Paul Rhoads on Murph and Andy right now...

[Clone9]

It would be virtually impossible to do more than 12 wins in your first 2 years at ISU. We fired a coach, and then another one left after 5 wins in 2 years. We can argue about the talent these coaches left behind, but regardless, it is a tumultuous situation to inherit. Anything more than 12 wins would have been nothing short of miraculous. CPR clearly gets the most out of the guys in the situation he is in. No question about that.

I think that part of the problem this year, attendance-wise, were the 2 big losses to Utah and Oklahoma. I think these losses turned people off pretty bad, and they didn't come back, despite ISU playing some really great football in 2nd half of the season. If we eliminate the major blowout losses, I think the fans will respond.

But who knows....

 

[Clone9]

Well, let's talk about the "elephant in the room:" how about beating Iowa instead of being blown out by them? ISU will have more credibility with those "casual fans" when we are competitive with our biggest rival.
Next year at JTS would be a good start.

Yes, include Iowa in the list with Utah and Oklahoma.

We've been destroyed by them 2 years in a row now. CPR and crew need to find a way to beat these guys next year. Really, its the only thing they haven't done that we could reasonably expect.

 

[Tornado man]

Yes, include Iowa in the list with Utah and Oklahoma.

We've been destroyed by them 2 years in a row now. CPR and crew need to find a way to beat these guys next year. Really, its the only thing they haven't done that we could reasonably expect.

To be clear, I did not expect ISU to really be competitive with Iowa in Rhoads' first two years - the talent difference has been dramatic. I was responding to the question "what do we do to get the casual fans on board?"
To get those fans to fill JTS, we have to beat the Hawks. Next year we have that chance.

 

[Cycsk]

I get the feeling that Rhoads wonders what in the hell he has to do to get that casual fan in the stands. I mean, good grief, he has won 12 games over 2 years. He's the first coach to do that ever at Iowa State. He has had several (I'd say 3) huge program-building type wins. He's shown that his brand of football is exciting and fun to watch.

Hey, I'm a huge CPR fan. But, if we are talking about the casual fan, it would help not to lose by about 120 points in two weeks just when excitement was starting to build. Also, not getting blown out by a bad Colorado team when we were poised for a bowl would have helped.

One more win and no utter embarrassments are the path to the casual fans. Now, whether they are really worth it or not is another story.

Those of us who know how hard (and well) these coaches build game plans know that sometimes it really works well and sometimes it doesn't, especially when the other teams have bye weeks and we don't. That really drives up my interest and support, but probably not for most casual fans.

 

[jsb]

Well, let's talk about the "elephant in the room:" how about beating Iowa instead of being blown out by them? ISU will have more credibility with those "casual fans" when we are competitive with our biggest rival.
Next year at JTS would be a good start.

Anyone who is withholding support because of a couple of losses to Iowa is an idiot. It is clear we have plenty of idiot fans. I have a feeling that there are people in the Jake that would share that view.

So would a win against Iowa and 8 losses get you to support this team? Or do they have to go 12-0?

Sure there were some bad games this year, but EVERY team has bad games. Iowa lost to Northwestern and Arizona. Texas lost to us. Nebraska lost to Texas.

If someone feels they need their idea of perfection out of this football program they will never be happy and it will NEVER happen.

 

[alarson]

I love some on here who are going after the fans on here. Lets face it, 90% of the fans that CPR is talking about are not the fans who come to CF. So save your 'you all need to step it up' posts.

Its the casual fan. Tornado Man makes a good point about iowa blowing us out, but its more than that. Iowa has had a solid season last year, and had a lot of hype going into this year. Since 2002, assuming they finish there this year, they will have finished in the AP top 25 6 times out of 9, 4 of those being top 10 finishes. When you've got that just a couple hours to the east, while getting 12 wins in his first 2 seasons is a good accomplishment, when you compare that to what's going on over there, the expectation gets raised by the casual fan.

It certainly doesnt help to get absolutely embarrassed by teams like iowa (here or there, gets plenty of local audience) and Utah at home. Even when iowa's lost the last couple years, theyve lost by slim margins (a TD or less). Thats a lot less demoralizing to a fanbase than a team coming in and blasting you for 40-50+.

