How much more can you take?

JJ4ISU · 02-01-2007, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by arganbright2

Haha, guess nobody remembers the 1-10 football seasons when our only win would come against Southwest Rhode Island state or some joke school like that. Ames, Iowa is a tough sell. It's cold as hell and there is nothing to do. It seems like all the people I run across don't know what city Iowa State is in. All the other big schools in the upper midwest have more to offer than Iowa State right now.

Manhattan, Kansas is awesome this time of year, and there is a lot to do! And, it's close to a major city...oh wait, no it's not.

I do agree with some of what you say, though. During the Van De Velde era we had some success on the field and court because of what Gene Smith did. Right now we're struggling because of what Van De Velde did and did not do. Hopefully we will reap the benefits of what Pollard is doing now in the next couple years.

spanny · 02-01-2007, 10:44 AM

Now I am not comparing us to Tiger Woods in anyway, but he made changes, got worse to get better. We can't expect to switch coaches and players and magically.....POOF..we are awesome. Coach McDermott is doing a great job, transition takes time. Chizik will have to do the same thing, transition. We are entering what I am sure will be a golden era of cyclone athletics. We don't exactly have a legendary history with the exception of wrestling, we are building and we all need to stay the course. The whole reason we are frustrated is because the cyclonenation now has wonderful expectations, which were not there 10 years ago.

ISUFan22 · 02-01-2007, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by BryceC

I understand the frustration with football, but what did people expect with Basketball this year? I know we all got excited about beating Nebraska and Mizzou, but we barely escaped at MU with a miracle win and Nebraska probably is the worst team in the league.

Add that to the fact that we totally lucked out with the recruitment of W. Johnson and this season could be a heck of a lot worse. I still like Dodie, Cory, and Wesley and I think we have an excellent base to build around. Add that to an excellent class next year and the future is bright. I still don't think we'll see a top 4 finisher until 08-09 though.

Thanks for adding some common sense to the board.

The entire face of ISU athletics has been changed in about 12 months time. I think it's unfair to expect immediate results. Especially for the basketball season - when we lost nearly every player from last season and G-Mac had to scramble to get guys to be on the court this winter.

Being a Cyclone fan is very hard though - we often seem to be "waiting for next year" or "going through the growing pains".

I do think with the staff we've got in place right now for the various sports - we're up for some sweet rewards in the future.

If not, well - there's always beer...

cycloneworld · 02-01-2007, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by travman23

Not trying to knock on the orginator of the thread but I noticed he's an '04 grad which means he probably came to ISU during some peak seasons. It's been tough recently but it has been worse. My freshman year in 1998 the FB team won 2 games and the basketball team went 15-15 in Larry's first season. While I'll give you the past 2 seasons of football have been frustrating with the expectations we all had this is about what we expected before the season started. Maybe the best phrase to use is "mamma said there would be days like this." We got a little spoiled early with some wins but now we are playing teams that are bigger and deeper than us.

Why does everyone use the "well it was a lot worse", "things could be a lot worse", "you should have seen things back in the day" excuses??? Like I said before, this is the exact attitude Jamie Pollard is trying to change. "We can't expect much because we are Iowa State and have been bad in the past"

Yes, I am an '04 grad. I can to ISU in 2000. Things weren't all that rosy for me.
2000 FB- Best year in ISU history. Expectations exceeded.
2000-1 BB- Great regular season. Big 12 title. Then 1 and done in both tournaments (Baylor and Hampton). Expectations not exceeded.
2001 FB- 7-5 season. Expectations not exceeded (maybe met)
2001-2 BB - 4-12 in the conference. Enough said.
2002 FB- #9 ranking only to lose on the Blue turf. Expectations not exceeded or even met.
2002-3 BB- 5-11 in the conference. Enough said.
2003 FB- 2-10. Enough said.
2003-4 BB- 7-9 in the conference. NIT final 4. Things are looking up. Expectations met.
2004 FB - 7-5 again. Although expectations were exceeded. But we had a chance to do something very special but chocked away.
2004-5 BB- Good things were expected with good results. We made it to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.
2005 FB- This was supposed to be the year. And we go 7-5 again and chock away another North title.
2005-6 BB- High expectations. About as disappointing as the football season although we didn't make ANY postseason tournament.
2006 FB- We all know how that turned out.
2006-7 BB- We all know how it's going to turn out.

So where are these "glory years"?

