Seven Years Later

These pictures were taken on May 29, 2004.  Since then, we've gotten our master's degrees, moved to Ohio, started new careers, met some absolutely amazing people, traveled all over the U.S., returned to Iowa, begun new jobs, bought a house, and have had two children.

In seven years we have experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and I know that I am the luckiest woman in the world to have this man as my husband.  Actually, lucky isn't the word.  Blessed.  Blessed in more ways than I could ever describe.  

I couldn't have asked for more.  

Happy 7th Anniversary, Kurt!

The Inconsistencies of Coaching Marriages

By Josh Williams

With the current transgressions coming out about Jim Tressel and Ohio State University, it made me put my thinking cap on about the short marriages that end in such dreadful divorces for coaches and universities.

Some coaches leave for greener pastures, others don’t live up to expectations, and then there are the ones run out of town by the media and its fans. Very rarely do we see a happy separation between coach and college. Unless your name is Joe Paterno, it seems every coach is one measly slip away from the utter fall of coaching instability.

I compare it to marriages in today’s society. They say that 50% of wed locks end in divorce in the United States. It seems like an astounding number. And while I am one that likes to see consistency and stability within athletic programs, the never-ending desire for Win Now At All Costs has put a bad taste in the mouths for sports fans.

What happened to the days of reliability and trust? It’s all about What Have You Done For Me Lately, and it hurts me to say, but it has put a damper on college athletics. In this technological age of up-to-the-second tweeting, message boards and every-day call-in shows, WE are the ones at fault for this.

According to many bloggers out there, the majority of coaches are on the verge of failing Coaching 101, even though many of them have received grades of 3.0 or better. I don’t know if any of you have been to a job interview lately, but not every employer expects a perfect 4.0 from applicants. Now the curriculum of coaching seems to be more of a 500 level course, and only a few can manage the hard rigors that it provides. Many will fail, few will persevere.

It takes time to build success, and the best teachers are the ones who can learn from their mistakes. We must embrace misfortunes and burn it as fuel for our journey. Does anyone think newly acquired Lakers coach Mike Brown would have been hired if he had continued to tutor a Lebron-less Cavaliers team this past season? I can guarantee you he would have been thrown to the wolves after a heartless season in Cleveland. I’m happy to see him given that shot in L.A.

Adversity introduces a man to himself, and it is the hardships in life that bring out the best in you. Just last year LSU football coach Les Miles was talked about as a coach on the “Hot Seat.” Multiple analysts were placing an over-under on how many victories he needed to keep his CEO throne in Baton Rouge. And, only four short years before, he had won a National Championship.

The dexterity for a football coach in the present day is similar to a Swiss army knife. Their face is the footprint for organizing the most volatile budget for a university. Marketing and publically selling themselves, year in and year out, to current and prospective season-ticket holders, boosters, college students, high-school athletes and their families, university staff, assistant coaches, etc. They must present to the school that they are the right man for the job, and that truly they want to be there for the long haul, whether they mean it or not.

Take Iowa State Football for instance. In 1995 Dan McCarney was hired on as the new football coach. He was the right fit, in the right place, for the right team. He grew up in Iowa, created a rapport with university officials and gained the respect of coaches in the Midwest. And it took time. After 5 years and a despicable record of 13-42, he was thrown under the bus. His head was on the cutting board, and if that were the case today, he probably would have been fired. But we stuck with him, and in the next six years, Iowa State was represented on the sidelines in five bowl games by Mr. McCarney himself. It couldn’t have been sweeter. This was a man who would jump off a cliff for the Cyclones. But there was one problem, he couldn’t take our team to the next level.

Gene Chizik trailblazed his way up from Texas in 2007, and was thought to be one of the most prolific up-and-coming young coaches in the game. But he wasn’t the right fit. Born and bred in the south, his arrogant style didn’t click with the University. The professionalism and dependability of McCarney was gone, and all that was left was a high-risk high-reward dictator, who didn’t even unpack his cardboard boxes in his prosperous new manor. With a few games left, in what turned out to be his last season in Ames, Chizik proclaimed he was, “firmly entrenched” at ISU. Chizik’s nose couldn’t have grown faster than Pinnochio’s.