Now, granted, im not blaming this all on Rhoads, this is a lot due to the situation he walked in to. But at the same time, it needs to be understood that the situation with casual fans will take more than just 5-6 wins, especially if the losses include embarrassments like OU\Utah\Iowa. Losses like those destroy any momentum gained among the 'non-fanatic' fanbase gained through the wins.

 

[weR138]

I get the feeling that Rhoads wonders what in the hell he has to do to get that casual fan in the stands. I mean, good grief, he has won 12 games over 2 years. He's the first coach to do that ever at Iowa State. He has had several (I'd say 3) huge program-building type wins. He's shown that his brand of football is exciting and fun to watch.

Sadly, I think we're going to have to contend for the B12 title for casual fans get off the Iowa bandwagon or at least spend some meaningful time on ours.

I think CPR's recognition of the hole we're in as a program is great for ISU. We needed a coach to come out and say "we're not where we need to be" a long time ago. Good by ISU standards isn't good enough to build our program; we have to be good by Big 12 standards and he's basically telling people this.

 

[Tornado man]

I love some on here who are going after the fans on here. Lets face it, 90% of the fans that CPR is talking about are not the fans who come to CF. So save your 'you all need to step it up' posts.

Amen. The casual fan's attention span is not as long-lasting or durable as the Cyclone fans on here; they are mobilized to to act (and buy JTS tickets) only when their excitement level reaches a certain point. For many, many of them, we need to beat Iowa to get to that level.
Why is that such a hard concept to swallow?

 

[mustangcy]

Sadly, I think we're going to have to contend for the B12 title for casual fans get off the Iowa bandwagon or at least spend some meaningful time on ours.

I think CPR's recognition of the hole we're in as a program is great for ISU. We needed a coach to come out and say "we're not where we need to be" a long time ago. Good by ISU standards isn't good enough to build our program; we have to be good by Big 12 standards and he's basically telling people this.

Well, Iowa has built their fanbase by contending for Big 10 titles...so guess what? ISU has got to contend for Big 12 titles before you start to see the stadium full every single game.

Count me as one that gets a little tired of the 'bash the fan' approach. I've said on here countless times that the key to ISU's fanbase is turning every ISU student into ISU fans. Frankly those of us that went to ISU probably could count on all of our fingers and toes the amount of ISU alums you know with Iowa flags flying in their yard. There are more Iowa born kids at ISU than Iowa...we've got to start capitalizing on that. I think/hope JP is but until we convert a few more generations of Iowa fans over to ISU's side simply because they go ISU we will not have the fanbase we all hope and dream for.

 

[3GenClone]

ISU needs to figure out how to get more people from Des Moines to Ames on Saturdays. The Hawks have the Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids, yet Des Moines is split between the Hawks, Cyclones and a handful of Drake fans. Play more basketball games at Wells Fargo, hold an open football practice at Valley Stadium, etc. Get more exposure in Des Moines and ISU should see more butts in the seats.

 

[jsb]

I love some on here who are going after the fans on here. Lets face it, 90% of the fans that CPR is talking about are not the fans who come to CF. So save your 'you all need to step it up' posts.

Its the casual fan. Tornado Man makes a good point about iowa blowing us out, but its more than that. Iowa has had a solid season last year, and had a lot of hype going into this year. Since 2002, assuming they finish there this year, they will have finished in the AP top 25 6 times out of 9, 4 of those being top 10 finishes. When you've got that just a couple hours to the east, while getting 12 wins in his first 2 seasons is a good accomplishment, when you compare that to what's going on over there, the expectation gets raised by the casual fan.

It certainly doesnt help to get absolutely embarrassed by teams like iowa (here or there, gets plenty of local audience) and Utah at home. Even when iowa's lost the last couple years, theyve lost by slim margins (a TD or less). Thats a lot less demoralizing to a fanbase than a team coming in and blasting you for 40-50+.

Now, granted, im not blaming this all on Rhoads, this is a lot due to the situation he walked in to. But at the same time, it needs to be understood that the situation with casual fans will take more than just 5-6 wins, especially if the losses include embarrassments like OU\Utah\Iowa. Losses like those destroy any momentum gained among the 'non-fanatic' fanbase gained through the wins.

True enough, but there is a hell of a lot of excuses being made on here, by the non-casual fan, for the casual fan. Shouldn't we all be united in the idea that the casual fan has hardly any excuses for not stepping up? Instead, we get 'if only they beat Iowa' or 'they can't get blown out EVER' or 'the games shouldn't be at night'. I am not sure why some of us feel the need to make excuses for others.

