When did Hilton Magic Exist?
- Thread starter dbronco7sc
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Home KU game from 2000 I think it was. 1pm tip, on a single-digit temp day. Was in the student section (back when it was on the sides) and there were a ton of people standing in line, outside, for about 2 hours. And then they let us in, but not into the arena - for another 30-60 minutes.
THAT was Hilton magic. Freezing my *** off was worth it...as it was a fantastic game - one in which the team, and fans - beat KU.
And back then, fans showed up for all games - not just the ones against KU or Iowa.
THAT was Hilton magic. Freezing my *** off was worth it...as it was a fantastic game - one in which the team, and fans - beat KU.
And back then, fans showed up for all games - not just the ones against KU or Iowa.
one key ingredient of "hilton magic" we always forget is "sucking on the road." it wasn't just that we'd beat kansas at hilton, we'd also lose to them by 30+ in lawrence, thus making our hilton victory all the more incredible. also, certain players would play amazing at home and then disappear on the road. jake sullivan was probably the best example of this.
finally, i love all the media guides online that allow facts to correct our fading memories. the crappy '99-00 attendance has been mentioned. another example is that after the amazing OSU victory in 92, the very next game we lost at home....to nebraska.
finally, i love all the media guides online that allow facts to correct our fading memories. the crappy '99-00 attendance has been mentioned. another example is that after the amazing OSU victory in 92, the very next game we lost at home....to nebraska.
I know you asked when it existed, but it started on per Wikipedia v Missouri in 1989.
Hilton Magic
“Hilton Magic,†the power of the Coliseum faithful to produce unexpected victories, was first recognized by Des Moines Register sportswriter Buck Turnbull. On a Feb. 14, 1989, showdown with the No. 3 Missouri Tigers, the Cyclones conjured up the spirit of the Hilton crowd to produce a stunning 82-75 victory. The following day’s headline read “Hilton Magic Spells ‘Upset’ One More Time.â€
In the article, Turnbull called for more “Hilton Magic†in the Cyclones’ upcoming bout with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, which had pummeled ISU, 102-74, just three weeks earlier. On cue, “Hilton Magic†displayed its powers, as the Cyclones defeated the Cowboys, 90-81, marking a 37-point reversal from the season’s prior meeting.
Hilton Coliseum was specifically built to hold in sound with a solid concrete structure, steel doors, and a crowd that sits just a few feet from the court. With a fan base that frequently ranks among the nations largest crowds, players from opposing teams, as well as Iowa State, have said that the floor has shaken due to the loudness of the crowd.
More than two decades old, the term “Hilton Magic†is still applicable today. This reality was never more apparent than ISU’s school-record 39-game homecourt winning streak that was ended during the 2001-02 season. The streak, which spanned four different basketball seasons, was the second-longest in the nation at the time. In 2003-04, Iowa State went 17-1 in Hilton, recording the second-best single-season home win total in school history.[1]
Hilton Magic
“Hilton Magic,†the power of the Coliseum faithful to produce unexpected victories, was first recognized by Des Moines Register sportswriter Buck Turnbull. On a Feb. 14, 1989, showdown with the No. 3 Missouri Tigers, the Cyclones conjured up the spirit of the Hilton crowd to produce a stunning 82-75 victory. The following day’s headline read “Hilton Magic Spells ‘Upset’ One More Time.â€
In the article, Turnbull called for more “Hilton Magic†in the Cyclones’ upcoming bout with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, which had pummeled ISU, 102-74, just three weeks earlier. On cue, “Hilton Magic†displayed its powers, as the Cyclones defeated the Cowboys, 90-81, marking a 37-point reversal from the season’s prior meeting.
Hilton Coliseum was specifically built to hold in sound with a solid concrete structure, steel doors, and a crowd that sits just a few feet from the court. With a fan base that frequently ranks among the nations largest crowds, players from opposing teams, as well as Iowa State, have said that the floor has shaken due to the loudness of the crowd.
More than two decades old, the term “Hilton Magic†is still applicable today. This reality was never more apparent than ISU’s school-record 39-game homecourt winning streak that was ended during the 2001-02 season. The streak, which spanned four different basketball seasons, was the second-longest in the nation at the time. In 2003-04, Iowa State went 17-1 in Hilton, recording the second-best single-season home win total in school history.[1]
Good post, man! As I was thinking back on Hilton Magic I remember one characteristic that stood out. We would will us to win and raise the roof not only after a spectacular dunk or a mid-court three pointer but also when we were down by ten and the other team had the ball.