So what is the right fit for a coach? Is it the upstanding individual who cares about education and graduation rates? Or is it the recruiter, who will do anything, right or wrong to get HIS type of athlete. Maybe it’s the school’s former player and assistant coach, who bleeds loyalty and respect. Or is it the detailed X’s and O’s wizard who can draw anything up on paper?

You ask any fan, the tall and the small, and all they want, are Victories.

From the words of Al Davis, “Just Win, Baby.”

So how much winning is enough? John Cooper had an incessant winning style at Ohio State. But he was canned, because he couldn’t beat Michigan. Mike Shula went 10-2 at Alabama in 2005, leading the Crimson Tide to Number 8 in the country, only to falter to 6-6 the following year, then flung hopelessly into the unemployment line.

Jim Tressel was a highly respected man at Ohio State. He was looked up to by many in the coaching fraternity. But the man wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger. His athletes were the ones who made the mistake, and they will pay for their wrongdoings. Based on the severity of the actions – selling OSU memorabilia and receiving tattoos - at a discount isn’t life-threatening. The fact was, Tressel couldn’t go on as CEO of Buckeye Nation with these clouds overhanging in his shadow.

The judge and jury has become the voice of the media. Sportscasters and analysts have all weighed in on this topic, (and many others) and with all that clout comes responsibility, they say. While I hope to see Mr. Tressel go on and prove these naysayers wrong, the past will never escape him.

So what is the moral of the story do you ask? I prefer to look at the glass half full. Everybody makes mistakes, no one is perfect. Our media has scrutinized and blown out of proportion too many instances that are commonalities in today’s society. Our standards may need to be lowered to a certain extent.

It makes any fan proud to see a coach on the sidelines who they can relate with, and who has been with them for the long haul. It’s similar to your local banker, family doctor, or insurance salesman. It’s OK to not always finish in first place. Oh how much sweeter it is, when the guy, who you’ve had his back for all those years, can step up and become great.

Nobody is perfect. Not everyone can live up to the expectations. Give our coaches the opportunities to build their programs up to their own potential.

The Field of Dreams says it best – “Build It and They Will Come.”

The Revolutionizing of the NFL

So I was sitting on my couch last Thursday night, when the best prime time shows are on television, and what was I waiting intuitively for? The NFL Draft.

That’s right, not a game, not a 7-game series like the NBA and NHL had on at the same time, but a collection of quote-unquote student athletes, who certainly didn’t make it to class this day, making millions all in a matter of minutes.

Who has the balls to take over a prime time spot like that? The NFL that’s who.

It has supplanted all other sports made to man, and has taken everybody along with it, Lady GaGa style.

I don’t know what it is, but I feel like more people can discuss the Madden curse (watch out Mr. Brees) than say – who the second best pitcher is in the National League.

The sport of football is much easier to root for with its simplicity and recent progression with technology. Baseball – No. Basketball – same old same old. Hockey – not so much.

I love the NFL Draft, I didn’t get into it as much, but with so much hype and so many analysts breaking down 40 times and vertical leaps months before – it says something. It tells me that the most watched sport in the United States is the NFL, and that baseball may not be as sweet as apple pie anymore.

College basketball has its three weeks to itself for March Madness, the NBA has its Finals in June, and baseball , well it has the World Series I guess. Sad thing is more viewers tune into watch college and professional football come October, than they tune into watch “America’s game.” The NFL, well it has its own network for one – and has turned into a year-round phenomenon.

Now the NFL has 17 weeks of action on the most relaxing day of the week for its viewers. Don’t forget prime time Monday Night Football, and the one time where EVERYONE and their 80-year old grandmas will be clamoring to find a seat to watch the one and only Super Bowl.

It’s a worldwide mainstream sport that has transformed with help from the internet by staking a multi-million dollar enterprise with fantasy football. The most played sports video game is Madden, and when you see someone wearing a jersey of sorts, more than likely it will don the NFL logo than any other.

So why has it come to be that more viewers tune into a selection of college players more than the most important playoff games for NBA and NHL franchises?

