As Kansas kicker Scott Webb trotted onto the field for his game-winning field goal Saturday against Iowa State, I knew right away the game was over.

Lined up in the middle of the field with the wind at his back and just 34 yards to go for a victory, Webb came through.

My heart sank. My dreams of a Big 12 title game were crushed like a kid who just found out his new bike was delivered by someone other than Santa.

Sitting in a friend’s basement, I immediately stood up to leave, wanting some time alone to digest my thoughts and to cry in the privacy of my car.

Luckily he was looking out for me. Walking across his basement, he took me by the shoulders and sat me back down. “Grant,” he said, pointing me to a chair. “Sit here. You are in no condition to stand.”

He then fed me fudge and Mountain Dew for more than an hour in an attempt to sedate me.

Unfortunately, just when I had begun to function normally again, I did the dumbest single thing I could. I went to the message boards.

One of the most popular ideas circulating cyberspace was the suggestion that Cyclone fans should boycott Iowa State’s bowl destination.

I had hoped that the idea of widespread bowl boycotting was a knee-jerk reaction, but the movement has been gaining steam. This would be the worst possible thing Cyclone fans could do for their program.

Cyclone fans are always looking for the team to take that jump to the next level. They want the program to move up, consistently challenging for conference championships and New Year’s Day bowl games.

But if the fans want that success, why would they shoot their own case in the foot by collectively boycotting the bowl game?

Much of Iowa State’s appeal to bowls is its fan base. Before their regular season-ending loss to Kansas, the Cyclones were picked by some to be headed to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.

Even though Colorado has secured the Big 12 North’s bid to the conference championship, there is no chance the Buffaloes will be making their way to the Holiday Bowl, the third-highest bowl Big 12 teams can play in.

Colorado fans have a history of poor postseason attendance, and that lack of support hurts their chances of climbing the bowl ladder. The Buffaloes will most likely head to the Independence Bowl as the conference’s fifth-place team.

Right now, bowls are salivating for the Cyclones, knowing that droves of fans are headed their way.

A trip to the Houston Bowl isn’t what Cyclone Nation wanted, not with the Holiday or Alamo bowls in their grasp. But it’s still a bowl game, and a continued ISU fan-following will continue to have bowl officials watching and wanting Iowa State to play in their games.

Besides, where would you want to be this holiday season – Iowa (really cold) or Texas (much warmer)?

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