Long two days left. Story time! Please share your own

[Frog]

Walcott, Iowa is the nearest town most recognized that I grew up on farm near. My parents and extended family had no ties to any college.

I went to Davenport Schools and specifically graduated from West High in Davenport. In my graduating class was a basketball player committed to ISU - Paul Doerrfeld. Another star there at same time was a player named Troy Muillingburg who went to Northern Iowa. I watched a lot of great basketball in H.S! I had Paul in a couple classes and a group of us were talking at end of the year about college. I was already planning to wait a year and unsure where to go and what degree. Dorf suggested I go to ISU for ag to better myself and business. I did just.
\
My wife went to Iowa-college of law. First time I met her I was in Iowa city for a ISU-Iowa game. Was walking down Melrose with a few friends. She was partying at a house along there and bumped into me and beer spilled and we exchanged unpleasantries. Some stuff was said about both teams and our groups wished each other well of course as we walked away. My friend said "The blonde likes you" and I said something I wont repeat here. hahaha.

Our youngest is at ISU now. We've taken over and grown our farm two fold thanks to ISU. My wife does some charity law work. Our home is 100% ISU!

 

[t-noah]

In late February of 2001 my senior year I was at Sips and they had a contest for a free trip to Ft Lauderdale for spring break. My good friend and roommate told me if she won I could have the prize because she already had Caribbean vacation with family lined up.

She won, kept her word...and our "house" of rowdy guys were forever in debt to the one female roommate who graciously gave us a free spring break trip. It went about like you'd expect, very fun free trip. We bought her a shark in a bottle as a gag gift and a few other things, this was just before 911 so you could put a shark in a bottle of formaldehyde in a carry on.

The night we get back is...the night of the Hampton game. Pretty bad snowstorm is starting up leaving Des Moines airport. We have the game on the radio. My friend's car slides into a high curb and a wheel seems like it's almost completely off his car. While we are waiting for help in the snow storm for well over an hour we listen to the entire second half of the Hampton game stranded in a broken down car. Had to stay at a hotel in DSM because none of us had friends/family in DSM.

The next morning my bag smelled HORRIBLE and I realized the shark in a bottle had broken in my bag with all my stuff. At the auto shop I was so angry and frustrated I just threw the shark into a snowbank somewhere in Des Moines...so some random person in Iowa probably stumbled upon a shark carcass when the snow melted.

Talk about one high (vacation trip) and one low (accident in the snow and listening to the Hampton game). Wow. Great story.

 

[Clonefan32]

In my experience, being a non-alum ISU fan is pretty rare and usually the result of having close family members who are alums.

I tip my hat to our non-alum fans. You have signed up for this pain, suffering, and heartbreak without a particularly compelling or obvious reason to do it. You're braver than I could imagine.

I'm a life-long non-alum fan, but the majority of my family are fans so I kind of fell into it. I had this discussion with some Iowa fan buddies of mine a few months back about how being an Iowa State fan is just different. There's a commonality and shared experience component to being an Iowa State fan that's hard to describe. It's hard to be a casual Iowa State fan. To embrace it and go through all the rough years we've had requires a certain mindset that doesn't allow for casuals.

Most Iowa fans I know are much different. They made a choice at some point in life to root for Iowa. They like to cheer when they are good, but resort to indifference when they are bad. Are there die-hards in their fanbase? Sure. But most I know have a few shirts, watch a few games and only really act like they give a **** when they are good.

Hard to put exact words to it, but there's something just different about being an Iowa State fan.

 

[cycloner29]

As a gentle rain was falling over Cyclone Stadium (still the name when I was in school) and on my face, I awoke from my alcohol induced slumber to see the score like 36-0 in favor of the black and gold. I have no idea how I got into the game or what caused me to take a quick nap. I just remember leaving the stadium in a zig zag walking pattern and having the need to relieve myself. I decided the left rear of a pickup was enough cover. As I was feeling relieved, I look up and see this guy looking out the side mirror of the truck. I waved at him as I fled the scene. I just remember that I put some extra "gold" on his Hawkeye bumper sticker!!

 

[Al_4_State]

I'm a life-long non-alum fan, but the majority of my family are fans so I kind of fell into it. I had this discussion with some Iowa fan buddies of mine a few months back about how being an Iowa State fan is just different. There's a commonality and shared experience component to being an Iowa State fan that's hard to describe. It's hard to be a casual Iowa State fan. To embrace it and go through all the rough years we've had requires a certain mindset that doesn't allow for casuals.

