Sorry for the lack of updates this week It has been an interesting week with classes this week. Back on topic all three state schools have big games this week. UNI hosts rival Southern Illinois, Iowa heads to Madison to take on Wisconsin, and ISU hosts Baylor.
First off the Southern Illinois Salukis travel up to Cedar Falls to take on UNI. This will be a very interesting game, much like every game between these two schools. I have been to several of these match ups at the UNI Dome and let me tell you, that is as electric atmosphere as you will find anywhere. These two teams are somewhat evenly matched, I think overall the Panthers will win however it will be much closer than other games so far this year at the dome, much like last week at NDSU.
The hawks will board the busses tomorrow for the three hour trip up to Madison. This one may be a very interesting one in the fact that Wisconsin is poised to upset the hawks. However in my own opinion it may prove to be a close one but the hawks will win it and jump up to #10 in the polls.
It has been an okay homecoming week here at Iowa State. I personally have not had much time to take part in any of the festivities but will be in a pep rally tonight and will be doing bar fights later tonight. Of course that's all before practice at 9:30AM Saturday and the rest of game day activities, my dad will be in the alumni marching band again this year. He thinks I am joking that when we are together all they make is a straight line...he will find out Saturday morning. Anyway onto the game. The Baylor Bears will be coming up here for the game this week. Everyone knows the Baylor of past when you would have to try to lose to them, this is a much different Baylor team, even with several key players out. Their star quarterback Robert Griffin suffered a season ending injury a few weeks ago and is obviously out along with a couple of other players. Their back up qb is still quite dangerous himself and had numerous starts before griffins injury so he is experienced in the Big 12. I think this will be a breakout game for Alexander Robinson, A-Rob has finally been practicing all week and I think he is poised to run wild against a somewhat weaker defense. Our passing game will need to keep improving and Austen will have to make better decisions and better passes instead of pretending he is skipping rocks across a lake. Our downfall though will be our defense I have not seen them but I can't imagine a significant turn around from last week when they let Kansas with albeit an outstanding quarterback have whatever he wanted for most of the game. I am going to predict a Cyclone win to move us to 4-3 on the season and 1-2 in the conference. Next week will be very tough though with a trip to Nebraska...not gonna be pretty.
I have a couple of friends coming over for the weekend. I am excited for this, however I am not sure how much I will be able to see them with a very busy schedule. Hopefully I can catch up with them before and after the game on Saturday. Have a great safe weekend! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Week Five Review...
Well where do I start. UNI continued to dominate, Iowa nearly blew a good first half performance against I-AA Arkansas State, and my Cyclones pissed it down their leg.
I will start with the good news. UNI continues to roll over it's competition. They are still on target to win the conference and make a deep run into the post season, most likely all the way to Chatanooga.
I was not able to see the Iowa game and was very surprised to see that they only beat Arkansas State by three when I got into Arrowhead. I hear the second half wasn't very pretty. This week they host Michigan which will be on ABC at 7:00PM on Saturday evening.
Moving on to the ISU game. We can only blame the loss on ourselves. The last play ultimately lost the game but it was not a bad kick at all, you could hardly call it a low kick, the KSU player that blocked the kick is 6'4" and has a 38" vertical...don't forget he was fully extended, basically he was way up there. That play aside we lost this game, the offense was hardly there all day and lived off a few key plays. It is beyond me why we keep giving Austen Arnaud the ball to run, he is a great QB but has a tendency to fumble, not only does he fumble he never gets his head back into it, not in practice not in a game and the entire offense usually follows his lead. Thankfully this week he was able to throw a deep pass into the back of the end zone that our reciever was able to catch. At that moment for once we thought this was our time, for once we got the lucky break, we got that big play to win the game, only for a few minutes later to receive another kick in the balls. What can we say this is Iowa State. On the bright side we have the coaching staff and players that do not accept this, we deserve better and they take full responsibility. Another bright point came from a very disappointing play. K-State was driving and had a pass play in which their receiver was pushing our corner all the way down the field and then fell out of bounds when the ball was over thrown...the ref decided to call pass interference. To say the least all of our fans/team/and coaches were extremely upset with boo's raining down players getting in eachothers faces and several of our coaches screaming at the ref with coach Rhoads following him out on the field and throwing his hat on the ground. Needless to say K-State now had a first and 10 on the 15 or something like that. Our defense showed what it had with boo's raining down after each play coaches continuing to scream at the ref...the defense held and forced K-State to settle for a field goal, I am very happy with this since I never expected this defense to do that. We have to do the best to put this hard loss behind us because this week we have to go down to Kansas...not going to be a fun game. You can catch it on Versus at 11:30AM on Saturday.
