Less than two weeks left in the school year, and what a year it has been, huh?

What started out as one of the most promising years in sports for the ISU athletic programs turned out to be one most would like to forget.

Except me.

There have been several negative things said about the university through the entire school year, from the football team taking a nose dive in the second-half of the season to Larry Eustachy’s appearance in The Des Moines Register this week. Of course, much of the negativity is deserved, simply because of the high expectations everyone now has for the Cyclone teams. That means the program is earning respect.

Today, I am going to venture into unusual territory, for myself anyway, and will attempt to look at the bright side of things.

But anyway, let’s take a look at some of the positive things that came out of this season.

First, the football team. Cyclone fans were the beneficiaries of back-to-back road trips, coming off a trip to Shreveport, La., for the Independence Bowl last season, the ‘Clones were invited to play in the Eddie Robinson Classic in Kansas City to start the season. I, like many, looked up and down the schedule and decided we would treat the trip as our bowl game, and partied our asses off while down in KC.

Many also figured that Iowa State would get manhandled by Florida State, who has made it a tradition to beat their first opponent of the season by an average of about 70 points.

It appeared that was going to be the case in the first half, but the team found some momentum and came within a crooked referee’s call of at least sending the game to overtime. I will always be convinced that I saw Seneca Wallace in the end zone on that last play, no matter how drunk I may have been.

Despite the loss, McCarney’s crew built off their performance en route to climbing to a No. 9 national ranking, before hitting the beefy part of the Big 12 schedule.

I followed the team to Iowa City, only to see the team give a first-half performance similar to the FSU game, only to come back and shove the ball down all those idiot Hawkeye fans’ throats. The silence on Melrose Avenue was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

There was also the dismantling of Nebraska, declaring the “New Big Red” in the Big 12. I’ve never heard Jack Trice Stadium so loud, and every touchdown gave me goosebumps.

Take that Herbie.

Now on to the hoops season. A nationally ranked recruiting class showed up on campus, bringing with them hopes of a return to the NCAA tournament, after missing the postseason last year. The only problem was, two of the guys didn’t get to play. We did get to see 7-footer Chris Alexander during the second semester, but he bailed because of family problems.

We still had three starters from the class, all of whom made major contributions throughout the season. There was also the emergence of Marcus Jefferson during end of the season.

The Cyclones won the mythical state championship, which featured another comeback victory in Iowa City. I was at that game too, and once again, the town was just silent. God I hate those Hawkeyes.

The team ran roughshod over the pre-conference schedule, before getting blasted by Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, just to name a few. But the team also showed what it could do when the Cyclones won their final two regular season home games by an average of 31 points. They also advanced to the second round of the Big 12 Tournament, beating Texas A&M by 27 points. Kansas again played the spoiler in the second round, beating the Cyclones by 15.

There was hope after that however. The Cyclones were picked to play in the NIT tournament and hosted an opening round game against Wichita State. The crowd was tremendous, especially since it was Spring Break. The Cyclones won that game, setting up a first-round matchup with those stupid Hawkeyes again.

Despicable officiating on both sides of the court ruined this game. The ISU men had their chance, but you can’t shoot 55 percent from the free-throw line and win. Iowa deserved to win the game, and they did.

The real story from the game was the crowd. Sold out, and loud as hell. It was a beautiful thing. Hopefully we’ll see that many people there next season, as it looks like they will have a much improved team next year with a solid recruiting class coming in.

That is if everyone doesn’t run our coach out of town. Larry, you are the man. Just ignore the haters.