Its quite simple really – we can relate to it. Football is a man’s sport, and its something that every father wants to see his son compete in. If your boy were to say, “Daddy I want to grow up and be Michael Phelps,” as compared to, “Daddy I want to be the next Ben Roethlisberger,” any reliable dad would pick the latter, except of course if he knew his daughter would be seen with the likes of that man.

Sunday afternoon is a perfect viewing time, and every game is meaningful, not just another 3 games in 4 day NBA roadtrip or a 4-game series played in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin for baseball. Each NFL game counts, and as the season goes along, they become more and more heart-wrenching.

Then there are the Playoffs, not a 7-game series, but ONE game where the phrase “Any Given Sunday” rings true. All leading up to the most watched event of the year – The Super Bowl, where folks like you and me plan everything right down to what kind of dip you like with your chips.

Technology is another thing that has been good to some things, and not so good to others. You get multiple angles from cameras, instant replays used by officials, and even the imaginary first down marker for our viewing pleasure. What do you get in baseball? Or basketball for that matter? No sport has benefited more from High Definition, Surround Sound or Instant Replay than football, and it has taken what was a time for Grandpa to talk about the 52’ World Series and turned it into DirectTV and NFL Sunday Ticket.

Another thing is that it appeals to kids – in order to play a baseball game you need at least a dozen people. Now who in this day in age is going to find more than a handful of their friends willing to get their gloves to play a routine baseball game? Not unless you are present at a family reunion.

Another thing about baseball – it is boring. I challenge anyone to sit down on the couch, don’t leave or change the station and literally watch an entire nine innings of a regular season baseball game. Don’t forget, there’s 161 more to go too.

Basketball is easy to play, you can play one-on-one, two-on-two, or three-on-three. You can shoot by yourself, and many kids attend camps around the country to hone their skills. But what sets basketball apart is that the NBA has turned into a me-first league. We don’t see players progressing over the years wearing college uniforms, so it’s hard for fans to get attached if all they see is one-and-done’s on the hardwood.

Football is a game with 22 people on the field. Each team has close to a dozen coaches, along with managers, a strength staff and recruiters/scouts. This can reach a much larger audience than the game of basketball, and with so many positions can reach out to the tall AND the small.

So just like all those players who like to say they went to THEE Ohio State University, they can now say that they are playing in THEE NFL, because friends it has now claimed its spot on top the sport’s summit as King of the Mountain.

Why Ndamukong Suh Deserves To Be Named The 2009 Heisman Trophy Winner

There are so many things, as people, we do just because that is the way it has always been. We eat Turkey on Thanksgiving, when we buy shoes – the first choice is usually Nike. When we want a double cheeseburger we go to McDonalds. When you attend a wedding you always have black tuxedos and a white wedding dress. When we walk into a bar and ask for a mixed drink is there anyone out there that doesn’t ask for coke? What I’m trying to say is, just because that’s the way it has been doesn’t mean that is the way it has to be.

First off I hate the Huskers more than anyone you know. Always had it out for the Tom Osborne and Eric Crouch lovers of the world and I will continue that hatred as long as I live. So keep that in mind when reading this article. I think I truly sent out about 200 texts the very second I saw ISU beat Nebraska, and were talking people who I’m not even sure they still had my number. As long as they were Nebraska or State fans they were going to hear my enjoyment.

The last time a college football player won the Heisman Trophy as a defensive player was in 1997. Michigan’s Charles Woodson took home the top prize, although he did also return punts and occasionally play on offense for the Wolverines too.

This year there was no front-runner, nobody that made one great play or had that game-winning drive, or any eye-popping statistics to say that one stands out. So wouldn’t this be the perfect year to give it to that defensive stalwart who disrupts every Offensive Coordinators’ gameplan week in and week out?

Ndamukong Suh has become a beast for NCAA Football this year. Some say he is the best ever at his position. And, as a defensive tackle. He may not touch the ball, he may not score touchdowns, but he sure does make a difference in every college football game he has played in. Chances are we see him as the number one pick in the draft next April. Doesn’t that show that he is the best player? So what if he doesn’t have the statistics like the quarterbacks and running backs receive.

