I heart NY...and CY
Experiences from the NIT

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By Kate Bruns

Day 1
In Manhattan, where 1.5 million people live and thousands more tourists come to play every day, you don’t expect to see Cardinal & Gold…unless it’s on one of the borough’s hundreds of McDonald’s restaurants or a Mr. Goodbar wrapper in the Hershey’s Times Square store.

But there it was. Out one tour bus window we saw actor Tony Shaloub and out another was Jared Homan—Jared Homan from Remsen, Iowa, who in the past was more likely to shake hands with Jeremiah Massey in Kansas State’s Little Apple than with P. Diddy at Madison Square Garden.

But now, at least for a few days, we were big time. The Cyclones take Manhattan, baby.

Of course, at least two members of the Cyclone team weren’t that impressed—Brooklyn native Wayne Morgan and Bronx native Curtis Stinson. Been there, done that.

“But it’s great to be home,” Morgan said to fans in Times Square on the eve of ISU’s showdown with Rutgers at the Garden, surveying the group for first-time NYC visitors.

“Yeah, it’s the first time for John Neal from Winterset, Iowa,” he said, laughing and mimicking a wide-eyed Neal taking in the mile-high glowing billboard of pop star Jessica Simpson. “This place is a little different.”

So there was fun for the Cyclone team, but then there was business. There were curfews, practices, and meetings. For the fans, there was mostly fun—trips to the top of the Empire State Building, shopping excursions, and restaurants filled a crisp, spring Monday in the Big Apple. The pep band hit the television circuit: Today, The CBS Early Show, and, um, The People’s Court.

Day 2
On Tuesday the Alumni Association hosted a pregame gathering at Play By Play Bar and Grill in Madison Square Garden. Having issued an open invitation to all fans and alumni, giving an attendance estimate to the restaurant’s management was a tall task for the Alumni Association staff. Probably about 150 or so, was the guess.

Wrong. Never underestimate Cyclone fans.

At least twice that number showed up. As fans entered—the first ones arriving as early as 4:30 at Madison Square Garden—they put on their spirit beads and got ready to party at Play By Play. The fans just kept pouring in as the supply of beads dwindled. By about 5:30, Cy stickers and a smile were about the best there was to be had at the front door.

They came from Jersey, Manhattan, upstate. They came from Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque. They were mostly from New York or Iowa, and they were there for the Cyclones. (Except, of course, the few unfortunate Rutgers faithful who happened upon Play By Play’s sea of Cardinal; they weren’t really all that happy.)

After hearing from Alumni Association president Jeff Johnson, athletics director Bruce Van De Velde, the pep band, and spirit squad, we left Play By Play feeling pretty good and bathed in Cyclone love.

And then we walked into the arena. Ouch.

Now, keep in mind that Rutgers University is located in New Jersey. There are no states between New Jersey and New York. By contrast, there are four big ones—not to mention three Great Lakes—buffering NYC from Iowa.

Our crowd was outmatched by the roaring Scarlet Knight fans. Our band was too small to be heard over Rutgers’ boisterous ensemble. And in the first half, our team was a few steps—and 10 points—behind. The “home” crowd continued to cheer.

“R….”

“U…”

This was getting annoying.

And then the second half happened. Hometown hero Curtis Stinson, playing in front of a crowd of high school classmates, family, and friends, put the Cyclones on his shoulders as he scored 32 in a gritty Cyclone comeback.

Too bad Rutgers star and former Stinson prep school opponent Quincy Douby poured in 35 points, three more than Stinson and three more than the Cyclone team. After the overtime period that was forced by Jake Sullivan’s clutch 3-pointer, Rutgers prevailed 84-81. Stinson had fouled out early in the OT session.

Day 3
So Wednesday was tough. We boarded the buses for LaGuardia, where we sat for more than an hour after we arrived. Travelers lamented the David Letterman and Broadway tickets they had to give up, but mostly they wished that the players could have had one more game. As the players—who mostly spent the flight sleeping—made the quiet journey home, the fans hoped they knew how proud they were to be Cyclones. Only eight teams in the country were still standing on March 30, 2004, and Iowa State was one of them.

“Heck of an effort,” fans and supporters remarked. “Defied the odds.”

Great season.

And in the end, that’s what the trip was really about: supporting our team from start to finish. It’s just too bad that, for all but two teams in the country, the finishes usually hurt.

But thousands of miles above Chicago, or Fort Wayne, or wherever we happened to be at the moment, things were looking up. Wherever the Cyclones' path leads next season, Cyclone fans and ISU alumni are sure to once again follow.

We’re Cyclones. We always do.