PODCAST: Jamie Pollard on the last 14 days

[tyler24]

I haven't listened to it yet but my thing is that you don't need to be an ******* to someone to get your point across. We have fartoo many entitled people in Ames. So many are worried about themselves and not the bigger picture. Jamie is trying to do what is best for Iowa State Athletics. Oddly enough, that is his job. I don't always agree with him, but guess what, I have no idea all the **** he has to deal with just like people don't know what I deal with.

Long story short, people need to have some compassion for the man and what he has to deal with. He is a human being doing his best, inform him of ideas that you might think help but don't be an *******.

 

[KnappShack]

Ames without THE Iowa State University of Science and Technology is Nevada

Angry JP is the best JP. K!

 

[2forISU]

City of Ames has been **** show for many years. JP has done a fantastic job and he brings solutions to table. Love his quote around a good negotiator.

 

[knowlesjam]

Pollard makes some very good points. He's in a damned if you do and damned if you don't scenario, and I wouldn't want to be in his position at all. That said, he kept saying that "the community decided they didn't want fans" and "the community decided they didn't want to cut the arts."

The community doesn't get to decide those things. Iowa State does. The community is allowed to have an opinion on it, and it can be a very loud opinion, but it's Iowa State's call. It's Iowa State's tolerance for the expected reaction to a decision that is tested. If Pollard and the university president wanted to have fans in the stands on Saturday, they could have. Nobody could have stopped them. But as much as the city needs ISU, ISU is a part of the community as well. It's not like the school can pick up and move to Boone. Public opinion matters, even if it's ill informed and misguided. That's not unique to Ames. That's just the way the world works. I really liked a lot of that interview, and I have always been a big Pollard fan and supporter, but some of that feels like he's pissing into the wind and getting upset that his shoes are getting wet.

I get what you are saying here...and agree 100%. But, if JP has been dealing with this garbage for the entire time, maybe he got to the boiling point and had to vent. Rants are a way to bring about greater compromise, mainly because the inner, dirty workings of the city are visible and it puts pressure on the city to work better with ISU. Yes, ISU could decide things like fans in the stands, etc., but still would prefer to work with the city. If thing remain the same, or even improve, leading up to the Okie game...there will be fans in stands, regardless of the city of Ames wanting the campus to look like a ghost town.

The city of Ames, simply doesn't exist at today's level, if ISU and it's academic and athletic standards go into decline...it becomes just another declining farm town in Iowa with a pasta factory.

 

[Mr Janny]

Ames without THE Iowa State University of Science and Technology is Nevada

Angry JP is the best JP. K!

You say that like it can just happen. Sure, it's true, but that's like saying "Without Earth, the moon would just be a rock floating through space"
Iowa State isn't leaving Ames because of COVID-19. It's not shutting down. And if it did, the conditions that bring it about would be affecting a whole lot more than the city of Ames.

 

[Acylum]

So it was pretty much ISU faculty that got the attendance decision changed?

 

[jsb]

I haven't listened to it yet but my thing is that you don't need to be an ******* to someone to get your point across. We have fartoo many entitled people in Ames. So many are worried about themselves and not the bigger picture. Jamie is trying to do what is best for Iowa State Athletics. Oddly enough, that is his job. I don't always agree with him, but guess what, I have no idea all the **** he has to deal with just like people don't know what I deal with.

Long story short, people need to have some compassion for the man and what he has to deal with. He is a human being doing his best, inform him of ideas that you might think help but don't be an *******.

no doubt.

but he has to do the same thing.

 

[ArgentCy]

Really blasting the City of Ames

There's nothing new there. They've been the model for dumb for decades. It's too bad you can't threaten to move the University.

 

[JM4CY]

JP almost sounds like he's done with Ames....or at least the naysayers in Ames. Don't get me wrong, he loves and is all in on ISU. Just seems like the community making his job very difficult.

I had the same thought and really hope that’s not true.

 

[Mr Janny]

I get what you are saying here...and agree 100%. But, if JP has been dealing with this garbage for the entire time, maybe he got to the boiling point and had to vent. Rants are a way to bring about greater compromise, mainly because the inner, dirty workings of the city are visible and it puts pressure on the city to work better with ISU. Yes, ISU could decide things like fans in the stands, etc., but still would prefer to work with the city. If thing remain the same, or even improve, leading up to the Okie game...there will be fans in stands, regardless of the city of Ames wanting the campus to look like a ghost town.

The city of Ames, simply doesn't exist at today's level, if ISU and it's academic and athletic standards go into decline...it becomes just another declining farm town in Iowa with a pasta factory.

I definitely agree with this. This was a venting session for Pollard. Probably felt great to get it off of his chest. Venting sessions aren't always about logic, and that's totally fine. I can't imagine the pressure that he's under. I'm so glad Iowa State has someone like him at the helm. Can he be cranky? Sure. But Pollard is tough as hell.

 

[tyler24]

no doubt.

but he has to do the same thing.

Thats everybody though. It starts somewhere. Stubborn always wins, even when it loses.

 

[Aclone]

I love Jamie. And I understand about the city of Ames and the faculty screwing him over.

But the part that irritates me is that there were people that thought the attendance policy was not in the best interest of public health. And while those people don't have room to complain when things are cut and dropped, they are certainly entitled to their opinion.

And he continues to not have a good reason why 25% attendance was the original solution. He has said twice now that those people would be pissed if they weren't in attendance for certain games. Probably true, but at the same time he says that people in leadership have to deal with that ****. So he could have dealt with it.

