When did Hilton Magic Exist?

When did Hilton Magic exist?


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I don't really believe there's been that much turnover in the parquet fan base. All those 35-40 yr olds in the 80s are now 65-70 yr olds.
 
So when did Hilton Magic Exist?

--- "Back when I was in school"

--- "The Johnny Orr Years"

--- When the fans willed the team to victory against a tougher opponent at our home court
All three are relevant, in my eyes.

So when we went 13-15 , 10-18, and 12-19 in '86-87, '89-'90, and '90-'91 did Hilton Magic Exist? Or did it die a few times in between? (I didn't even list the first 3 years of losing seasons)
That is wise of you, because I can assure you that Hilton Magic was born when Barry Stevens went off against Missouri, to upset the #10 Tigers in double overtime. I can assure you of that, because I was a student, and I was there.

And in response to a couple of posts, the students were sitting behind the baskets that night.

I won't define when it died (I would guess after Eustachy left), but that's when it was born.
 
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My 2 cents worth:
I have been going to games since 1985 the "Magic" was there. The magic died off when Orr left. Even in the good years since it's not the same to me. Not saying its gone but just not quite the same. If you've been attending games from the Orr era on you will no when the magic is there. There's an ora about Hilton that can't be matched by anything that you've ever witnessed at a basketball game. I just hope to witness this again.
 
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.

To this day I feel VERY fortunate to be a student at ISU during some of the best sports times we had. I went from 98-02 and to this day I don't think you can top that 2000 year when the football team went 9-3 with their first bowl win, the MBB went 32-5 and were 3 minutes away from the final 4 (I was already trying to figure out how I was going to go if they made it even before the MSU game) and even the women were conference champs and made the sweet 16 that year. Like ISUfan22 said, that 32-5 year you would have to show up HOURS before games just to get lower level student seating while the past few years most games Cyclone Alley can barely even fill up to the top of their lower level sections for most games. Even Saturday they couldn't.

The Magic does start with the students, I'll agree with that no matter what because they set the tone. As a whole I wish everyone just not the students would start showing up and bring back the magic. I have great memories from those years we were good in the early 2000's and winning will sure help bring the magic back too but I can honestly say I have yet to feel that the magic is "back" yet because I've witnessed what it can be like and we haven't got back to that point yet.
 
It started when Orr finally got the program off the ground and stayed (for the most part) till Chewbacca killed us dead.
 
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.

+1000

The catalyst for Hilton Magic is effort. A symbiotic relationship between the effort the players give and reciprocation from the fans, and not necessarily in that order.

It's about being a fan and getting tired of being down 6 points, so you start to start to get loud for no other reason than you want to see a spark that will start a run. Some younger fans may not have experienced this, and adhere to the "the team needs to give me something to cheer about" garbage.

A steal, a three from the corner, a blocked shot, a layup/dunk - something to provide a reason to get slightly louder. And if the opponent gets a bucket or we miss one it doesn't take all the wind from your sail for our next turn on D. Like trueclone2 said, if their coach calls timeout, we come back when play resumes as loud or louder.

The cyclones in the underdog role has a tendency to magnify it a bit. But, it's really about being a fan and believing the team can win in Hilton because, well, we win in Hilton.

Now, part of that is being a witness to an upset by the Cyclones in Hilton - something that hasn't happened in a while before Saturday's pounding of the Bears. Freddie has them on the right track though. He's teaching selfless hustle while at the same time putting guys in situations where they can succeed with the talents they bring to the team.
 
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.

This answer is not on the poll, but is what I would vote for if it was. None of the other options encapsulate Hilton Magic for me.

Good work, aauummm. Your whole post is spot on.

+1
 
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when its back, you'll realize it.

it was magic because the crowd went wild starting when they hear the pre-game ritual "here's johnny" and watch him walk onto the court like like the second coming. the fans sustained the decibels longer, getting the team jacked up when one great play built on another until the building shook. orr's passion for the game getting teed up to defend calls for his guys. we had home unbeaten streaks that seemed to last longer than weve seen lately. floyd emphasized the key to conference championships was to win at home and steal one on the road. somewhere in the eustacy era it got quieter and now it is harder to hear the sustained volume. we still need the passion that keeps one great play building on another and one great game on another... one great season on another. i doubt it is freds style to get as fired up as johnny but hopefully the excitement comes from the win column this time around.

i should have looked but wasnt there a year with an undefeated home record in there somewhere.
 
when its back, you'll realize it.

it was magic because the crowd went wild starting when they hear the pre-game ritual "here's johnny" and watch him walk onto the court like like the second coming. the fans sustained the decibels longer, getting the team jacked up when one great play built on another until the building shook. orr's passion for the game getting teed up to defend calls for his guys. we had home unbeaten streaks that seemed to last longer than weve seen lately. floyd emphasized the key to conference championships was to win at home and steal one on the road. somewhere in the eustacy era it got quieter and now it is harder to hear the sustained volume. we still need the passion that keeps one great play building on another and one great game on another... one great season on another. i doubt it is freds style to get as fired up as johnny but hopefully the excitement comes from the win column this time around.

i should have looked but wasnt there a year with an undefeated home record in there somewhere.

Nothing better than seeing Johnny chase the officials off the court! I doubt you will ever see Fred do that.

Certainly some good posts here but Hilton Magic is about going to Hilton expecting to win no matter who the opponent is as opposed to going with the hope of winning. And, ultimately, it is about impacting the game from the stands by lifting the Cyclones when they need it and by harrassing the opponents and opposing coach through shear volume as opposed to profanity..."SIT DOWN NORM, SIT DOWN NORM" for example.

How many of you have clapped in Hilton until your hands bled? How many of you have yelled in Hilton to the point that you could not speak audibly after the game?