On a steamy Tuesday night, nearly 500 faithful Cyclone fans came out to show support for their football team during the first pep rally of the year.

The evening got under way with the emergence of the Iowa State Marching Band. They initiated the action by playing the school fight song, which received the

customary standing ovation. The band was followed by a performance from the pom squad.

After the poms’ performance Iowa State athletic director Gene Smith took the stage and got the crowd going.

“I’m glad to see you guys packed in tight this time,” Smith said, referring to how he had to get fans at Cyclone Team Day to move in closer to each other.

“You know this isn’t church. We need people to pack in here and get funky. We need you to show support for this team.”

After his opening comments, Smith introduced Jackie Nunez, ISU women’s volleyball coach. Nunez introduced some of her players to the crowd. She also added that her team is coming off its best season ever — 24-11 in the fall and 13-2 in the spring.

Then came the moment that the fans had been waiting for, to meet and hear from Head Football Coach Dan McCarney. McCarney came out to give thanks for all the students and fans who came to show support for the team and to help get everyone psyched for the upcoming season.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you stud-

ents. You are the pulse of this stadium. Our team will respond to that pulse that is brought on by you, the fans,” McCarney said. “We’ve got to get things started on the right foot come Thursday night.”

Following McCarney’s speech, he introduced the four team captains: senior wide receiver Mike Horacek, senior strong safety Matt Straight, senior offensive tackle Byron Heitz, and junior inside linebacker Tim Sanders. Each of the captains gave a short speech that had the crowd cheering.

Smith ended the rally with a last minute reminder,

“Spread the word. We want you to bring everybody out to the games. Bring loved ones, good friends, and even people that don’t like you. We want to make this the hardest place in the Big Eight Conference to play,” he said.

The band then lead the procession out of the rally. The rally seemed to accomplish what it was intended to do, get fans excited and ready for tonight’s game.

After the rally, Smith said he was happy with the turnout of student support.

“The whole idea of the rally was to try to get good feelings spread around campus because of this football team. We’ve got people who want to support this team,” Smith said.

“They want to see them play to the end. That is what the crowds are going to see each time this squad hits the field. But it all starts with the new attitude that Coach McCarney has bought to this team.”