I can pretty much guarantee that part of the backlash had to do with Iowa State getting pounded on a national level for the attendance policy because Iowa State was doing what NO OTHER SCHOOL WAS DOING--allowing 40% of fans in the stadium (and I think more than 40% of capacity if you take the hills into account). It was a bad look. Jamie should have known that and if the facility is as awful as he say it is, he should have realized they would grab onto that.

No matter what, the people that want to have their cake and eat it too are in the wrong. I understand his frustration with the whole thing, especially if it is true that they pushed him to have fans.

In the end, Jamie should have gone with his original plans for no fans for the first game considering the high numbers of cases in Ames over the first few weeks of school.

The high number of cases in Ames was directly related to large numbers of students coming back and being utterly irresponsible, standing in long lines at bars without masks and partying without social distancing.

please, feel free to tell me how that correlates to game attendance at Jack Trice when social distancing and masks are strictly enforced?

 

[ArgentCy]

I love Jamie. And I understand about the city of Ames and the faculty screwing him over.

But the part that irritates me is that there were people that thought the attendance policy was not in the best interest of public health. And while those people don't have room to complain when things are cut and dropped, they are certainly entitled to their opinion.

And he continues to not have a good reason why 25% attendance was the original solution. He has said twice now that those people would be pissed if they weren't in attendance for certain games. Probably true, but at the same time he says that people in leadership have to deal with that ****. So he could have dealt with it.

I can pretty much guarantee that part of the backlash had to do with Iowa State getting pounded on a national level for the attendance policy because Iowa State was doing what NO OTHER SCHOOL WAS DOING--allowing 40% of fans in the stadium (and I think more than 40% of capacity if you take the hills into account). It was a bad look. Jamie should have known that and if the facility is as awful as he say it is, he should have realized they would grab onto that.

No matter what, the people that want to have their cake and eat it too are in the wrong. I understand his frustration with the whole thing, especially if it is true that they pushed him to have fans.

In the end, Jamie should have gone with his original plans for no fans for the first game considering the high numbers of cases in Ames over the first few weeks of school.

So you just want to ISU to get in line and not show any Leadership. Yep. Conform or suffer the hate of the ultra-righteous. As if anyone knows what difference there is between 25% or 40%. Nothing but politics.

 

[Clonefan32]

I definitely agree with this. This was a venting session for Pollard. Probably felt great to get it off of his chest. Venting sessions aren't always about logic, and that's totally fine. I can't imagine the pressure that he's under. I'm so glad Iowa State has someone like him at the helm. Can he be cranky? Sure. But Pollard is tough as hell.

I've mentioned this before, but compare this to what Iowa did in cutting those programs. Barta called them into a room, told them their programs had been cut and left. Jamie is trying to get out in front of the issue and is putting everything out in the open. If the public perception is going to be a relevant factor in decision making, make sure they have all the information that's available. Make sure they realize that actions do have consequences on both sides of the argument.

I know people have been critical of Jamie but by my view he's just trying to be open and transparent. And if there's a little pettiness thrown in there too it's hard to blame him. The guy's working as hard as he can to create a solution in a situation where there are no right/wrong solutions and the peanut gallery is more than willing to lob insults and criticisms, but seem low on solutions.

 

[ISUAgronomist]

Looking forward to some of the JP haters replies to this

In before Jeremy whines about JP again.

 

[Brandon]

He's definitely venting, I have said from the get go there should be no fans to start and then they decide on 25000 when we're in a hot spot. He makes the big bucks to be in his position so deal with the backlash and dont blame the community because you caved from some of the faculties pressure.

 

[Mr Janny]

The high number of cases in Ames was directly related to large numbers of students coming back and being utterly irresponsible, standing in long lines at bars without masks and partying without social distancing.

please, feel free to tell me how that correlates to game attendance at Jack Trice when social distancing and masks are strictly enforced?

I'll bring up Haunted forrest tailgating, for one. Nothing the university could do to stop tailgating from occuring there. Nothing they could do to enforce masks, social distancing, etc. That was going to be a jam packed lot full of drunk people. Eliminating fans in the stands took a lot of the incentive away to come tailgate. Now, there will still be some people there, but nowhere near as many as if 25,000 fans were going to be in the stands.

 

[mj4cy]

There's nothing new there. They've been the model for dumb for decades. It's too bad you can't threaten to move the University.

So many opportunities for the city have gone the wayside over the years because of the "we want a small town" mentality.

 

[mapnerd]

Hopefully we can all grow from here and improve. Everyone is under stress. While JP's stress may be greater than mine, he's also paid way more than me. So he can deal with it. I am not a JP hater - he is great for ISU. And I agree that Ames would love to have all of the benefits from the university, without all of the bratty kids. I just think that cooler heads will prevail. But 2020 is a **** show, so it's hard to expect anything at this point. I hate it that at times everything at ISU and Ames (and the state?) seems to be tied to football. I know it's not going to change. I just think it's a really weird situation that has developed over the last 20 or 30 years.

 

[mj4cy]

I had an opportunity to work in Ames several years ago and turned it down because everyone I knew said there were "experts" in everything that wanted to control everything about the town. I suppose it gets that way when you have so many PhDs in a small town. Sounds much the same.

I grew up in Ames.....great for a HS kid with opportunities but once I left ISU, I decided Ankeny/DSM would be a better fit. More open to change.