The crowd could sense when the team needed to be picked up and we would go nuts screaming and jumping up and down. The team would respond and as they did, the crowd would get louder. The other team would become disoriented and turn the ball over, foul or miss a shot. The whole scene would be complete chaos as we then would take the lead. Chalk up another win for the Hilton crowd and the Cyclones.
Any crowd can yell loud after a dunk, but Hilton Magic was like another player for the Cyclones that would come off of the bench at critical times during the game and give the team a lift when they needed it. The players would feel the excitement and crank it up. The crowd would play the game with the team; the big difference was we were in the stands they were on the court. A player never felt the need to wave his arms at the crowd and implore us to cheer, because we were waving our arms, yelling and imploring them on.
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I think it died when they moved the students into the ends instead of throughout the parquet. I think it will be hard to really get it back since there's no way they do that again. There's just too many old people (I'm not complaining, they pay the bills) in the lower sections.
Hilton had a reputation for being a loud building from the first day it opened.......but I don't think the "magic" began to appear until like the 82-83 season when ISU upset a couple of ranked teams at home. As pointed out elsewhere in the thread.....the term was not coined until 1989, but it existed before that.
As others have said, you will know when Hilton Magic is back. A poll will not be necessary. You will know it when you feel it.
Think of Hilton Magic as the "12th man" at Texas A&M or Seattle Seahawk football home games. The crowd is every bit as important to the success of the team as any player on the floor. The crowd is a major part of the game, and causes the opposing teams to under-perform. The fans are as much into the game as the players are.......from the opening tip until the end. It is the crowd helping the ISU players....not the crowd reacting to the players doing something good.,
That is not back yet, but hopefully it is on its way in the next couple of years.
As others have said, you will know when Hilton Magic is back. A poll will not be necessary. You will know it when you feel it.
Think of Hilton Magic as the "12th man" at Texas A&M or Seattle Seahawk football home games. The crowd is every bit as important to the success of the team as any player on the floor. The crowd is a major part of the game, and causes the opposing teams to under-perform. The fans are as much into the game as the players are.......from the opening tip until the end. It is the crowd helping the ISU players....not the crowd reacting to the players doing something good.,
That is not back yet, but hopefully it is on its way in the next couple of years.
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H
HGPuck
Guest
From reading through several threads, the simple answer for most people is when "I" was a student. Which is natural since the student section is always the loudest section of the arena. For some that is the Stevens/Grayer era, others it is Hoiberg, others it is Cato/Willoughby, others it is Tinsley, and some it is Stinson/Blalock.
I've seen all of these eras from Hoiberg on from the same seats (sat with my dad in our seats when I was a student). And I can tell you in my opinion there has been 'Hilton Magic' in each one of these eras. For me it is the moments when I get goosebumps as I look across the crowd baseline to baseline celebrating a big play or pushing the team on defense. That is 'Hilton Magic' to me, but it is a little different for everyone.
I've seen all of these eras from Hoiberg on from the same seats (sat with my dad in our seats when I was a student). And I can tell you in my opinion there has been 'Hilton Magic' in each one of these eras. For me it is the moments when I get goosebumps as I look across the crowd baseline to baseline celebrating a big play or pushing the team on defense. That is 'Hilton Magic' to me, but it is a little different for everyone.
This is so true and the magic started with Johnny Orr. The "Old Farts" as they have been called were the ones really into the game before Johnny came. They would be up clapping with the school fight song. We just sang, "Don't know the words to our school song." How many remember that? The upset of Minnesota was the first big win for Johnny. Many of our best teams couldn't win squat on the road, yet we could possibly beat anyone at home. In 86-87 I had to sit in the top row on the end as I couldn't even get rotating ticket seats, there was that much demand for student tickets. I don't know what it was like when they played in the armory, others will have to fill you in on that.
I don't go back into the 80's, but I believe it started when Johnny started to win some with an exciting style. It was going strong through the 80's. TF's style started to kill it off, but it was still there and really got deafening when ISU was on D and Willoughby and Bankhead slapped the floor getting ready to ratchet up the pressure. I believe it was there through LE, but was really dying his last year or two after his success had faded. IMO the last gasp was the UVA game with the big dunk by Rashon Clark. It hasn't been the same since.
You can see little glimpses of it coming back this year...and that's the first time I can say that in awhile. In the early to mid 90's, I remember even nonconference games where the decibal level really got up there in key spots. And for conference games, it got REALLY loud...like can't hear the guy next to you unless he is screaming directly in your ear loud. I remember games where my ears were ringing leaving the arena. To me, it all starts in the parquet. Those people used to be excitable and stand up and yell (not all the time of course). Yeah, they got older and new donor rules forced a lot of the common man into the balconey, but these last two games, I've seen them stand up and yell more than I have in the past few years....whether it is yelling at the refs or encouraging the D.
