Randy Pete Column: How long will fans put up with the mess in which college sports finds itself?

[Cyclad]

Iowa State fans will remain loyal, amid college sports’ drama.

But today’s landscape is testing that loyalty.

Randy Peterson on the transfer portal, NIL and what it all means for fans moving forward.

PETERSON: How long will fans put up with the mess in which college sports finds itself? - Cyclone Fanatic

Photo Credit: Jacqueline Cordova/Cyclone Fanatic Concern about how today’s out-of-whack college sports is affecting its still-loyal (so far) fans was heightened recently during a conversation. Some people mentioned they’d think twice about purchasing a replica jersey or an autographed picture...

cyclonefanatic.com

I like Randy but he misses the major point.

First - yes, people will hesitate to buy jerseys for players who will likely leave. So what, no big deal.

But the fans will not be loyal when we are not competitive. If the rules do not change that is where we are headed. Perhaps we are already there. The people with the big money do not want things fixed. The current rules favor them. Everything is now a financial transaction. How many football fans will come to the games if we have a poor performing team? We have been there before. I was there early for senior day for the 0-10-1 team. Care to guess how many of us showed up? Are ISU fans loyal - yes. Will they show for for a poor product - history says no. Lack of $ may make us a second tier team, and relegate us to a feeder school status for those with $. That is the problem I fear most, not jersey sales.

 

[AlaCyclone]

I like Randy but he misses the major point.

First - yes, people will hesitate to buy jerseys for players who will likely leave. So what, no big deal.

But the fans will not be loyal when we are not competitive. If the rules do not change that is where we are headed. Perhaps we are already there. The people with the big money do not want things fixed. The current rules favor them. Everything is now a financial transaction. How many football fans will come to the games if we have a poor performing team? We have been there before. I was there early for senior day for the 0-10-1 team. Care to guess how many of us showed up? Are ISU fans loyal - yes. Will they show for for a poor product - history says no. Lack of $ may make us a second tier team, and relegate us to a feeder school status for those with $. That is the problem I fear most, not jersey sales.

I was there too.

45,186, and it was the largest home crowd of the year by almost 5,000. Of course, it was against #01 ranked Nebraska. The Cyclones actually played tough that day before losing 28-12.

Your point is valid though! ISU had poor crowds all season in the 32,000 range for all but the opener vs. UNI (40,295) and the closer vs. Nebraska (45,186). The weather sucked every game to boot!

Man, 1994 sucked! I went to all of the home games + @ Iowa that year.

 

[Erik4Cy]

I am loyal to ISU, but I don't give a rat's ass about the rest of it.

Yep, I'll be in Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum no matter who puts on the cardinal & gold.

Me refusing to buy tickets won't solve anything or make the situation better for ISU. I've had too many good memories and I go for more than just seeing the athletes get paid. It's the Cyclone Nation community that drew me in from another fanbase when I was young.

 

[oliver888]

Peterson is spot on about the jersey thing. Why spend $100 on a player's jersey when they might be playing for a rival school in six months? It makes it really hard to stay invested in the individual players.

 

[Cloneon]

Here's my reality. I used to spend an hour on this site per day. But, the atmosphere has changed so much that it's now only 10 minutes. I can only imagine how that translates to donations. Not good.

 

[cycloneworld]

I like Randy but he misses the major point.

First - yes, people will hesitate to buy jerseys for players who will likely leave. So what, no big deal.

But the fans will not be loyal when we are not competitive. If the rules do not change that is where we are headed. Perhaps we are already there. The people with the big money do not want things fixed. The current rules favor them. Everything is now a financial transaction. How many football fans will come to the games if we have a poor performing team? We have been there before. I was there early for senior day for the 0-10-1 team. Care to guess how many of us showed up? Are ISU fans loyal - yes. Will they show for for a poor product - history says no. Lack of $ may make us a second tier team, and relegate us to a feeder school status for those with $. That is the problem I fear most, not jersey sales.

Spot on. As ISU fans, we have been very fortunate to be competitive in all major sports recently. Expectations are up dramatically, especially when fans are being asked to pay more for tickets, donations, etc.

