I couldn’t agree more with Rick Kerr’s column, “Hilton Magic — Is it dead? Is it asleep? Where has it been?” on Jan. 22. ÿ

I am a 1994 graduate of Iowa State. In my four years in Ames, I didn’t miss a single home basketball or football game (and part of that was during the Walden era).

Since moving from Iowa, I spend a couple hundred bucks a year so I can watch the ISU games on DirecTV, and when I come back home for holidays, I attend as many games as I can. On top of that, I make at least one annual trip to away games with friends from school.

Hilton Magic really can carry the team to victory. I’ve witnessed it under Johnny Orr, Tim Floyd and Larry Eustachy.

It is not a fluke or a superstition. It is a special thing. So special I’ve heard television announcers in San Francisco recently compare it to the Black Hole of the Oakland Raiders.

Eight years down the road, attending those games is one of the things I miss the most about my days at Iowa State. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to make your school’s athletic teams something for the entire country to remember, not just the students and alumni.

After years of meeting people here in California, it is nice to finally have them know our mascot when I tell them I went to Iowa State.

Until last year, I heard the Buckeyes, the Hawkeyes and too many other mascots to list. Don’t let them forget — we’re the Cyclones, and we’re proud of it.

Travis Ballstadt

Alumnus