA until his heart gave out on him. He then worked in the Minnesota Timberwolves front office. BUT, he never coached. Not even as an assistant. Athletic Director Jamie Pollard just handed the keys over to a guy who had zero coaching experience. Hoiberg knew that he did not have the experience, so he surrounded himself with assistants that did. And he had a plan. He had a very extensive plan. He told this to Pollard, and then went out an executed. He knew the team he inherited was a bare cupboard. So, he went out and grabbed what he could, which was mainly transfers. Another huge risk. He was heavily criticized for it. Season one was hard. These transfers had to sit out a year and there was not much talent on the team. However, they did alright for themselves. They fought in almost every game. They were not a gimme win for the other team by any standards. Year two was the year of Royce White. The star with a questionable background was never a question while at Iowa State. The combo of Royce and Fred was perfect. We dominated UConn in round one of the tournament and then fought to the end against eventual champions Kentucky. Year three (this year) was truly one of the best I have ever seen. This team was the best chemistry team I have ever seen at ISU. They loved this school and it showed. They had some heartbreakers, but they always fought back. Round one we destroyed favored Notre Dame. Then lost the heartbreaker to Ohio State. But, the positive is we are poised for continued success.

                Right now is a great time to be a Cyclone. It’s so refreshing to know that this school is set up for long term success right now. We have the coaches that we want, and more importantly, ones that want to be here. Sometimes, we all need to remind ourselves how great this feeling is when we get punched in the stomach like all of us Cyclones have been so many times. I would not trade this school and the people in my CyclONEnation family for anything. I am SO PROUD to be a Cyclone.