Look at WBB. The announced attendance is usually around 10-11k. But actual was probably half that towards the end of a disappointing season. And that’s for a team that made the NCAA Tournament. Will be interesting to see what FB attendance looks like if this truly is a rebuild year.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I think if it continues to go this way without more stability created by a major reform, the effect will be cumulative and that can become a legitimate crisis for the popularity of the game.

We've been lucky and have been somewhat shielded from this (until Campbell left) with programs that focus on player retention and stability.

Watching the sport as a whole, though, has become less interesting than it used to be. It's weird and off-putting to watch a lot of college basketball and see little continuity in teams from year to year. Many programs have even less continuity than a pro team at this point, and a lot of players simply disappear from your radar and at some point you may catch them playing for wherever they landed this year (or maybe not).

Even with our player retention, I miss the days where you could watch a promising freshman bloom into a superstar (or even a solid role player on a great team) over 4 years. Now that is a rarity, and as much as I love some of our transfers, one or two years isn't enough to form as much of an attachment to them as you do with someone like Georges, Monte or Tamin.

 

[Cyfan1965]

Was it Rice that was dating Grayers sister? Thought that connection helped.

100,000 dollars from Ed Martin a retired autoworker who admitted to laundering money through an illegal gambling operation to give to players. That is what swayed it.

 

[Cyched]

100,000 dollars from Ed Martin a retired autoworker who admitted to laundering money through an illegal gambling operation to give to players. That is what swayed it.

 

[MugNight]

The jersey thing is overblown to me. A generic # on a jersey is still gonna sell. I’d opt for one without a name on it.

Where athletes will see less demand is their standalone merch. I almost bought a Rocco RB rope hat when he was going through his tough stretch last season. I was certain he was an all timer Cyclone coming back to break records his senior year. I’m glad I didn’t buy one because it would’ve been at the thrift store in mid December.

Plenty of kids have Brahmer gear or Audi gear and now it’s frankly tarnished. The irony is that that type of merch is the true spirit of what NIL is supposed to be.

 

[Cyfan1965]

I'm just glad my kids are grown and I don't have to explain to them why Rocco and
Audi et al bailed on ISU.

 

[CYdTracked]

Great work Randy!

I'm soon to be 48, and had always thought of myself as a 'lifer'. I live in the KC area, but still support the NCC, hold season FB tix and make the drive for home games and attend some road contests, and attend as many MBB games as I can. Supported the collective in small sums regularly. For the last two years, I've started to hear the "worth it" question creep into my consciousness. The Campbell departure along with most of the roster sure didn't help. The MBB roster rumors Williams & Blum discussed in Sunday's pod along with the WBB gutting over the last few seasons have me entertaining thoughts of hanging it up more seriously.

I'm gonna give Jimmy Football a few seasons, but if the roster is uncompetitive with high player turnover, I might be done at 50. I can't be alone with this new normal which is a ridiculous revolving door of mercenaries.

As a fan with the Cyclones of the 80's & 90's as my "formative years", I don't feel like my expectations are out of whack. I've seen some pretty ugly lows and paid a lot of good money to watch them in person. Something's got to change - for college sports overall, not just ISU.

I am feeling a lot of the same thoughts as you and I am just a year younger than you. I've never donated directly to NIL collective funding, I personally see no personal benefit from it. I spend my money on season FB and MBB tickets, ISU merch, etc so my support is through that and my attendance at games. Lately the guys I've had season FB tickets with for a long time and I have been talking about how much longer until they start pricing us out of wanting to do a full season and have to consider a mini pack or select games. I'm sure some people have already been priced out too. It's not even just the tickets alone but parking, concessions, even your tailgate all factors into how much it costs you to attend a game. Let alone add in any kind of NIL dontations on top of that.

I have 2 young girls that I had to explain recently about Audi and Addy leaving as they have some of their shirts and have been big fans of them the past 3 years. Those custom shirts where what NIL was intended for not the pay for play that it has turned into. Now my girls have stuff they likely won't want to wear again because their hearts were broken by players that chose to go play elsewhere for money and not necessarily for the love of the game or school they play for. That's another downside of this era especially in the women's sports side of things of all these kids that look up to them as role models and invest their time, emotions, and their parent's money supporting them and have to worry every offseason if their favorite player is going to stay now. Some of my kid's coaches make a point to ask them "did you have fun today?" after a game whether they win or lose. My kids will likely not be good enough to play a college sport so I will never be in the position of having to remind them that playing a sport is about enjoying the game and not chasing the dollars.

