I really didn’t want to come out and say this. It’s going to offend many people, but it needs to be said.

Cyclone fans are not good fans. Period.

Sitting in the press box at Jack Trice Stadium before Saturday’s game against Colorado, I watched the entire stadium fill. Every seat was taken, all the way up to the corners of the upper deck.

I was proud of my fellow Cyclones. They had come out and supported the team – sitting through a tornado in the process – and were ready to roll.

Then something happened.

The seats began to empty. By the start of the second half, massive clusters of seats from 40-yard line to 40-yard line were empty. There, in the middle of the stands, huge sections of yellow bleachers were visible.

Cyclone fans should be ashamed.

Students came out in droves, filling their section and staying for the entire game (a pleasant surprise, considering their tendency to leave early). It was the season-ticket holders who are to blame here.

Thanks to ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard, the stadium was overflowing with fans. His “Pack the Jack” promotion, which offered $10 tickets, was brilliant, bringing a sellout crowd to a nationally televised game.

Even a tornado and a 40-minute delay couldn’t keep the stands from filling before kickoff.

The first half was well-played, with the Cyclones opening up a 13-0 lead before Colorado scored 10 unanswered to go into halftime down by three.

An exciting conclusion to an important game was on its way, but then, for some reason, the season-ticket holders decided to jump up and leave.

I don’t know why. Maybe they were tired.

The only time I might have considered leaving was before the game had started. If there weren’t massive Big 12 North title implications at stake, I could see myself saying, “Holy crap! Tornado! Grab the kids. We’re out of here.”

Fans stayed through the severe weather, but somehow they couldn’t make it through the entire game.

This was, perhaps, the biggest game ever played in Jack Trice Stadium.

Colorado came in as the No. 22 team in the nation and Iowa State needed a win to keep its Big 12 North title hopes alive. On a night when the offense met its match against the No. 1 rush defense in the nation, it was the Cyclone defensive squad that made the difference.

Two turnovers returned for scores gave Dan McCarney his third victory ever against a ranked team and further threw off the idea that Iowa State can’t win in big games.

Iowa State is at a crucial place in its program. With the coaching and players the Cyclones have, and the vision of McCarney and Pollard, Iowa State is in position to make a consistent mark on college football.

And Cyclone fans couldn’t find it in themselves to stay for the entire coming out party.

– Grant Wall is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Fort Dodge. He is the sports editor of the Daily.