I will be heading home this weekend and watching the last home coming game at Armstrong field, it will be a sad day but hopefully the team can keep up the spirit and improve to 7-0, GO LIONS!!! I probably won't update until after next weekend so good luck to everyone and have a great weekend! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
I will start with the good news. UNI continues to roll over it's competition. They are still on target to win the conference and make a deep run into the post season, most likely all the way to Chatanooga.
I was not able to see the Iowa game and was very surprised to see that they only beat Arkansas State by three when I got into Arrowhead. I hear the second half wasn't very pretty. This week they host Michigan which will be on ABC at 7:00PM on Saturday evening.
Moving on to the ISU game. We can only blame the loss on ourselves. The last play ultimately lost the game but it was not a bad kick at all, you could hardly call it a low kick, the KSU player that blocked the kick is 6'4" and has a 38" vertical...don't forget he was fully extended, basically he was way up there. That play aside we lost this game, the offense was hardly there all day and lived off a few key plays. It is beyond me why we keep giving Austen Arnaud the ball to run, he is a great QB but has a tendency to fumble, not only does he fumble he never gets his head back into it, not in practice not in a game and the entire offense usually follows his lead. Thankfully this week he was able to throw a deep pass into the back of the end zone that our reciever was able to catch. At that moment for once we thought this was our time, for once we got the lucky break, we got that big play to win the game, only for a few minutes later to receive another kick in the balls. What can we say this is Iowa State. On the bright side we have the coaching staff and players that do not accept this, we deserve better and they take full responsibility. Another bright point came from a very disappointing play. K-State was driving and had a pass play in which their receiver was pushing our corner all the way down the field and then fell out of bounds when the ball was over thrown...the ref decided to call pass interference. To say the least all of our fans/team/and coaches were extremely upset with boo's raining down players getting in eachothers faces and several of our coaches screaming at the ref with coach Rhoads following him out on the field and throwing his hat on the ground. Needless to say K-State now had a first and 10 on the 15 or something like that. Our defense showed what it had with boo's raining down after each play coaches continuing to scream at the ref...the defense held and forced K-State to settle for a field goal, I am very happy with this since I never expected this defense to do that. We have to do the best to put this hard loss behind us because this week we have to go down to Kansas...not going to be a fun game. You can catch it on Versus at 11:30AM on Saturday.
I will be heading home this weekend and watching the last home coming game at Armstrong field, it will be a sad day but hopefully the team can keep up the spirit and improve to 7-0, GO LIONS!!! I probably won't update until after next weekend so good luck to everyone and have a great weekend! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Week Five Preview
Here we go...Week five is here already which means there is another week of non conference and conference games. ISU heads to Kansas City to take on Kansas State at Arrowhead Stadium. UNI will host Indiana State for Family Weekend, and Iowa will host Arkansas State.
The first pick will be incredibly easy. Iowa is simply going to roll over Arkansas State, so hawk fans if you don't even want to go into the stadium and you just want to start your pregame drinking for the Michigan game next week feel free. That's about all I have on that topic.
Indiana State will bring a decent team to the UNI Dome. This game may start close and it may just be a blow out from the begining. It's hard to tell but either way UNI will win.