Colt McCoy is getting the sympathy vote this year. He won’t win it based off of his statistics THIS year, he will win it based of a culmination of FOUR good years. The fact that he wasn’t as good as Sam Bradford last year and because he is the quarterback on the team that is in the BCS Championship game is why he is the front runner. He sits atop the list only because the Heisman committee feels there is no one else they could give it to. It’s really like most political elections – voters say they don’t think either candidate is qualified, but it seems majority always seems to rule, and whatever sounds good to the public is the way it will be.

Mark Ingram broke onto the Heisman scene faster than you could see Hawk fans grab the phones and cancel their travel plans to Glendale, AZ. He wasn’t even on the radar before the season started, just like Houston’s Chase Keenum or Stanford’s Toby Gerhart. What makes him so special? He isn’t even one of the best players on Alabama’s team. They win their game on Defense and Coaching alone. He just happens to be the running back who gets to score touchdowns, and now is in the Championship game.

So we have two players who will grace us with their presence in the BCS Title Game, another who holds records out in the West Coast (Gerhart) and If God Were To Ever Have Another Son Tim Tebow. If Florida had beaten Bama in the SEC Championship Game then Tebow could very well be at the top of the list now. It’s amazing how one game can decide a person’s fate for the Heisman. But it truly did.

Now back to Suh. Teams come in each week knowing he will disrupt your running game, your passing game, even block your field goals. The guy had 4.5 sacks against Texas (the same team in the Championship Game) on National TV and almost single handedly won that game for them. Which brings another theory to mind – what if Nebraska had won? Knock McCoy off the list and put in Suh? Florida wins and put Tebow at the top of the list? So is it more about being on the team that wins all the games or does the Heisman Truly go to the best player in college football?

Sure there a lot of what-ifs, but you shouldn’t base such a prestigious award off what your entire team achieves. Football is truly a team sport, and it takes all 11 players on the field to execute. That or just spend about $4 Mil on a new coach. The Heisman goes to the best player in college football.

The best measure for the Heisman is this – take any of these players off their team and see how many games their team wins without them. I can bet you Bama wins 10 games minimum, even with a true freshman running back. Texas probably wins 10, maybe 11, depending on which High School All-American Quarterback they throw in the fire. Florida and Nebraska are the two programs who are led by Tebow and Suh, and would probably be affected the most. Take Suh out and I bet you the Huskers would have won two, if not three less games this season.

In 1996 Danny Wuerffel and Troy Davis were the front-runners for the Heisman race. Florida had the better team, Davis the impressive statistics. Who went number one in the draft that year? Orlando Pace, who even to this day is on All-Century teams as the starting left tackle. Is that Suh thirteen years down the road?

So next time you order a drink, ask for Dr. Pepper instead of Coke. Maybe step outside the box and realize that there is something better out there for you. On that note, I whole-heartedly announce my endorsement for Ndamukong Suh as the 2009 Heisman Trophy Winner.

Maybe Nebraska should have spent more money on a Suh poster in Times Square, NY and not so much on tobacco, mullets and feeding corn.

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda..

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda…

The three words that too many Cyclone fans use to describe Iowa State Athletics the last few years.

There are many opportunities that our dear Cyclones have seen throughout the years, only to come up short. So what can you make of all of this after we stood in the cold watching a 25-yard Big 12-north clinching field goal go wide right? Or maybe seeing some of our best ballers leave town too soon to never see Ames again. Ehemmm… Wesley Johnson, Curtis Stinson or Will Blalock?

Why us? Is it that we always have bad luck, Or is it something else?

On last week’s Soundoff program Andy Fales’ explained in his renown “What’s Bugging Andy” segment that Clone fans have been through too many rough times. He went through all the highlights of the couldas, the shouldas and the wouldas. But at the very end Fales exclaimed that our luck will turn around. And it ought to.

So why is it that we lose more basketball players than gain every year, and seem to hire severe alcoholics as basketball coaches?

Is it bad management in the front office? Is it bad coaching? Or maybe we don’t have the blue-chip recruits? How about the small amount of high-level donors? Is it the facilities? Or are our stadiums too small?

