I'm a grown man damnit!

I'm glad that there wasn't a camera recording me during the last 5 minutes of the game. I was yelling like a crazy person, and marking X's over Craft's eyes when he was on the line, and when Craft hit that shot I threw my remote as hard as I could into our recliner, walked into our bedroom and fell face first into the bed, laying there for about 5 minutes with my face in the pillow. I was honestly in shock and in an absolute daze until around 7 PM and completely uninterested in the rest of the games yesterday. My 3 year old is still acting a little nervous around me... one cool thing was my wife, who is a huge Hawkeye fan, was crying after the game. It was an emotional little afternoon in the Kilroy home...
 
Just waiting until they inevitably release a locker room video. That's going to be a tough one to watch, but there's no chance I'm turning away.

Yeah, I bet they don't do that. They seem to be releasing those on the MBB side a lot less this year and I wouldn't be surprised if it was on the request of the coach.
 
I'm a Soph at Iowa State and I watched the game with my roommates and friends. When Craft hit that shot we all sat in silence and I proceeded to calmly walk into my room and cry my eyes out for about 30 minutes. The only reason I stopped crying was because we realized that fighting burrito was giving out free burritos for the hour after the game. Thank you fighting burrito.
 
I was sad, but mostly sad for our team and just wanted to hug those guys and tell them how proud I am of them. I looked at this game as a game we will all remember when we get to the Final Four and win the whole damn thing and say wow remember that game against Ohio State. The tide will turn, but you just have to go through the muck to get there and right now we are going through the muck which isn't a bad thing because in the end it will be worth it and we will see a banner hanging from Hilton book it.
 
I hear and empathize with what a lot of you are saying. The loss hurt because we all really cared for this team. Watching Niang's post-game interview hurt. I was sad, I am not going to shy away from that.

However, I also felt happiness. I saw a young man cry for his team. I saw a young man embody all that I want from a Cyclone. I saw seniors shed tears and say thank you to the fans for their support. What I saw was a bunch of loyal sons forever true...fighting their own personal battle through. When I hear these sad words about how much it hurt our players, I hurt. Cyclone Nation hurts. There is great beauty in that and it is found in few fan bases.

These seniors thanked the fans...but it isn't necessary. We thank you. I'm happy today knowing that young men graduated or will graduate from college. I'm happy to know young men bonded over basketball and became better people along the way. I'm happy knowing that this is the Cyclone way.

Once a Cyclone, always a Cyclone (except for Adam Haluska, you are a Hawkeye).
 
You're not alone - I'm up at 3:30am because I can't sleep! I turned 50 in December, mentioned only to illustrate I've been thru many Cyclone bad beats over the years. I have absolutely no idea why this loss has affected me in a way none of the others ever have - I'm not angry, just filled with an overwhelming sense of sadness.

I appreciate the fact that I am not the only 40-something who takes it this seriously.

I, too, am one of those who just logged on for the first time since the game ended. I come here to commiserate after games like this but this time I just didn't want to keep pulling the scab off the wound. My son just walked around the house afterwards in a daze saying, "It was all set up for us. We could have gone to the Final Four!" I know.....
 
The final four will always be there and someday Iowa State will be apart of it. It hurts, stings all of that, but we have young men who will carry the torch next year for success again. I thank all of the seniors for what they have accomplished for themselves and Iowa State, a big thank you and Cyclone Nation loves you.
 
I reacted the same way. Tears of heartbreak and joy for a great season, anger for the way so many things didn't seem to go our way, hope for the future. I wanted to scream at anyone who just said "oh darn, maybe next year." I wanted to scream at everyone. Today was different. People I usually wax poetic about ISU sports with seemingly ignored the subject. I think most feel the way I do: numb. That's the best word I can use to describe what I'm feeling. Maybe I take it too hard, invest too much of myself. But damnit, that's just what I do. Loyal son, forever true.
 
You're not alone. As if the ending wasn't enough but to see Book and Georges both lose it... damn. I was going to start a thread asking if anyone else couldn't sleep bc of the game. I even decided to get ****** pants drunk the rest of the day and still can't sleep.. One day, we won't need nut cups. Chicken Little Out

After seeing that I don't think there should ever be any question on whether or not Hoiberg has problems motivating players or getting them to play hard for him. They left everything they had out there and are upset they couldn't do more.
 
Craft playing Marshall Henderson would have been classic.

I avoided the post game interviews till I recovered from the loss. We also need to mention the great scholarly accomplishments of the six seniors.

It probably will never be topped for the family feel on this team at Hilton this year.

The first year it was DG's Team. Last year it was Royce's Team. This year it was Team.
 
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Just got home from the game (after having to stop in Indiana because of the weather).

And while it still hurts like crazy, I would rather feel this pain than feel the blah of those years of not going to the tournament!
 
Goodness, I love this fan base, team, everything about this university. I am damn proud to be a Cyclone.

Reading through this all again, and of course my wife decided to cut onions.....

seriously though, tears of happiness. The boys lost, but we couldn't ask for a better team, coach, or basketball family. I ******* love my Cyclones.
 
Craft playing Marshall Henderson would have been classic.

I avoided the post game interviews till I rtecovered from the loss. We also need to mention the great scholarly accomplishments of the six seniors.

It probably will never be topped for the family feel on this team at Hilton this year.

The first year it was DG's Team. Last year it was Royce's Team. This year it was Team.



This.
 
Another 50+ year old that has been in a funk since the shot. After the MSU fiasco, missing point blank field goals against KU to win the BXII, hell, even going back to B8 days and watching Sam Hill get called for traveling on a blown call, you would think I would be callous to the pain but I keep coming back knowing someday WE WILL RULE.
 
Despite how much I care about every team every year (I pretty much get emotionally involved in every game we have and am up pacing around my house for the last 10 minutes of any remotely close game, jumping around and fist pumping after any score), ... there was just something different about this team that made this loss so hard to take. Which is strange when it's composed of so many non-4 year players.


With the composure they've kept after so many tough losses yet still finding a way to make it to the tourney... the best way I can describe it is that it's like the hero of a movie who just has the one bad thing after another happen, then gets screwed over by the villain who some how cheated or framed the hero. Yet the hero overcomes all odds to put himself in the possition to take on some insurmountable challenge in an attempt to win/fix everything/save the day...

Then just like the movies, there's a hot start in the final contest where it seems like the hero has a chance, only for it to all fall apart to the point where there's no hope (down 13 with under 6 to go). Then some crazy miracle happens and they come back anyway and then at the last second the hero wins and it's a happy ending.

Only instead, as Rocky is about to deliver the final knockout punch to a dazed/semi unconscious Ivan Drago, the referee pauses the match to check if Rocky was wearing brass knuckles because there's no way Rocky came back from such a beat down by pure will power. After making a bad call, the ref resumes the match with Ivan who has since recovered (just another unfair hurdle the hero has to come before the big win). The clock ticks down and it looks like the fight is going into another round when Ivan throws a haymaker knocks Rocky out. Game over... go home.

It's just not the way it's supposed to end. There's no justice suffering through all of that only to get jobbed one last time.
 

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