As the James Brown song goes, Wow! I feel good!

Talk to Iowa State’s new head football coach and trust me, you’ll feel good about the future of Cyclone football.

When I called I thought I had somewhat of a feeling of what Coach Dan McCarney is going through. He is starting this fall as the head honcho of an organization that is young and starving to win — I am the new editor of a sports section that has lots of young, eager writers ready to tackle stories and defend their opinions in weekly columns.

By the time I got off the phone, I wanted to put my old junior high pads on and contribute to Cyclone pride.

Maybe it was the tone of his voice — stern, confident and very excited. Or maybe it was his honesty. McCarney knows that it is going to be difficult to turn around a program that finished dead last in the Big Eight with no wins and probably the worst defense in collegiate football. He knows that a complete 180-degree turnaround in one year is not really a possibility. But the Cyclones will win.

Normally when you talk to new coaches, they say they hope to win and they want to improve such and such. Not McCarney. You could see it in his eyes at his first press conference.

“We will bring back respect; we are going to bring back winning; we are going to bring back fun; we are going to turn Cyclone Stadium into one of the most exciting places to play in college football.”

There was no indecision in his comments, no “we hope to’s” or “we want to’s.” Only “we will” and “we are.”

Going to school at ISU for four years, I had become pessimistic and cynical when I thought of the football team. Why shouldn’t I? Every year Jim Walden had a new and supposedly improved plan of attack. Hell, even I thought the triple option was the cure for ISU’s football cancer.

So when I learned about the university’s decision to hire McCarney, I wasn’t excited. Just another Donnie Duncan, Jim Criner or Walden with big “hope to’s” and “want to’s,” I thought. Sure, his resume was impressive — an assistant coach at Iowa for 13 years including 10 years under Hayden Fry and then later as defensive coordinator of the Wisconsin team that won the Rose Bowl in 1993. But this is Iowa State; it doesn’t work.

Then I called McCarney last week to introduce myself and get a little feel for what he was like. It started simple enough. Introductions were exchanged. Then suddenly McCarney did what he does best.

He talked about rising ticket sales and the plans he has for his team. It was invigorating, exciting and it made me anxious for the first game. I now realized why players like Todd Doxson and Troy Davis, both of whom wanted to leave ISU, decided to stay after they talked to McCarney.

He wants students, fans and alumni to be proud of the football team and to respect them. My dad always told me that you have to earn respect. But if this year’s team is going to work hard, stay out of trouble and win a few games, they will have earned my respect and I hope the respect of everyone else.

Until they do, show your support for McCarney and his players by going to every home game and making Cyclone Stadium a force that opponents need to reckon with. If you do, I know Coach McCarney will help guide the ‘clones to a miracle.

Jason Howland is a senior in journalism from Riceville. He is Sports Editor of the Daily.