You can’t put a finger on any individual factor - and that is what makes sports so great to watch. Every preseason we argue about who has the better team or who is going to beat who in the big rivalry game.

It’s Any Given Saturday - any team can beat anybody. But Iowa State hasn’t been able to run with the big dogs for quite some time now. Who would have thought a team like Kansas would go 12-1 in 2007 and win the Orange Bowl? Anything is possible.

The problem isn’t our coaching staff – it’s our fans. For all those of you still cross your fingers on field goal kicks and can’t stand for our team as they run off the field (win or lose) – shame on you.

Whenever I watch a game of a storied program like Alabama or Texas I don’t see any doubt on the fan’s faces. Coaches are confident on the third-and-nines and players run up to the line of scrimmage with that type of swagger as if “There ain’t no way you are going to stop us here.”

Take Iowa for instance. For awhile they had our number – winning 15 games in a row, then we win five - Now it seems usually the home team comes away victorious. The same thing that I hate about the Hawks is the reason why they are good every year – Confidence. They have that swagger, that cockiness, that thing that I just can’t stand from their fans – but ya know what, it’s something that is genuinely contagious – and they usually back it up with a successful season.

Iowa State on the other hand has always been the little brother to Iowa. I guarantee you if you were to walk in the stands at an Iowa State-Iowa game and ask every Cyclone fan, the tall and the small, who they think will win, you will know by their lack of a quick response that they aren’t confident enough. Now walk over to any Iowa fan – drunk or not – and ask them the same question. Without a doubt you will hear them say their Hawks immediately.

None of this means I am going over to the dark side. I HATE the Hawks more than anyone, but you have to give them some credit with how their demeanor is displayed on the football field. Everyone takes the field to win, but some teams show it in their body language more than others.

I listen to Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio and he takes calls daily on his radio show. He holds one simple rule: Don’t call in and tell me that your coach should have called this play or given the ball to that player. Because, as Cowherd says, “I think a guy that puts in 80-hour weeks and watches film more than Steven Spielberg knows a little bit more about playcalling than the average Joe working down at the local Merc.”

It’s true – our coaching staffs are paid to make the big calls. And then after it all they get to sit in front of a room full of reporters who ask the same dumb questions that Farmer Bill complains about all week on the local call-in shows.

I love my team, and I support them any way I can. I look forward to the day I can become an alum and donate as much money as I can to sustain our winning foundation for the future.

Sports programs have proven to be cyclical through the years. You have your bad years and your good years. Everyone wants to win, but at the end of the day some team has to lose and some team gets that coveted W.

Sure we’ve had a few bad apples (like Gene Chizik), but that doesn’t mean we should sit back and take it. Iowa State seems to be the only team in the Big 12 that gets more scrutiny than most. Sometimes we deserve it, sometimes we don’t. Forget about the naysayers and do as much as you can to support your team.

So the next time you have the opportunity to go to Kansas City to root on your Cyclones in Arrowhead Stadium – Do It. The next time an annoying student calls you to ask for money for the University – Do It. And the next time you are debating whether or not you want to buy those season tickets – Annie Up and Do It.

Jamie Pollard and his staff can only do so much with the money they are provided. But he can’t do it alone. ISU has the smallest Athletic budget in the Big 12, and we do with it what we can. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, down the road we can all walk together hand in hand and “Take That Next Big Step” for Iowa State Athletics.

The Coaches are Conservatives

Apparently. It's an interesting read.

Mr. Holtz, who coached Notre Dame to its last national championship in 1988, draws a parallel between the standards and rules that most coaches set for their players and the Republican vision of how American society ought to operate.

"You aren't entitled to anything. You don't inherit anything. You get what you earn—your position on the team," Mr. Holtz said. "You're treated like everybody else. You're held accountable for your actions. You understand that your decisions affect other people on that team…There's winners, there's losers, and there's competitiveness."

Coaching and Consistency

Coaching and Consistency

When looking ahead to the upcoming 2009 NFL Season we have the Have’s and the Have Not’s.

While everyone is vying for the same goal (a Super Bowl win), only a few organizations can call themselves legitimate candidates.

