Fan anxiety "Fanxiety" watching the Cyclones
- Thread starter ScottyP
- Start date
I tend to knock out a lot of chores while having football on in the background and that's helped during antsy moments.
Washing bedding, cleaning up the kitchen.
Having a TV in the garage has been great. A quick vac out of the vehicles, blowing out leaves, etc.
Washing bedding, cleaning up the kitchen.
Having a TV in the garage has been great. A quick vac out of the vehicles, blowing out leaves, etc.
THIS. I'm not sure it's a good thing, but that's where I'm at.
I still get excited during the tournament runs or during the B12 football championship, so I guess there's still some feeling left.
I am incredibly superstitious. There's an episode of It's Always Funny in Philadelphia where Charlie has an entire system for the Eagles games and that whole thing didn't seem that crazy to me 
The year the basketball team rattled off a ton of wins in a row (the Donavan Jackson KU year), I started going to movies during every road game. I saw more movies in those few weeks than I probably see in 5 years. Last year I was sick and fell asleep before the BYU football game even started and then I started to go to bed before the rest of the road games.'
I find I'm getting a little less crazy as I get older, but I'm still pretty ******* crazy.
The year the basketball team rattled off a ton of wins in a row (the Donavan Jackson KU year), I started going to movies during every road game. I saw more movies in those few weeks than I probably see in 5 years. Last year I was sick and fell asleep before the BYU football game even started and then I started to go to bed before the rest of the road games.'
I find I'm getting a little less crazy as I get older, but I'm still pretty ******* crazy.
When I was in college I had crazy anxiety watching ISU fb/mbb...and when I studied abroad in college within about a month I had the identical anxiety for the local pro soccer team so it was obviously something about me at that age more than just ISU. It was pretty crazy how quickly I could become passionate about "my team". I wasn't even an ISU fan until I went to ISU and my freshman year alone I was way into it even though it was still '97 the year before Mac turned it around.
In my 20s it was about the same even when I moved to Chicago and was away from Iowa/Ames and not around a bunch of ISU/Iowa fans.
In my 30s and now 40s I can just shrug it off. I still get really excited about wins and down about losses but there's no anxiety or pacing or domination of my thoughts.
In my 20s it was about the same even when I moved to Chicago and was away from Iowa/Ames and not around a bunch of ISU/Iowa fans.
In my 30s and now 40s I can just shrug it off. I still get really excited about wins and down about losses but there's no anxiety or pacing or domination of my thoughts.
I am at my wit’s end 
No I legitimately still get really anxious. I tell myself I’ve gotten better but I find myself just waiting for the shoe to drop and something bad to happen.
Here’s something that might help you feel better:
Since Halftime of the Iowa game, the Cyclones have outscored our opponents 135-34
We may lose some games this year. We may not. But we are off to a hell of a start.
No I legitimately still get really anxious. I tell myself I’ve gotten better but I find myself just waiting for the shoe to drop and something bad to happen.
Here’s something that might help you feel better:
Since Halftime of the Iowa game, the Cyclones have outscored our opponents 135-34
We may lose some games this year. We may not. But we are off to a hell of a start.
If I get too stressed during the game, I will turn it off, put my phone on airplane mode, and go for a walk or hike.
This happens every Cy-Hawk lol
This happens every Cy-Hawk lol
Based on my new medicinal experiences, I can vouch it helps a LOT. I have a specific strain I call my CyWeed.
I get it worse in basketball than football. Basketball just seems to ebb and flow so much it's hard on the emotions. There are some basketball games I just refuse to watch the end of games.
There are times I will watch a game on about a 5 minute delay, keep track of live action on the ESPN app and decide based on that if I want to keep watch. Completely insane, but hey, what are you going to do.
I'm much more anxious now that we have higher expectations. I don't like being ranked #11 and people talking about the possibility of winning the conference and/or going to the playoff. I'm not saying I don't want them to be as successful as possible. I just don't like having that as the expectation. After last Saturday's win my thoughts immediately went to, "Oh crap. We have to play next Saturday at WVU as a favorite." It would be nice to enjoy these wins. I'm either relieved at the end of the game if they win or disappointed if they lose. I'm never really happy when they win. (That probably says more about my personality than anything else.) I know this sounds strange, but seeing Vanderbilt upset Alabama made me a little nostalgic for the days when our program struggled but would have those memorable exhilarating upset wins over top-ranked teams. The basketball season will be more of the same with us starting the season in top 10.
Now that my sports-related stress has transferred over to my own kids' events, I don't get nearly as worked up during Cyclone games.
Yeah, I thought I might be the only one who cares too much to watch. I just get so emotionally distraught when things go sideways I have to turn it off.
Over the years I've convinced myself I have to fool the football/basketball gods into thinking I just don't care. I won't wear ISU gear on game day! That's the ultimate jinx. Don't watch! If I do, the gods know I care.
I wake up on game day and as soon as I realize it is game day I immediately get a sense of dread, "God, I hope we don't lose," if we're favored or "God, I hope we can pull of the upset" if we're the underdog.
I try not to check the score until I'm pretty sure the game is over or almost over. If we're comfortably ahead I will tune in for the end. If not, no way.
The morning after a game I wake up and if we won I feel great! Grab the ISU tee and throw it on. If we had lost, I remember, feel disappointed, and try to tell myself, "it doesn't matter, it's just a game," and wear something generic.
I can watch any other sport, any other team and I might pull for one or the other, but I never really get excited or anxious either way. I can watch for the competition and the entertainment. Just ISU - because I care too much.
Over the years I've convinced myself I have to fool the football/basketball gods into thinking I just don't care. I won't wear ISU gear on game day! That's the ultimate jinx. Don't watch! If I do, the gods know I care.
I wake up on game day and as soon as I realize it is game day I immediately get a sense of dread, "God, I hope we don't lose," if we're favored or "God, I hope we can pull of the upset" if we're the underdog.
I try not to check the score until I'm pretty sure the game is over or almost over. If we're comfortably ahead I will tune in for the end. If not, no way.
The morning after a game I wake up and if we won I feel great! Grab the ISU tee and throw it on. If we had lost, I remember, feel disappointed, and try to tell myself, "it doesn't matter, it's just a game," and wear something generic.
I can watch any other sport, any other team and I might pull for one or the other, but I never really get excited or anxious either way. I can watch for the competition and the entertainment. Just ISU - because I care too much.
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It's weird that I am a fan of ISU, Commanders, Capitals, and Nationals (from DC). With the Caps, the years of struggles in the playoffs made me so numb to it and expecting a loss. 2018 was obviously a different story where we won it all (that playoff run was my absolute favorite sports moment ever). With the Commanders and Nats I just expect losses all the time so I don't get anxiety during games. For some reason, ISU football and basketball are the only teams I follow that give me anxiety during games.
My anxiety has actually gotten worse with age. Basketball is just as bad as football. I have a 2 year old daughter now and it actually helps to have her around as my emotional support crutch. I know I can't lose my **** in front of her, so I just focus on how's she's doing. I'm still a nervous wreck, but she's a good distraction.
