Iowa State loses to Oklahoma State? What on God’s green earth is going on? I am now truly frustrated.

So what will we do with the ISU men’s basketball team? Should we just quit them? Should we just turn our heads and take the little time that we give them away? Some of you out in fan land have done just that.

Remember, when the season began you were overwhelmed. Not just overwhelmed by the returning starters, but the revamped bench and the promise of something truly special. So what happened? Where did they go wrong?

I think I have a few answers for you. Last season the Cyclones were playing with more heart. They listened to what they felt on the inside. Everyone said they couldn’t do or be what they had dreamed. They fought what the media said about them because they knew they had something special. Something that was hidden from the outside. It was a comfort zone within each other. That comfort zone created a unity which was second to none.

With that unity, a feeling of urgency grew. They had only two years to make it happen. They knew it was a long shot.

Now remember that the basketball world, and all the former Big Eight teams judged the Cyclones by what they had done in the past, which was relatively nothing compared to the success of athletes in the big ranks of Div I. NCAA basketball. Judging them was the first mistake. Last season the Cyclones took advantage of their chance to show Cyclone fans a different side than they expected. The fans at ISU were completely taken by surprise. I mean, who was Dedric Willoughby, Kenny Pratt, Shawn Bankhead and Kelvin Cato?

Their chance had come. The Big Eight began and they sat quietly while the rest of the conference just went on with life, not stopping to notice what was going on around them. ISU knew it was a one-in-a-million shot, so the Cyclones had to take chances. They had to play ball on a thin line. They had to play like they were supposed to lose. That way, the victory after battle was even sweeter.

They refused to listen to the outside world and followed how they felt inside. They were winners, with a winning chemistry, and nobody could say anything different. When the smoke cleared, the chances they took payed off. They were Big Eight Champions! Now the Cyclones are on what some consider a slide. I believe because the feeling of urgency has fallen. They don’t have as much to prove, or maybe because they’ve settled for where they are. But I believe in ISU. I won’t quit the ‘Clones. I can’t. They’ve given too much to me in a short amount of time.

So what will you do? Will you just quit? Can you just forget? Can you just turn your head away blindly? If you have turned away from the Cyclones, even for a short period of time, give them another chance.

Even though there has been recent turbulence, the promise is still there. ISU probably won’t win the Big 12 or the NCAA tourney, but the fact that they have a shot, even if it is a long shot, should be enough to support their cause.

Take the time to think about what I said, and thanks for reading.

We’ll definitely talk later.

---

CHAD CALEK is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Persia. He is the sports editor of the Daily.