Put the "Bad Fan" debate to an end...

[Rogue52]

We are in for a LOOOONG season, so we really need to put the "Bad Fan" debate to an end that has gone on in several threads:

The booing, the anger, the rage, the frustration even some of the more ridiculous things like calling for Chizik's head, etc. are all signs that our program is headed in the right direction. Yes, that's right. Fans are out there expecting more and now. That's a good thing, not a bad thing. Jamie Pollard knows that all 38,000 season ticket holders (plus non-season ticket holders) are all equally important. The fair weathered fans (or whatever) may even be more important at this point. Fringe fans makeup large fan bases. Look at Iowa City. How many of those people have turned on the team in the past? Yet, it's there 75,000 seat sellouts that bring the decent bowl games during bad seasons.

Of course some of the fans may not be as educated as others. Believe me, every time I hear a girl in the student section say, "We F*!@%$ suck. We can't even score a touchdown," I want to scream. But all great teams have fans that overreact when things go wrong. I was guilty of overreacting a bit on Saturday. I'm sure we all were in some way over the other.

One thing is for sure: Be upset, be frustrated that we lost on Saturday. It's good for the program. It demands excellence. And fight the urge to be vocally upset with the fans that appear to be ridiculously overreacting. They are apart of every great program and have a place in Ames, as well, especially if we want to take that "Next Step".

[Wesley]

One very true thing was said on another thread. Statiscally the 2005 season was saved by takeaways. That group was coached to strip the ball and we were at the top. One famous dash by a defensive tackle lit up our hearts.

This year we are not hitting hard enough to make turnovers. We are not trying to strip the punt returners. We are not stepping into the passing lanes enough. One should expect each team to have 2 turnovers a game. We use to strive for 5. If we do not get turnovers, then we must sell out to make it three and out on each series . That has not happened.