Now for the game that I am very excited for. Iowa State and Kansas State decided to play their games the next two years at Arrowhead Stadium, ISU is the "hosting" team this year. I have never been to a NFL stadium so this will be really cool being able to go behind the scenes and march on the field. The weekend will be very busy as well. The ISUCF'V'MB will be leaving Ames at noon on Friday. We will then practice at a high school in Kansas City before heading out on the town Friday night. Saturday morning we will get up and head to the stadium sometime around 10:00 I think. After pregame gigs and doing the game we will then head to a high school marching band competition to do an exhibition performance. That performance won't be until after 9:00 Saturday night so we are not supposed to get back to Ames until 3:00AM Sunday. Getting back to the game. This could be a very interesting game. I really hope our team plays well because if they get some more confidence and get a W out of this game we could run the table next week at Kansas. A couple notes on ISU this week,we are a little beat up. One of our star defensive linemen tore his acl last saturday and is out for the season, also one of our star wide recievers broke his fibula in practice on Tuesday and will undergo surgery for that on Friday. Even with those two key players out I still think this game is winnable for the Cyclones, I am going to predict a 31-21 Cyclones Win. We will see how this goes though.
Did I mention that I have a busy weekend. After we get back at three on sunday morning I have to be up and on my way to work by noon. After working the soccer game I am taking my girlfriend out to eat and to WICKED in Des Moines. So basically with the exception of sleeping I will be going from Friday at around 8:00AM until around 1:00AM Sunday. It will all be worth it though and it's shaping up to be a great weekend. I will hopefully update with the review of the weekend by Tuesday night. Have a great weekend! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
The first pick will be incredibly easy. Iowa is simply going to roll over Arkansas State, so hawk fans if you don't even want to go into the stadium and you just want to start your pregame drinking for the Michigan game next week feel free. That's about all I have on that topic.
Indiana State will bring a decent team to the UNI Dome. This game may start close and it may just be a blow out from the begining. It's hard to tell but either way UNI will win.
Now for the game that I am very excited for. Iowa State and Kansas State decided to play their games the next two years at Arrowhead Stadium, ISU is the "hosting" team this year. I have never been to a NFL stadium so this will be really cool being able to go behind the scenes and march on the field. The weekend will be very busy as well. The ISUCF'V'MB will be leaving Ames at noon on Friday. We will then practice at a high school in Kansas City before heading out on the town Friday night. Saturday morning we will get up and head to the stadium sometime around 10:00 I think. After pregame gigs and doing the game we will then head to a high school marching band competition to do an exhibition performance. That performance won't be until after 9:00 Saturday night so we are not supposed to get back to Ames until 3:00AM Sunday. Getting back to the game. This could be a very interesting game. I really hope our team plays well because if they get some more confidence and get a W out of this game we could run the table next week at Kansas. A couple notes on ISU this week,we are a little beat up. One of our star defensive linemen tore his acl last saturday and is out for the season, also one of our star wide recievers broke his fibula in practice on Tuesday and will undergo surgery for that on Friday. Even with those two key players out I still think this game is winnable for the Cyclones, I am going to predict a 31-21 Cyclones Win. We will see how this goes though.
Did I mention that I have a busy weekend. After we get back at three on sunday morning I have to be up and on my way to work by noon. After working the soccer game I am taking my girlfriend out to eat and to WICKED in Des Moines. So basically with the exception of sleeping I will be going from Friday at around 8:00AM until around 1:00AM Sunday. It will all be worth it though and it's shaping up to be a great weekend. I will hopefully update with the review of the weekend by Tuesday night. Have a great weekend! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Week Four Review...
All I can say is wow. There are several reasons for this. ISU played Army and the pagentry with that was enough to be amazed and proud to be an American. After that I get back to my room to find that Iowa was about to upset Penn State. I didn't really get to see any of the game so I can't judge the game. Don't forget about that team from Cedar Falls either, you know that team that nearly beat and should have beaten Iowa. UNI beat Misouri State in it's Gateway Conference opener.