BryceC · 02-01-2007, 01:46 PM

"well it was a lot worse", "things could be a lot worse", "you should have seen things back in the day" excuses??? Like I said before, this is the exact attitude Jamie Pollard is trying to change. "We can't expect much because we are Iowa State and have been bad in the past"

I understand what you're saying, but aren't you being unreasonable? I mean I could "expect" us to win out the rest of the year, make the NCAA tourney, and become national champions. But it's ridiculous to assume that's going to happen and then get pissed off about it.

cycloneworld · 02-01-2007, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by BryceC

I understand what you're saying, but aren't you being unreasonable? I mean I could "expect" us to win out the rest of the year, make the NCAA tourney, and become national champions. But it's ridiculous to assume that's going to happen and then get pissed off about it.

I don't really "expect" anything in either basketball or football through next year.

All I'm saying is that I'm frustrated. And that it's frustrating to watch our teams get so close to the "next level" and then fall back into rebuilding mode. Again, I'm not pissed off, just frustrated.

cys_av8r · 02-01-2007, 01:52 PM

I was in school during the Walden era, and the very beginning of the Mac era. Now THAT was frustrating.

Wesley · 02-01-2007, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by darts180

Just how long have you been an Iowa State fan???

Question: What's another name for a Iowa Sytate/Drake/EIU sportsfan?
Answer: A waiter

spierceisu · 02-19-2007, 01:01 AM

I am getting so tired of saying to myself, just wait until next year. I know that there is so much optimism with all the new coaches and the direction of the athletic department, but I have been a cyclone fan all of my live, almost 24 years, and too many of them were disappointing. It seems like the more I get my hopes up, the harder they come crashing down.

brianhos · 02-19-2007, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by spierceisu

I am getting so tired of saying to myself, just wait until next year. I know that there is so much optimism with all the new coaches and the direction of the athletic department, but I have been a cyclone fan all of my live, almost 24 years, and too many of them were disappointing. It seems like the more I get my hopes up, the harder they come crashing down.

Isn't that is what being and ISU fan is about, getting kicked in the boys and standing right back up with a smile and saying "Please sir, may I have another?"

brianhos · 02-19-2007, 07:51 AM

Originally Posted by cycloneworld

Why does everyone use the "well it was a lot worse", "things could be a lot worse", "you should have seen things back in the day" excuses??? Like I said before, this is the exact attitude Jamie Pollard is trying to change. "We can't expect much because we are Iowa State and have been bad in the past"

Yes, I am an '04 grad. I can to ISU in 2000. Things weren't all that rosy for me.
2000 FB- Best year in ISU history. Expectations exceeded.
2000-1 BB- Great regular season. Big 12 title. Then 1 and done in both tournaments (Baylor and Hampton). Expectations not exceeded.
2001 FB- 7-5 season. Expectations not exceeded (maybe met)
2001-2 BB - 4-12 in the conference. Enough said.
2002 FB- #9 ranking only to lose on the Blue turf. Expectations not exceeded or even met.
2002-3 BB- 5-11 in the conference. Enough said.
2003 FB- 2-10. Enough said.
2003-4 BB- 7-9 in the conference. NIT final 4. Things are looking up. Expectations met.
2004 FB - 7-5 again. Although expectations were exceeded. But we had a chance to do something very special but chocked away.
2004-5 BB- Good things were expected with good results. We made it to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.
2005 FB- This was supposed to be the year. And we go 7-5 again and chock away another North title.
2005-6 BB- High expectations. About as disappointing as the football season although we didn't make ANY postseason tournament.
2006 FB- We all know how that turned out.
2006-7 BB- We all know how it's going to turn out.

So where are these "glory years"?

That's just it, there are no glory years. Maybe 1 single year 2000 could be the only good year worth hanging your hat on. But then in typical ISU fashion, we peed that one down our legs against MSU.

Everytime in the last 10 years ISU got close it turned into a house of cards built on a pool of gas, see MSU and the two missed filed goals (or int in the endzone on 1st and goal!)

brianhos · 02-19-2007, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by Bryceman

Question: What's another name for a Iowa Sytate/Drake/EIU sportsfan?
Answer: A waiter

But see EIU has tasted success, I hate them as much as any of you, but they have glory years in the last few to hang their hats on. Not in basketball, but until the last year KF and the football team has been kicking butt and taking names. 11-2 and a BCS game is something to be proud of. As much as I would love to think ISU could do that someday, I am not betting a mortgage payment on it.

DexterGreen · 02-19-2007, 08:44 AM

Hate to break it to you, but historically, Iowa has had success in basketball, too. God, that hurt to type that. Now I'm going to cut off all my fingers.....

CyBandCG · 02-19-2007, 08:50 AM

You know, I am also a Cubs fan on top of being and ISU fan, you think you would get used to getting punched in the stomach year in and year out. Yes the last couple of years have not been glourious or even met expectations, but we have a reason to be optimistic with all the changes being made. Just like how I am with the Cubs I am always optimistic at the beginning of year and it is always wait till next year.