I am more convinced than ever that Iowa State is going to have a sucessful football program. I'm not saying this year or the next. I'm not saying whether it will be led by Rhoads or someone else. I just think it is coming. We still have obstacles to overcome, but most schools have obstacles of one kind or another. We still have a daunting schedule to navigate, but schedule strength is cyclical and at some point will open up for us.
What we have now is the facilities, fan base, administrative support and commitment unlike we have had in my entire lifetime. The closest we came to having those stars align before was when Cyclone Stadium (Jack Trice) was built and Earle Bruce was coach. And that worked out briefly, although I'm sure he suffered the same attacks of over-emphasis on athletics that Johnny Majors endured when I was a student.
I thought we were getting there around year 2000, but it fell apart. We have so much more going for us now than we did just 15 years ago that it makes me feel it's ready to happen this time around. How soon it happens will depend on some teams falling back to the pack. Iowa already has. Tech has. KU has been down for a while. KSU, OSU, WVU, TCU and Baylor may be the next to slide if OU and Texas climb back to their usual spots.
The time is coming. This year may not be the year, but it would be a good time to start moving in the right direction. We are going to be sucessful in this generation of Cyclone football.
What we have now is the facilities, fan base, administrative support and commitment unlike we have had in my entire lifetime. The closest we came to having those stars align before was when Cyclone Stadium (Jack Trice) was built and Earle Bruce was coach. And that worked out briefly, although I'm sure he suffered the same attacks of over-emphasis on athletics that Johnny Majors endured when I was a student.
I thought we were getting there around year 2000, but it fell apart. We have so much more going for us now than we did just 15 years ago that it makes me feel it's ready to happen this time around. How soon it happens will depend on some teams falling back to the pack. Iowa already has. Tech has. KU has been down for a while. KSU, OSU, WVU, TCU and Baylor may be the next to slide if OU and Texas climb back to their usual spots.
The time is coming. This year may not be the year, but it would be a good time to start moving in the right direction. We are going to be sucessful in this generation of Cyclone football.