Most Iowa fans I know are much different. They made a choice at some point in life to root for Iowa. They like to cheer when they are good, but resort to indifference when they are bad. Are there die-hards in their fanbase? Sure. But most I know have a few shirts, watch a few games and only really act like they give a **** when they are good.

Hard to put exact words to it, but there's something just different about being an Iowa State fan.

Yeah, I know FAR more Iowa fans of this variety than ISU.

 

[madguy30]

Yeah, I don't think most people truly appreciate what the band does for atmosphere. Football games would not be the same without that thump from the drum when they're marching in, and the stuff they play for basketball.

WAYYYYYYY more interesting than pumped in music.

I noticed quite a difference in how much more of a 'there's a basketball game going on' it felt Friday compared to all of the external fluff in home arenas.

 

[nfrine]

It's a story like so many of us could tell...

Grew up a Sioux City Hawk, which in my defense is better than a Sioux City Cornf#cker...and when I say that I mean when I grew up it was like ISU athletics didn't exist.

Sioux City must be what hell is like....

 

[Alswelk]

I have a very similar story as far as growing up a Hawk fan. I grew up in N/NE Iowa and was constantly inundated with Hawk media and the local tv affiliates would almost always be broadcasting football and bball games. I watched a lot of Hawk basketball especially, and have vivid memories of cheering on their most recent Sweet 16 season (1998). It was a fun team and I didn't know anything about ISU really at that time, aside from that they existed. My Dad is an alum, so my awareness was there, but seemed like I could never find them on TV.

My only experience watching ISU sports until probably age 10 was the sweet 16 game against UCLA in what was it, '96 or '97? Remember watching it with my Dad. Probably didn't comprehend Iowa State football as a thing until the Sage year where they won 9 games.

The Fizer/Tinsley year was the first that I can remember Iowa State games being more accessible to me. Watched a ton of that team and fell in love. Still cheered for Iowa too, still too young an naive to understand the hatred.

What really did Iowa in for me was friends at school always mocking/talking down Iowa State. It got real bad in year 2 of Seneca, and this was the turning point for me. I was tired of all their bellyaching how Iowa State was a 2nd rate program and school and inferior to Iowa in every way shape and form. Iowa was going to beat Iowa State by 50 etc. etc. etc. My hatred was born in those days, and in spite of local stars like Jeff Horner and Greg Brunner becoming huge stars for the Hawks, the distaste for Iowa continued to fester inside of me.

I'll never forget the moment of sheer bliss I had when they lost to NW State in the first round of the '06 tourney. I had taken so much crap years earlier for the Hampton game. It was sweet poetic justice. I can still remember how I felt that day. Such true joy. As good as last Thursday felt, that day in '06 is not likely to be topped.

Fellow former resident of NE Iowa (Bremer county) - my freshman year was 2005 and I got unending **** about going to ISU over that summer. Got my phone blown up in the middle of the night Cyhawk week by some HS classmates (who were confused - they were at hawkeye community college not UofI). 23-3 is one of my favorite memories.

 

[20eyes]

Sioux City must be what hell is like....

You have no idea...none.

 

[PizzaTheHutt]

Grew up in Sioux City surrounded by Hawk and Husker fans. Was indifferent to them both and lightly cheered them both (I even liked KU basketball because Kirk Hinrich went to my high school).

It was until I moved to Des Moines in 02 during my Sophomore year of high school. I met who would become my best friend to this day and he was a huge Cyclone fan at the time. He pointed out to me what I had been blind to see with the Hawk and Husker fandom. He would also share Cyclone football and basketball lore with me. Even Introduced me to Hilton magic and tailgating at Jack Trice.

I immediately became a die hard Cyclone with a hatred for Hawkeyes Huskers and Jayhawks and never looked back.

 

[BCClone]

Good 'ole "Fuzzy Britches"

 

[WhoISthis]

I haven’t lived in Iowa in a long time, but nothing hits the feeling of being home like walking into a warm, loud Hilton on a cold winter Saturday. Iowa St MBB is special. Johnny built something few programs can rival.

Iowa is largely irrelevant once you leave the state. I’ve been more focused on hating KU and their fans this week than anything iowa. That doesn’t mean they’re any less pathetic- no further than that Karen throwing a fit over not getting a press pass- but they’re mostly UNI 2.0 to me

 

[cyfanatic13]

I always like to say I was literally a cyclone fan since birth. Tim Floyd and Dan McCarney were the coaches when I was born in ‘96. My first and middle name is… Timothy Daniel. Like others, grew up being the only ISU fan in my class and I think that led to my pure hatred for the hawks. I always kinda knew I wanted to go to ISU, and I think the Okie State game in 2011 sealed it. Was fortunate enough to get hooked up with a job working with the football team all four years in college and had a blast with that especially getting to go to all the home and away games.

