Teams
Forum List
Toggle sidebar

Are fans more connected to a university than athletes are?

TrailCy

TrailCy

Well-Known Member
Mar 3, 2021
531
921
93
When a coaching change happens we see players transfer all the time. Everyone understands the surface explanation that athletes want to play for a specific coach.

But if you peel it back a layer, it exposes something interesting, that fans are actually far more connected to the university than the athletes are.

When a coach leaves for another job we don't follow him. Our loyalty is to the school and the place. the coach is temporary.

The relationship is different for the players. When the person who recruited them leaves the attachment often leaves with him. Most don't care at all about the school.

I think the difference in attachment is why coaching changes feel so destabilizing and frustrating. Iowa state is permanent. Almost everything else is not.

Thoughts?
 
  • Like
  • Agree
Reactions: SatelliteCy, pourcyne and beentherebefore
Without question.

It's 99.9% school affiliation for fans. I would say the only exception would be a family member going to play/coach for a different school at which point you switch. And even than may be temporary.

For example, I joke with my wife (and Iowa grad) that if our son played QB for Iowa I'd want him to throw for 300+ and 4 TD/0 INT, but lose the game because their defense is porous. I'm only half kidding.

In all seriousness, players on the other hand are basically the inverse. Maybe not to the tune of 99%, but it's clear there is next to zero loyalty to a school. Someone like Tamin is a rare exception.

I think a lot of us - myself included - have overestimated this. Which is why emotions run so high with these coaching changes and subsequent transfers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SatelliteCy and 1UNI2ISU
cyfan964 said:
University loyalty is a thing of the past.
Click to expand...
I don't think university loyalty in athletes has ever been as strong as fans like to think it is.

Just listen to the interview Allen Lazard did talking about the transition from Rhodes to Campbell. He said he would have transferred if the transfer rules existed then as they do today.
 
  • Like
  • Agree
Reactions: cyfan964, SatelliteCy, madguy30 and 4 others
TrailCy said:
When a coaching change happens we see players transfer all the time. Everyone understands the surface explanation that athletes want to play for a specific coach.

But if you peel it back a layer, it exposes something interesting, that fans are actually far more connected to the university than the athletes are.

When a coach leaves for another job we don't follow him. Our loyalty is to the school and the place. the coach is temporary.

The relationship is different for the players. When the person who recruited them leaves the attachment often leaves with him. Most don't care at all about the school.

I think the difference in attachment is why coaching changes feel so destabilizing and frustrating. Iowa state is permanent. Almost everything else is not.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Rhetorical question?
 
I was thinking about past players. They would still come back to ISU as the fans still appreciate them, but I would also assume that they will go to wherever the coach they played for is coaching, which is where they will spend a lot of their time.
 
Just look at these quotes from the punter that decommitted and switched to Penn State. He still hasn't visited Penn State.

"All of it was trust in the staff and the belief I had in them to put me in a good spot for my future," Tenbrock said.

He added, "Committing to Penn State was the right choice for me as many of the reasons why I initially wanted to attend Iowa State revolved around the leadership and trust Matt Campbell had on full display giving me a sense of comfort I hadn't gotten from many other schools."

"My relationship with Coach Campbell and all of the staff following him to Penn State is incredible as they always showed amazing hospitality and dedication to the program which is what you want to see -- coaches who put there all into the football program," Tenbrock said.​
 
The short answer is an obvious "yes". Fans grow up in the community, attend school there in many cases, live close to the university, and still attend games. It is a part of their identity for many, especially in Iowa. Athletes grow up all over the country and attend for the opportunity. That said, many athletes grow to love the school and its teams and continue to cheer for them and return to visit as older adults.

I was friends with an athlete at ISU who originally hated Ames and Iowa State because it was so foreign and far from home on the east coast. But by their second year, grew to love it and is still a huge ISU fan. It just depends on their experience.
 
  • Like
Reactions: coolerifyoudid, NWICY and madguy30
LancelotClone said:
Just look at these quotes from the punter that decommitted and switched to Penn State. He still hasn't visited Penn State.

"All of it was trust in the staff and the belief I had in them to put me in a good spot for my future," Tenbrock said.

He added, "Committing to Penn State was the right choice for me as many of the reasons why I initially wanted to attend Iowa State revolved around the leadership and trust Matt Campbell had on full display giving me a sense of comfort I hadn't gotten from many other schools."

"My relationship with Coach Campbell and all of the staff following him to Penn State is incredible as they always showed amazing hospitality and dedication to the program which is what you want to see -- coaches who put there all into the football program," Tenbrock said.​
Click to expand...
Dang. Forgot about our 5 star punter.
 
TrailCy said:
I can't imagine Niang or Montgomery or Purdy becoming Penn State homers.
Click to expand...
I think it's different after graduation. At that point I see your loyalty remaining with the school. Until that time I think they're free agents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cyfan964
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Help Support Us

Become a patron
Top Bottom