There are many factors that play into an NFL season – offensive strategy, defensive schemes, strength of schedule, talent, chemistry, coaching, a little bit of luck, and management. Management. That’s right – ownership and management.

We all love the one-year wonders – the Hoosiers and Miracle on Ice stories, but realistically that doesn’t happen very often. Chances of that happening in the NFL are like Gene Chizik saying he is “firmly entrenched” in Ames. (Oh wait, he did say that)

Some owners, like the Broncos, have gotten rid of their best assets, using the phrase made famous by the epic Godfather film, “It’s not personal, just business.” There’s also the Redskins, who are acting as though they are playing a video game with their franchise, overpaying for talent, and not worrying about team chemistry.

And then there are the Raiders. You want to know how old their team owner/general manager/stickler Al Davis is? I was watching an ESPN Classic feature on Vince Lombardi the other day, and they had an interview with, guess who, the Raiders owner Al Davis. He was the owner of the Raiders when Lombardi was winning championships 40 years ago! Davis managed to name himself the general manager circa 1966, and is now an 80 year old sea monster driving the Raiders into the ground. Boy would I love to be in his league for a fantasy football draft.

Don’t forget, there are two more 100% dictatorships among NFL organizations. You can probably guess one, but probably not the other. The only other owners who can also call themselves GMs are the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones and Bengals’ Mike Brown. We all have seen problems with the Cowboys, as they think they can rebuild these troubled players, only to see them ruin team chemistry and leadership. It’s hard to win that way, and is therefore the Achilles heel to America’s Team.

Let’s talk about some more exciting facets for the upcoming season - The Wildcat Formation. It’s like drugs in the 1970s, everyone is doing it. The team that introduced it to the league (the Dolphins) displayed it against the Pats in Week 4 of last season, only to come back and try and pull the same trick in Week 12. Except this time there was a gameplan to stop it. Mark my words, the new Wildcat formation will not be as big as everyone thinks it will be. These coordinators will find a way to stop it.

Now onto coaching. Consistency is key in any profession or business. Coaching in today’s society is similar to a top 40 hit, you may be popular for awhile, but over time the fame and notoriety wears off. Too often organizations listen to their rowdy fans and once their coaches have one bad season his head is on the chopping block like Michael Vick at a PETA banquet.

It’s like working with a doctor, lawyer or insurance company, wouldn’t it make sense to keep the same person that knows you and your characteristics? Why do you think retirement accounts are set for when you retire? The key is consistency and reliability. The same goes for coaching.

Currently the longest tenured coaches in the NFL are: Bill Bellichick (9 years, 102 regular season wins), Tom Coughlin (5 years, 47 wins), Jack Del Rio (6 years, 50 wins), Jeff Fisher (15 years, 128 wins), John Fox (7 years, 63 wins), Marvin Lewis (6 years, 46 wins), Andy Reid (10 yrs, 97 wins), and Lovie Smith (5 years, 45 wins). That’s an average of 9 regular season wins per year and a combined 31 playoff appearances. Now here comes the best part. Of all these coaches, we have 4 super bowl wins and 9 super bowl appearances.

The same mantra of consistency goes for management and executive decision making. When I think of the Jenna Jamesons’ of NFL dictatorships I think of the Steelers, Patriots, Giants, Eagles, Titans and Colts. All of these teams have superb coaching, franchise quarterbacks (save Tennessee), all-pro defenses, and…. good management. They draft well, fill positions carefully and make sure they pay the right players the right amount of money.

The Pepsis to those Cokes include the Chargers, Ravens, Bears, and Vikings.

All of these teams are able to do one simple thing – balance talent with chemistry. A Terrell Owens wouldn’t last on any of these teams, either would a Pacman Jones or a disruptive Chad Ochocinco. Their first outburst and they are gone, no questions asked. If there is a player who holds out for more money, it is definitely negotiated or he is gone. They hold character high in the business and realize that by developing talent within their own system is much more important than picking it up every summer in the free agency market. Their goal is not just for this year, but for many years down the road.

So mark my words, while there are 32 teams in the NFL with one goal, only these 10 are the Have’s and are viable contenders to bring home the Vince Lombardi Trophy come January. Now if only Al Davis could resign….