 

[ISUJeff]

1460

OH NO!. Not 1460. Only devil's speak comes from that station. Turn it off now. They are trying to destroy ISU!

 

[bpmcclain]

After what happened with coach Mac, I think we have to be realistic. When Mac left, I was all for it because like many other fans, we wanted more. After the era of the Chiz, I think it brought most of us back to reality. We need to appreciate what we have with Rhoads and enjoy seasons like last year. As long we are in the Texas 10, we probably wont be competing for league titles (and if we ever do, it wont be on a consistent basis). Enjoy the seasons like last year when we go to bowl games and appreciate what we have with Rhoads. He is a hell of a coach and we are lucky to have him

 

[Cycsk]

ISU needs to figure out how to get more people from Des Moines to Ames on Saturdays. The Hawks have the Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids, yet Des Moines is split between the Hawks, Cyclones and a handful of Drake fans. Play more basketball games at Wells Fargo, hold an open football practice at Valley Stadium, etc. Get more exposure in Des Moines and ISU should see more butts in the seats.

Actually, CPR is already doing the best things he can. He is doing a great job with the football team. And he is becoming an incredibly attractive media personality (pardon the momentary man-love).

Seriously, compare his interviews with Chizik's even when contending for a national championship. CPR has so much personality that just draws fans in.

If he keeps doing his great football interviews and doesn't get too negative about the state of things in the football operations, I think he will draw quite a crowd. You may not like the comparison, but he could end up with a national following like some of the other "great" personalities, such as Lou Holtz and Mike Ditka. People just like to listen to him.

Now, if we really want to analyze the situation, who do you think is pushing CPR to talk about facilities, fans, and fundraising? Hmmmm.

 

[sogocat]

would have asked him what the university needs to do in order to recruit Big 12 talent level players

 

[cstrunk]

In order to get the truly casual fans to JTS you need to have 8-9+ wins per season. You need to be ranked every now and then. You need big upsets at home once a year or so. You need good bowl games. That's how you will get 50,000+ crowds at JTS on average for a season. That is how you raise funds for facilities/coaches. You have to win.

Sure 12 wins over two seasons has been a great start. But in the eyes of most college football fans, it's still pretty terrible. People like supporting winners. And once we become one, they'll start supporting us.

That's just how it is.

Not all Cyclone fans went to ISU or know anyone who did. But most ISU fans are connected to the university somehow. The only way to get more people to become ISU fans who have no affiliation with the university is to win.

 

[tazclone]

In order to get the truly casual fans to JTS you need to have 8-9+ wins per season. You need to be ranked every now and then. You need big upsets at home once a year or so. You need good bowl games. That's how you will get 50,000+ crowds at JTS on average for a season. That is how you raise funds for facilities/coaches. You have to win.

Sure 12 wins over two seasons has been a great start. But in the eyes of most college football fans, it's still pretty terrible. People like supporting winners. And once we become one, they'll start supporting us.

That's just how it is.

Not all Cyclone fans went to ISU or know anyone who did. But most ISU fans are connected to the university somehow. The only way to get more people to become ISU fans who have no affiliation with the university is to win.

And win consistently

 

[cyowa]

OH NO!. Not 1460. Only devil's speak comes from that station. Turn it off now. They are trying to destroy ISU!

Although I think there is a lot of sarcasm in the above post, it is really very relevant to the "how to convert casual fans to rabid ISU fans" topic. Iowa State needs to win big time, but it also needs a lot of media support, even to the extent of media cheerleaders for ISU. And that support is sorely missing. The fact that Iowa State is the lonely northern outpost of the Big 12, sandwiched between Nebbie and Iowa of the Big 10, doesn't help much either. Face it, the Big 10 will soon stretch from western Nebraska to Pennsylvania, a challenge for ISU's quest to win over support for them and their conference.

It really is a tough row to hoe, but winning ball games and winning over the local media is probably the best way for ISU to begin filling the stadium consistently. Simply that.

 

[bellzisu]

I think we will get more fans if we hire Dan McCarney as an assistant. Duh....

 

[CYVADER]

I think we will get more fans if we hire Dan McCarney as an assistant. Duh....