You can see little glimpses of it coming back this year...and that's the first time I can say that in awhile. In the early to mid 90's, I remember even nonconference games where the decibal level really got up there in key spots. And for conference games, it got REALLY loud...like can't hear the guy next to you unless he is screaming directly in your ear loud. I remember games where my ears were ringing leaving the arena. To me, it all starts in the parquet. Those people used to be excitable and stand up and yell (not all the time of course). Yeah, they got older and new donor rules forced a lot of the common man into the balconey, but these last two games, I've seen them stand up and yell more than I have in the past few years....whether it is yelling at the refs or encouraging the D.
Yes, there was one moment. When he took the CU job, the magic was back. Playing games in the 40s and 50s was extremely boring to the fans. We have not been in the fifties yet this year.
Maybe Hilton Magic is responsible for CU offering GMac the coaching position??? Anyone think about that???
Who in their right mind would of offered that guy a job and pay his buyout if they weren't under some kind of magical spell???
Kinda disproves the whole 'this place used to get filled every night' thing. So much is selective memory. People remember the best moments and not the more mediocre nights (or they didnt go to noncon games either, as many often dont, so they dont remember how those had nobody there then either). I think this applies for both crowd size and volume.
Also, so hard to tell what actual numbers are for any game when so many are season tickets. Pollard made a big push around the time GMac was hired and set record season ticket sales i believe, and then they dropped off during his tenure. They ever announce how many season tickets we sold this year?
Survey is very challenging to choose from since it takes multiple answers to be correct.
Here is what Hilton Magic is and what many believe it to be.
It is the combination of When the crowd recorded over 120 decibels or the floor shaking (fan loudness) and Fans willed team to victory over tougher opponents (upsets/overachieving).and General excitement that we can beat any team at home (fan excitement/confidence).and Opposing coaches and players refer to this as a tough place to win (respect from opponents).
What would happen when the magic was in full swing the fans would be so loud that they willed the team to wins, and if a(n) opposing coach called a timeout to settle the fans down they would come back even louder to show the coach they knew what just happened and would eventually be worthless for a coach to call a timeout to try and settle fans down.
Of course the fans got the loudest from witnessing good defense and great hustle.
There have been moments of this recently but it is not completely there yet.
Here is what Hilton Magic is and what many believe it to be.
It is the combination of When the crowd recorded over 120 decibels or the floor shaking (fan loudness) and Fans willed team to victory over tougher opponents (upsets/overachieving).and General excitement that we can beat any team at home (fan excitement/confidence).and Opposing coaches and players refer to this as a tough place to win (respect from opponents).
What would happen when the magic was in full swing the fans would be so loud that they willed the team to wins, and if a(n) opposing coach called a timeout to settle the fans down they would come back even louder to show the coach they knew what just happened and would eventually be worthless for a coach to call a timeout to try and settle fans down.
Of course the fans got the loudest from witnessing good defense and great hustle.
There have been moments of this recently but it is not completely there yet.
Unless you were a student during the last five years.
Again, if the W's come, the Magic will return. It'd be great if we fare well through the next few games and then have a chance to knock off K-State and Mizzou at home.
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"Hilton Magic" IMO is hard to describe with words. The phrase "you had to be there" really applies to this issue. I guess if one had to try an explain, it would be how a team........who cannot come close on the road against anyone.......can beat almost anyone at Hilton. Although there are many examples every season up until the GMAC era.......the 88-89 season I think is a striking example.
At Kansas we lose 127-82
At Hilton we win 97-89
At Mizzou we lose 96-71
At Hilton we beat #3 Mizzou 82-75
At Kansas State we lose 104-89
At Hilton we win 101-89
At Okie State we lose 102-74
At Hilton we win 90-81
And even though they swept us:
At #1 Oklahoma we lose 126-97
At Hilton we lose 100-109 in (OT)
You add this along with the well known examples of Danny Manning and his Larry Brown coached J-Hawks never winning here.............well, there you have it.
At Kansas we lose 127-82
At Hilton we win 97-89
At Mizzou we lose 96-71
At Hilton we beat #3 Mizzou 82-75
At Kansas State we lose 104-89
At Hilton we win 101-89
At Okie State we lose 102-74
At Hilton we win 90-81
And even though they swept us:
At #1 Oklahoma we lose 126-97
At Hilton we lose 100-109 in (OT)
You add this along with the well known examples of Danny Manning and his Larry Brown coached J-Hawks never winning here.............well, there you have it.