I will start with the Cyclones. ISU had many events planned for Saturday saluting the army and thanks to the weather they all were able to happen. I will post links to videos of Saturday but overall there were several cool things going on. Every hour on the hour they had a howitzer cannon on display and going off on the Jacobson Plaza (the new east concourse), there was also an army experience on south fourth street, and 75 minutes before game time a couple of Army parachutists jumped into the stadium. It was a weird feeling when we started to play the national anthem and to see the Army football student managers snap to attention and salute. After the national anthem there was also a flyby of four black hawk's in formation, I love planes but this was probably one of the coolest flyby's I have ever seen. After the first quarter 13 freshman in the ISU Army ROTC program took their oath as well. After the game was over and the Cyclones won both teams took several minutes talking and such at mid field and then both teams went down to the corner where the army fans and band were and sang what I assume was their alma mater, go figure when they finished they all yelled beat Navy. It was an awesome and humbling sight. These truly are some of the best men and women in the world, I say women because it was also really weird to see cheerleaders at attention. Moving on this week we head down to Kansas City to take on the Kansas State Wildcats at Arrowhead Stadium, it should be a really fun weekend.
Now for the big news of the weekend. Iowa went into a very wet happy valley and upset then #5 Penn State. Now as I said before I didn't see much of this game at all. I know your 4-0 but really hawk fans your chances of getting to the national title game are slim to none, even if you go undefeated. I know your all going to be out with pitchforks for me saying that, but look at reality. You play in a week conference, Ohio State has already lost to USC who has also lost to Washington. Outside of Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan there isn't really anybody else that good in the Big Eleven this year. Basically it would take Florida, Texas, losing at least one game for you to be in searious contention for playing for the title. More than likely you will play in the Rosebowl against USC and sorry more than likley get your asses handed to you. By all means prove me wrong.
UNI continues to show that they are one of the best teams in the FCS and in this state, don't forget that fact. They won again this week and continue on their path to winning the title. As I have said before, this is the year for the panthers to win it all.
Oh and there is also a certain Linn-Mar football team that is also now 5-0. I hope to see them get win #7 or something like that at the homecoming game I will be at. Anyway my week is pretty much over already which is a good feeling. I now only have five classes, three marching band practices, and 68.5 hours left till we leave for Kansas City. I will update on the weekend outlook on Thursday along with how this weekend looks for me. Have a great week! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
here is a couple of video's from this weekend
highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilhu13hYwz8&feature=channel
tribute video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhOA9RCyrnU&feature=channel
Army singing after the game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTRCznbJkg&NR=1
And we were winning between the third and fourth quarters...so it's Sweet Caroline Time! Just ignore the guy singing off key...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUt0AAlw1n4&NR=1
I will start with the Cyclones. ISU had many events planned for Saturday saluting the army and thanks to the weather they all were able to happen. I will post links to videos of Saturday but overall there were several cool things going on. Every hour on the hour they had a howitzer cannon on display and going off on the Jacobson Plaza (the new east concourse), there was also an army experience on south fourth street, and 75 minutes before game time a couple of Army parachutists jumped into the stadium. It was a weird feeling when we started to play the national anthem and to see the Army football student managers snap to attention and salute. After the national anthem there was also a flyby of four black hawk's in formation, I love planes but this was probably one of the coolest flyby's I have ever seen. After the first quarter 13 freshman in the ISU Army ROTC program took their oath as well. After the game was over and the Cyclones won both teams took several minutes talking and such at mid field and then both teams went down to the corner where the army fans and band were and sang what I assume was their alma mater, go figure when they finished they all yelled beat Navy. It was an awesome and humbling sight. These truly are some of the best men and women in the world, I say women because it was also really weird to see cheerleaders at attention. Moving on this week we head down to Kansas City to take on the Kansas State Wildcats at Arrowhead Stadium, it should be a really fun weekend.
Now for the big news of the weekend. Iowa went into a very wet happy valley and upset then #5 Penn State. Now as I said before I didn't see much of this game at all. I know your 4-0 but really hawk fans your chances of getting to the national title game are slim to none, even if you go undefeated. I know your all going to be out with pitchforks for me saying that, but look at reality. You play in a week conference, Ohio State has already lost to USC who has also lost to Washington. Outside of Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan there isn't really anybody else that good in the Big Eleven this year. Basically it would take Florida, Texas, losing at least one game for you to be in searious contention for playing for the title. More than likely you will play in the Rosebowl against USC and sorry more than likley get your asses handed to you. By all means prove me wrong.