 

[Erik4Cy]

Peterson is spot on about the jersey thing. Why spend $100 on a player's jersey when they might be playing for a rival school in six months? It makes it really hard to stay invested in the individual players.

I think it just comes down to being much more selective and being forced to do the research on the player. I'm very lucky to have a source or two who are close to the BB & FB programs so I usually can ascertain who will stay and who won't.

But with a little bit of asking about and research within the fanbase it can become more clear who to support that is "Clone to the Bone".

i.e. I would've had no problem buying Tamin Lipsey, Nate Heise, Kyle Konrardy, etc. gear.

Plus a fan could always wait until the start of their senior year as well if you don't want to buy their NIL gear as a freshman or sophomore out of fear of transfer. A reward from a fan for staying loyal, so to speak.

 

[Allikat]

Great work Randy!

I'm soon to be 48, and had always thought of myself as a 'lifer'. I live in the KC area, but still support the NCC, hold season FB tix and make the drive for home games and attend some road contests, and attend as many MBB games as I can. Supported the collective in small sums regularly. For the last two years, I've started to hear the "worth it" question creep into my consciousness. The Campbell departure along with most of the roster sure didn't help. The MBB roster rumors Williams & Blum discussed in Sunday's pod along with the WBB gutting over the last few seasons have me entertaining thoughts of hanging it up more seriously.

I'm gonna give Jimmy Football a few seasons, but if the roster is uncompetitive with high player turnover, I might be done at 50. I can't be alone with this new normal which is a ridiculous revolving door of mercenaries.

As a fan with the Cyclones of the 80's & 90's as my "formative years", I don't feel like my expectations are out of whack. I've seen some pretty ugly lows and paid a lot of good money to watch them in person. Something's got to change - for college sports overall, not just ISU.

After we beat KState in Dublin I engaged in some schadenfreude and viewed their forums to gage their reaction.

One fan indicating he was a long time fan posted that he “chose to only allow sports to bring him joy and while disappointed when his team loses, he moves on rather than being angry.”

I am taking this approach with NIL and the state of college sports. I can be angry or I can choose to enjoy sports. I don’t particularly like where it is going but I can still go to games or if that becomes too expensive I can watch my teams.

I can wish for change but I cannot enact change.

 

[Cyched]

After we bear KState in Dublin I engaged in some schadenfreude and viewed their forums to gage their reaction.

One fan indicating he was a long time fan posted that he “chose to only allow sports to bring him joy and while disappointed when his team loses, he moves on rather than being angry.”

I am taking this approach with NIL and the state of college sports. I can be angry or I can choose to enjoy sports. I don’t particularly like where it is going but I can still go to games or if that becomes too expensive I can watch my teams.

I can wish for change but I cannot enact change.

Agree it’s best when you don’t allow sports to dictate your mood, or get you down.

But when the deluge of changes in college sports over the past few years makes things less enjoyable, what’s a fan to do?

I still watch and cheer for ISU religiously, but it’s amazing how much less I’ll seek out the other matchups on any Saturday. Not because I’m protesting or taking a stand, the desire just isn’t there anymore.

 

[Allikat]

Agree it’s best when you don’t allow sports to dictate your mood, or get you down.

But when the deluge of changes in college sports over the past few years makes things less enjoyable, what’s a fan to do?

I still watch and cheer for ISU religiously, but it’s amazing how much less I’ll seek out the other matchups on any Saturday. Not because I’m protesting or taking a stand, the desire just isn’t there anymore.

I DO avoid watching SEC or BIG games on TV as a matter of principal as my protest to the changes.

It used to give me joy just to sit and chill on a random weekend day, but now the thought of the disparity I am watching and the thought that my viewing habits may help support ESPN or whoever is funding that disparity give me pause.

This includes national championship games.

Fortunately there are plenty of things to do that I enjoy.