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.