The full and true inside story on what went wrong with the attempt to make Cyclone Fanatic nut cups! What went wrong? Must name names in the ISU trademark office.
It seems like you guys did this at some point in an earlier podcast series, but how about ISU counterfactuals? ("what-ifs")? Start with legendary negative moments and extrapolate how you'd guess the timeline would change. Some starting points.
What if Woody Hayes manages to not punch an opposing player before retiring? ... follow-up talking points: How much longer does Earle Bruce stay at ISU? Does he go somewhere else in-between while waiting for his dream job? How different is Iowa State football in the interim than what actually happened?
What if Iowa State closed out the Elite 8 game and advanced to Final Four? ... Does Wisconsin have any shot to upset the Cyclones? Assuming not, could Florida have beaten us? How much would winning the national title immediately change ISU's basketball program?
What if Yelk's FG in the Independence Bowl were called good (i.e., "correctly," in my view)? How does that change the football program's progress? Is it only a minor difference in the short-term?
A less-monumental but more recent example: Iowa State overcomes mind-numbing officiating and defeats KSU in the 2017 regular-season finale. What bowl game would have selected the Cyclones, who would be the opponent, and how would we fare? (The bowl scenarios would be simple to find, I'm not able to do it right now).
Oh man, you beat me by like a minute. I was just going to suggest a "Sliding Doors" edition. It doesn't have to be negatvie moments either; just any significant (or seemingly minor) moment in ISU's history that if you change it, the timeline changes drastically one way or the other. What if Jim Walden doesn't stupidly burn TD's redshirt by using him sparingly his freshman year? Are we looking at the only three time 2000 yard rusher in NCAA history? And does one more year of Davis give McCarney a little extra runway to build the program up even more than he ultimately did?
I purposely stepped on that thing EVERY SINGLE time I walked out of the MU during my time at ISU. When I took my daughter on her college visit a few months ago - I told her about the superstition and then purposely walked over it again. My daughter and wife did NOT follow my example. So, I have survived and have had a relatively good life. Of course, I am not a millionaire so, had I avoided that zodiac, maybe I'd be rich???3. True survival stories of people who stepped on the MU Zodiac.