Announcement: CycloneFanatic Celebrates 1-Year Anniversary
CycloneFanatic.com
Jeremy Lind
2006, A year of change...
WOW, a lot can happen in a year. While a lot of us always used to complain that things moved too slowly at Iowa State, we've sure been in the fast lane for the past twelve months or so. Before talking about the site's anniversary, let's take a look at a few of the big things that have happened in the last year...
MBB fails to make the NIT or NCAA Tournaments after starting the season ranked 23rd in the country.
MBB replaces head coach Wayne Morgan with rising star and 'local guy' Greg McDermott.
MBB recruits a solid class for 06-07 and an outstanding class for 07-08 to start the rebuilding process.
Cael Sanderson is brought in to take over the somewhat stagnant Wrestling program.
Iowa State sells a record 30,000 season tickets for Football.
FB finishes one of the most disappointing years after achieving new-found success earlier this decade.
FB head coach Dan McCarney is replaced with Gene Chizik, closing out twelve years of rebuilding.
FB recruits a solid class for 06-07 that rivals most previous
ISU classes, and in only two months time.
$135 million worth of renovations are announced and approved for athletic facilities.
ISU Wrestling finishes the conference schedule undefeated and ranked #2 in the country.
Generation CY...
In 2006, the winds of change weren't only blowing within the athletic programs themselves, but also within the fan-base. One of the more notable events that happened was the beginning of a new generation of 'grass-roots' communities for Cyclones everywhere to call home, that was the beginning of CycloneFanatic.com. The rest is just history...
We've hit the one-year mark and things couldn't be going any better. Not only are the programs showing signs of speeding through the rebuilding process, the fans all have a new place to interact with fellow Cyclone diehards. Opportunities are aplenty for Iowa State and it's fans, we've seen that emerge over the past 12 months and I think the future is going to be something incredibly special. Are you ready?
A new era is upon us in regards to Cyclone athletics, both online and on campus. To go along with that new era, we have to have a new generation of fans; we'll call us 'Generation CY'. As members of Generation CY, it's our job to be united, to be committed, to be supportive and most of all be to be Cyclones at all times and in all ways. Generation CY isn't about your age or status, it's about a new wave of energy and excitement to help propel Iowa State to new heights. Generation CY starts today and it ends with banners, confetti and championships. We won't settle for anything less.
CF's one-year milestone...
On February 15th of 2006, I decided it was time for Cyclone faithful to have a place to call their own. It was time we had a place where there were no boundaries or divisions between us. It was time for a community where everybody could contribute in any way and at any time. The principle was simple, to help people realize that the days when we could afford to be a divided fan-base were over and that we now truly had to come together if we wanted to achieve any of our common goals.
The best way of fostering excitement and energy among the fans was simply to create a place where everybody could share ideas and opinions about Iowa State athletics and to give them a way to stay informed and interested throughout the year, regardless of the season. The result, CycloneFanatic.com.
When the site was first launched, there was a front-page and a basic forum, that's it. As the site exploded with popularity it became obvious that the fans had been waiting a long time for a place to call their own. As spring turned to summer, we transitioned platforms and systems to better accommodate the growing member-base and to allow for future feature enhancements.
Once the site was well established and we were on the systems that could accommodate it, we introduced quite a few new features over the remainder of the year... revamped forums, private messaging, chat rooms, calendars, buddy lists, user contributable photo galleries, a user blogging system, an online store, a cool and innovative 'auto-feed' system and most recently a test version of the upcoming classifieds and auction system.
CF's future...
As you can see, we haven't slowed down and we'll continue to create innovative and useful ways for Cyclone fans to interact with each other, regardless of their geographical location. It's taken a lot of work by a lot of people to make this place a success. Each and every one of the members have helped create the biggest and most active Cyclone community anywhere. With a member-base of 4,500 very ACTIVE users, there simply is no way for this place to survive without the continued help from moderators and members. Each of you have helped create a unique and welcoming community that we can all be proud of.
There were a couple of simple promises I made when I started the site; 1- To keep
CF completely free. 2- To never have pop-ups or obtrusive ads. 3- To always make people feel as welcome as possible. 4- To be the best all-around community. Well, 12-months later all of those promises have been kept. As I made promises this time last year, I will once again promise to keep progressing with new features and ideas that will help to strengthen the site, as well as the Cyclone fan-base.
Personal note...
While CycloneFanatic is not even close to becoming profitable, this adventure has turned out to be one of the most rewarding parts of my life. I've met some incredible fans and individuals that have made all the hard work worth it. Whether it's troops in Iraq saying how much they look forward to logging in from their tent to check out their favorite team or retired farmers saying how much it means to them to see a new generation of fans that love their alma-matter as much as they do, it means the world to me that people have embraced this opportunity to step up and become a stronger and more united fan-base.
I want to thank each and every one of you that have made this site the success that it has become. Whether you have committed time and energy to moderating, money for a donation or sanity debating somebody in the forums, you have helped create a place all Cyclones can call home. Thank you for an incredibly memorable year and I look forward to many more to come!
Thank You,
Jeremy Lind
Site Owner/Admin
