The Athletic: State of the Program Iowa State

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JP4CY

I'm Mike Jones
Staff member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Dec 19, 2008
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Testifying
You pay for books?
No, just using a price comparison. I'll read a couple books a year but TBH the last couple have come from a neighborhood little free library.
It's why I also donate a monthly fee here. I see some value in it, and would like to hope it can last.
 
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SolarGarlic

Well-Known Member
Jan 18, 2016
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Does anyone else find it stupid that you have to pay for the same ****** sports writers that we got for free a year ago just because they all joined forces?

How dare they organize and receive compensation for their work?! You obviously want to read it. Pay up.

The Athletic has the best sports writers. They produce the most content. They produce the most consistent quality content. They deserve what the market will pay them. I think they're doing well. They're definitely doing better now that jackasses like you can't read their work for free.
 

DeereClone

Well-Known Member
Nov 16, 2009
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Does anyone else find it stupid that you have to pay for the same ****** sports writers that we got for free a year ago just because they all joined forces?

I don't see a problem with it - if enough people value their writing enough for them to stay with the subscription-only deal, then more power to them. If people don't value it, no one will read it and it will be free again.

FWIW I don't pay for the subscription because I have about a 60 second attention span on sports articles.
 
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somecyguy

Well-Known Member
Jun 19, 2006
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They got you. Just because you have to pay for it and the articles are longer your mind wants you to believe it’s better or “premium”. Same ****** beat writers with a couple national generic talking head pundits.

Are you making that comment after subscribing and reading some of the content? You forget that many times, those beat writers are forced to quickly write stuff just to fill space. What ever the Athletic is doing, it's giving these guys the room and resources to write interesting articles with good info.

I've been a Twins fan since 1987 and their "beat" writer has been putting out 2-3 articles a week on them. Not just rehashing the games, he is tying in player backgrounds and historical aspects that couldn't have been written without research.
 
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Fitzy

Tracer Bullet
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I noticed the small heap of praise for our OL, primarily based on experience. Is this finally the year where we can say "yeah, our OL was pretty good!" (or was that last year and I just missed it???). It's just seemed for so long now that our OL has been the limiting factor of our team.
I'd say whenever we can look back on the season and not have to read/consider something like this:

"Even with the unbelievably elusive Montgomery at their disposal, the Cyclones actually ranked last in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game (130) and yards per carry (3.6) in 2018. There’s plenty of room to improve."

That will be when we can claim our OL was pretty good.
 

madguy30

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Nov 15, 2011
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Between the returning experience and the young talent pushing for playing time I will be 100% shocked if our o-line doesn't take a big step forward this year. This will be CMC's first season where he shouldn't have guys playing out of position because we needed to fill holes. The last few years the line has improved throughput the season but this year they should be better right out of the gate.

Yeah oline improved late in the season in 2017 and 2018 so agree that it would be basically shocking if it's not at least reliable this season.
 

SEIOWA CLONE

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Dec 19, 2018
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If you are sports fan, you cannot beat the Athletic, I bought the teaser rate last year for $3.00 a month. Well worth it, they do a great job reporting on college and professional sports. The way I look it, if I read 5 articles a week about the teams I care about, its well worth the money.
Its what the Sporting News was 30 years ago.

Great article on the Cyclones, spend the money and read it.
 

EnhancedFujita

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It's awesome reading a preseason article that ends with a legit discussion about how we can play in the conference championship. Campbell really has brought the program a long ways in a very short time.
 

MeowingCows

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2015
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Iowa
I'd say whenever we can look back on the season and not have to read/consider something like this:

"Even with the unbelievably elusive Montgomery at their disposal, the Cyclones actually ranked last in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game (130) and yards per carry (3.6) in 2018. There’s plenty of room to improve."

That will be when we can claim our OL was pretty good.
It's worth noting that I do believe our pass protection really wasn't all that bad most of the time (not great, but not debilitating), but yes -- we have to grow in both areas to really get over the hump, especially now without Montgomery there to literally create yardage out of nothing.
 
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cycloneworld

Facebook Knows All
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Mar 20, 2006
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I truly do feel the writing/journalism at The Athletic is better than what any other publication/site is putting out currently. Well worth the (cheap) price I paid imo

Same. I paid sub-$2 per month. And would re-up at that price (or a little higher) all day. I've enjoyed their work.

I see little to no value in sport writers covering games and regurgitating what I just watched or what I can gather for free on Twitter. But these more, in depth, detailed stories are worth paying for IMO. The Athletic has very few fluff pieces or game recaps.
 

Kurttr

Well-Known Member
Mar 19, 2006
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Same. I paid sub-$2 per month. And would re-up at that price (or a little higher) all day. I've enjoyed their work.

I see little to no value in sport writers covering games and regurgitating what I just watched or what I can gather for free on Twitter. But these more, in depth, detailed stories are worth paying for IMO. The Athletic has very few fluff pieces or game recaps.
Definitely agree that The Athletic is well worth the price. I joined about a month ago, and it's great. I would say that if you solely focus on ISU or another college or two, you might not find it worth your while (note that this is the abyss from a college standpoint). But, if you also follow one or more pro teams/leagues, you'll see the value.
 

OnlyCyclones

Well-Known Member
Feb 27, 2017
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Agreed. For me it's college sports relatable with ISU, along with soccer and the occasional odd and end. When bundled together and with the typical quality of the writing, it's been worth it for me. And it wasn't much money to begin with.
 

ComCY

Well-Known Member
Oct 31, 2016
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I'm cautiously optimistic that, with the return of Coach Manning, and returning all five starters, the OL was be a strength this season.

Or will our TEs? He turned Indy's TE room into something miraculous last year with what they had.
 

MeowingCows

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2015
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No. I don’t care about that. I wouldn’t read it if it was free either. How you got that from my post, I don’t know.
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