I will say, I don’t let Iowa’s success get to me as much I used to, but I definitely took major satisfaction in their football conference championship loss and the Richmond loss a few days ago. So I still got it

 

[exCYtable]

I'm still in shock that we are one very winnable game away from the Elite 8, and then one game away from a Final 4 if we win Friday. I'll cry like a baby if we make the Final 4. Lifelong dream. To have it happen this year...just unimaginable. Would be the greatest sports story in Iowa State history.

 

[CyBuck1]

I grew up in the Quad-Cities, where there were way too many Hawkeye fans. I grew up an Ohio State fan, but went to Iowa State instead. One of my favorites games at Hilton was the 1987 game vs Iowa when Lafester Rhodes dropped 54 points in our 102-100 overtime win. Hilton was rocking that night. Twice have travelled to Detroit/Auburn Hills for NCAA games. In '97 my wife was about 8 months pregnant, we beat Cincy, then tried driving back to Chicago in a terrible ice storm. Cars were sliding all over the place, so we pulled over and spent the night in a hotel. My wife is a crazy basketball fanatic, and being pregnant wasn't going to stop her from going to see the game.
Returned in 2000 for the beat down on UCLA, and our Elite 8 loss to Michigan State. That was a difficult loss to stomach. Don't get back to Ames as often as I'd like, but we watch the games at home, and hit up the local game watches here in Chicago. Always great to hang out will fellow Cyclones.

 

[Die4Cy]

I grew up in eastern Iowa and my older brother went to ISU in '80 and brought me home a Cyclone t-shirt that year for Christmas. I was a follower of all things sports then, even RaisinFace's football team, but my first reaction was that Hawkeye fans, kids or adults, responded negatively to that shirt, even hostile, as a little kid. I learned when I was 7 that Hawkeye fans of all ages were awful people and never looked back.

I got accepted to OSU and Iowa State and never really considered Columbus. I had been in Ames so often it felt like home. I met my wife in our MU jobs and was married near campus. My oldest is a student there now. We bleed cardinal and gold.

 

[BCClone]

Okay since we are supposed to share stories


Dear CF,

I was in a smaller atanasoffs computer lab back in the early 90s. It was late at night and I was working on a computer science project that was giving me trouble. The room was dark, only lit by the green hue of those old computer screens. The only sounds were the hum of the computers, when suddenly a shapely figure came towards me…….

 

[SCNCY]

Walcott, Iowa is the nearest town most recognized that I grew up on farm near. My parents and extended family had no ties to any college.

I went to Davenport Schools and specifically graduated from West High in Davenport. In my graduating class was a basketball player committed to ISU - Paul Doerrfeld. Another star there at same time was a player named Troy Muillingburg who went to Northern Iowa. I watched a lot of great basketball in H.S! I had Paul in a couple classes and a group of us were talking at end of the year about college. I was already planning to wait a year and unsure where to go and what degree. Dorf suggested I go to ISU for ag to better myself and business. I did just.
\
My wife went to Iowa-college of law. First time I met her I was in Iowa city for a ISU-Iowa game. Was walking down Melrose with a few friends. She was partying at a house along there and bumped into me and beer spilled and we exchanged unpleasantries. Some stuff was said about both teams and our groups wished each other well of course as we walked away. My friend said "The blonde likes you" and I said something I wont repeat here. hahaha.

Our youngest is at ISU now. We've taken over and grown our farm two fold thanks to ISU. My wife does some charity law work. Our home is 100% ISU!

Feel like this story is unfinished. How did you meet her the second time and become friends/dating/married.

 

[frackincygy]

Okay since we are supposed to share stories


Dear CF,

I was in a smaller atanasoffs computer lab back in the early 90s. It was late at night and I was working on a computer science project that was giving me trouble. The room was dark, only lit by the green hue of those old computer screens. The only sounds were the hum of the computers, when suddenly a shapely figure came towards me…….

I'm not sure I want to read the conclusion to this Mothman fan-fic

 

[Cyforce]

When I was 16 or so, I was listening to a Cyclone basketball game on the radio, and we lost it in the last minute (I can't remember who we played). I was so mad I flung myself into a wall of my bedroom and put a basketball sized hole in the wall. I ended up covering it up with a Samantha Fox poster, and my parents didn't discover it until I moved out for college. I am slightly better at handling losses now.

Maybe it was only in your dreams.