Oct. 21, 2008
Fellow Cyclones,
You probably had to be there to get the full effect.
And from the size of the crowd, I think that many of you were there when the Iowa State football team travelled west to Las Vegas in
September.
Our hope was that the trip would be a catalyst to draw Cyclones from all corners. The Iowa State University Alumni Association rolled out their red carpet and hosted a pre-game tailgate that drew several thousand. The camaraderie was great, the spirit was overfl owing and Cyclone pride was on display.
Once the game started at Sam Boyd Stadium, which usually draws crowds of around 15,000 for UNLV football, it was obvious to observers this wasn’t an ordinary Saturday. That’s because more than 10,000 Iowa State fans had descended upon Las Vegas for the game. Loud throughout the game, boisterous to the end and classy and encouraging after an overtime defeat, I couldn’t have been more proud of who we feel are the best fans in the nation.
Your loyalty is what inspires us to continue pushing forward, trying to elevate the Iowa State University Athletics Department to become the program you have always desired. The Cyclone fan base is the heartbeat of our operation. Coach (Gene) Chizik has shared with me repeatedly how amazed he is with the enthusiasm and passion of ISU fans. It isn’t this way at most schools, he always says.
At Jack Trice Stadium, we’ve come to expect and count upon your vocal support. What’s not typical is for the road crowd to rival the home fans. Don’t think that the bowl scouts in attendance at UNLV weren’t taking notes.
Our student-athletes, coaches and staff do not take your support lightly. If fact, it only adds to the responsibility that we feel for representing you to the best of our abilities. Many of you have been partners with us for many years. Others have signed up recently and are new members on the Cyclone Athletics bandwagon. Whatever you personal story, we are thankful.
You deserve the best that a college athletics program can deliver. There will always be naysayers, but events like the football game at UNLV only underline for me both the urgency and the potential for us to be successful at Iowa State.
Our development and maturation as a department is a long journey. It will include road blocks, steep hills, detours and all sorts of challenges.
My staff’s full-time attention is dedicated to working hard, making sound decisions, cultivating new relationships and trying to deliver success in both the classroom and on the field. Any success that we realize will be because of a combined effort from everyone associated with the program. If a road stop in Las Vegas is any indication, we’ve got quite a caravan assembled for the trip ahead.
Go Cyclones!
Jamie Pollard
Director of Athletics
