I know it is early May, and it seems like football is a long ways away, but guess what? It's only 120 days until the Cyclones kick off against UNI at the Jack! Doesn't that get you Jacked? Maybe... Maybe not.
Well, how about this: Iowa State's last game was 166 days ago, which means we are beyond the halfway point in the offseason. Whoo hoo!
Still not jacked? How about if I promised you that the Cyclones would play in December? Now are you getting a little more excited? You know, December for Cyclone fans, means going down to Houston or to Tempe and watching the team play against an opponent from another conference.... Well, not the case anymore!
In 2011, December football means us fans get the opportunity to travel to Manhattan, KS!
Yep that's right, the Big 12 schedule was adjusted to include an extra bye week, so Iowa State will be playing at Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Weekend, followed by traveling to Kansas State on December 3rd. I guess the bright side is that these games will be played south of Iowa, meaning the temperatures will likely be OK relative to the temperature here.
The Big 12 Schedule is now as follows:
Sept 3 - UNI
Sept 10 - Iowa
Sept 16 - @UConn
Oct 1 - Texas
Oct 8 - @Baylor
Oct 15 - @Mizzou
Oct 22 - A&M
Oct 29 - @Texas Tech
Nov 5 - Kansas
Nov 18 - Oklahoma State
Nov 26 - @Oklahoma
Dec 3 - @K-State
What I like about the schedule is the team gets 15 days to get ready for Texas, and 13 days to get ready for Oklahoma State. In addition, both the UConn and Oklahoma State games are on ESPN, although the games are on Friday night.
What I don't like is Texas gets the extra week to prepare for us.
Other than that, I'm fine with it this year. Some will point out that the schedule is hard, but I'm OK with that. I'd rather the team play against a legit opponent, than to dominate some team by 3 TDs that has no business being on the field with them. I know some people don't care, they just want to see the team get to 7 wins and go to a bowl. I care a little bit less about that because of my opinion about bowl games, but that's a whole other topic.
In 2012, I am not sure how it will all work out. Right now we have a game against Kansas State set for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'm already worried people won't go to that game. If there is another bye week added, we'd be seeing some December football. December would mean more people on campus, but it also means colder weather. I'm not sure what's worse.
Cyclone fans tend to stop going to games after Halloween, even if it is a meaningful game. More and more people enjoy watching games from the comfort of their own home, and Iowa State does not really have a gameday tradition that will keep people from bucking that trend. Any ideas on how to get people to go to games at the end of the year? Because in the coming years, football home games are going to extend deeper into the season.
Loading comments...