OK, since this did what it was supposed to, let me finish my post.
The goal of what I wrote below was to solicit the debate that immediately followed it being posted. With all of the talk about
ISU not being good enough to ever get more than 6-7 wins, I think first all fans need to realize what we are, and are not, up against. We may not have the resources or traditions of just about every single Big XII team, but if you don't act like you have just as much as they do, how in the world do you ever expect to succeed alongside them?
Answer the following question now that everybody has had time to read and digest; Do you think KState, Colorado, or Nebraska has anything that
ISU can't eventually have, except an already built tradition?
What I think needs to happen before anybody can decide the fate of DMac is for the fans to first realize that always saying "x team has an advantage" gets you nowhere. I'm 24 and I've already had around 12 promotions at my current and previous employer. Do you think I got them by always saying John Doe probably has a better knowledge-base or a better background for that job? NO, I made myself be better, I made myself rise to the level of anybody around me. It's not about what you have, it's about what you want.
Do you want
ISU to succeed beyond 6-7 games a year? Then make it happen. The ball is in each and every one of your hands. Give donations, write letters, do what you do best and make it happen. Not everybody has the resources for donations or season tickets, but you can still try and convince those that do have the resources, to use them.
This isn't only about what Mac is or isn't doing for the team, it's also about what the fans are ready and willing to do.
Jeremy Lind
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CycloneFanatic.com
Jeremy Lind
I want to respond to some of that national pundits and media personalities that have commented about how
ISU fans should be content with 6-7 wins and nothing more....
Despite what the national media thinks,
ISU is very capable of more than 6-7 wins with the fans, facilities, and money that we have. What makes us any different than any of the other Big XII teams? We may not have the tradition of Texas, Oklahoma, or Nebraska and we may not have the biggest stadium or budget, but we sure as heck better be able to compete with Texas A&M, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Colorado, Baylor, Kansas, and Kansas State each year and come out ahead fairly often. Those schools have no advantage over us when you compare everything they have to offer.
So why does
ISU have a chance to succeed now when they haven't in the past? The biggest thing that I think makes our chances of success greater this time is the fact that the fans are ready to support the program to get it to that next level, regardless of what it takes. While
ISU fans have always been loyal, they haven't been well prepared to spend the extra $$$ for each ticket or donation that success requires. With Jamie Pollard at the helm, I believe very much that the fans are actually more ready than the program itself is. The fans have really stepped up the past two years, it's time the recruiting, budget, and success follows.
I know it's hard to admit that we as
ISU fans haven't been ready to step up in the past for
FB, but it's the honest truth. Look at the success (albeit despised by me) that Iowa has gotten to in a relatively short amount of time. How did they get going again? The fans were ready to spend the money to get there. They put up the money, got a great coach, and the success followed. Now they have a tremendous level of respect nationally and they've just recently completed a huge renovation of their stadium. I think a lot of you would agree that Iowa could probably do even better than it is right now.
I personally think, regardless of what happens to Mac this year, that this program is going to be pushed to that next level simply because the fans are now willing to put forth the money and effort it's going to take. In the past, the head coaches (pretty much just DMac) had to try and pull the program up to the next level, now the fans are pushing, but nothing's budging. While there are endless opinions on why nothing is budging, there is no question that Jamie Pollard is going to make sure the program gets in gear, regardless of what it takes.
So to summarize, I ask the critics this;
Why is it that you think Iowa State can't be a 9 or 10 win team every couple of years? What makes Iowa State so different that success can't be achieved in College Football? Have you ever stepped foot in Jack Trice? Have you ever seen the love the loyal fans give their hometown heroes? Have you ever stopped smoking pot long enough to realize it's not the 80's or 90's anymore and that
ISU has won a couple of games here or there?
Rebuttal about Big XII competition:
Some schools have more "tradition", some have better stadiums, some have bigger fan-bases, but none of the schools has a sum of all parts that is far greater than
ISU. I'm not saying that each school doesn't have some sort of advantage, but I just don't buy it anymore that any of those schools is just flat out better suited ALL AROUND for success.
Remember, tradition is relative. I would say that although Colorado, OK State, and Kansas State all have pretty good traditions, the programs are in the tank right now. Colorado is fast at rebuilding and that is even more of a reason for us to get going.
Baylor and Texas A&M have the Texas recruiting advantage but that's about it. A&M has some history, but nothing that most would know about.
Kansas is just not even a debate.
Missouri has had many opportunities at greatness but has fallen flat on their faces most of the time. I would argue that Missouri and
ISU are pretty comparable when everything is figured in.
Is there a next level for ISU Football? 
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