UNI continues to show that they are one of the best teams in the FCS and in this state, don't forget that fact. They won again this week and continue on their path to winning the title. As I have said before, this is the year for the panthers to win it all.
Oh and there is also a certain Linn-Mar football team that is also now 5-0. I hope to see them get win #7 or something like that at the homecoming game I will be at. Anyway my week is pretty much over already which is a good feeling. I now only have five classes, three marching band practices, and 68.5 hours left till we leave for Kansas City. I will update on the weekend outlook on Thursday along with how this weekend looks for me. Have a great week! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
here is a couple of video's from this weekend
highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilhu13hYwz8&feature=channel
tribute video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhOA9RCyrnU&feature=channel
Army singing after the game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTRCznbJkg&NR=1
And we were winning between the third and fourth quarters...so it's Sweet Caroline Time! Just ignore the guy singing off key...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUt0AAlw1n4&NR=1
Monday, September 21, 2009
Week Three Review...
It was a great weekend for football in the state of Iowa. The Cyclones won 34-14 over Kent State, the Hawks beat Arizona 34-17, and the Panthers beat someone I don't feel like looking up 30-0. Don't forget about those Linn-Mar Lions either, they had a come back win against Cedar Rapids Washington 41-28 or something like that.
Lets start with the good guys. Going into the game ISU had the nations longest active road losing streak at 17 games, basically if we didn't win this game we didn't deserve to be called a football team. Kent State was battered and bruised. The game started off with the teams trading touchdown drives after that it was pretty much all Cyclones. We looked like a pretty good football team (for the third game of the season) in the first half at least. The second half we still showed signs of improvement but also started to get tired and allowed the golden flashes to score another touchdown. Coach Rhoads quickly addressed this in the locker room and it will be an item they will improve on. Moving on to this week's game, we host the Black Knights of the United States Military Academy at West Point...aka Army. This won't be a push over but it won't be too terribly hard either. Army poses a couple of interesting match ups. First off they have a six foot ten tight end...that's a lot of highth on the line and down field. Second of all they have a six foot ten 283 pound WIDE RECIEVER, the guy played left tackle for them last year. That will be a once in a lifetime experience. Other than that it shouldn't be too bad, I would chalk this one up as a win for the good guys and move us to 3-1 heading into the Big 12 opener against Kansas State in Arrowhead Stadium.
I didn't get to see a ton of the Iowa game but from what I did see they looked improved and more like a hawkeye football team. The teams looked even but the hawks quickly put that to rest, especially in the second half. From here the hawks head out to Happy Valley Pennsylvania for a Saturday night showdown with Penn State. Now I know you are 3-0 but hawk fans...GET OVER YOURSELVES! Even if you go 12-0 you won't be in the BCS Championship game,okay you may come close if Texas and Florida lose a game but other than that you won't, not to mention you got your butts kicked by and almost lost to an FCS school...sorry. Good luck this week, I will be watching for your score at our game.
UNI continues to dominate it's foes. I know they lost to Iowa but anyone who knows anything about football knows that they should have won that game. This is UNI's year to win it all. I really hope they do too. I again don't feel like looking up who you are playing this week but good luck!
If I had to define Linn-Mar's season so far in one word I would say WOW! The Lions are a whole new football team and are out to prove it to anyone in this state. They are now 3-0 and I believe they were ranked #8 in the state going into last weeks game against Washington. I am looking forward to seeing the Lion's in action again at Armstrong field for their homecoming game on October 9th. GO LIONS!!!
That's about it for now. I may post again later this week with thoughts going into the games. However I have one quiz on Friday, along with two tests and a paper due on Monday so next weeks recap post may be late as well. Have a great week! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
Lets start with the good guys. Going into the game ISU had the nations longest active road losing streak at 17 games, basically if we didn't win this game we didn't deserve to be called a football team. Kent State was battered and bruised. The game started off with the teams trading touchdown drives after that it was pretty much all Cyclones. We looked like a pretty good football team (for the third game of the season) in the first half at least. The second half we still showed signs of improvement but also started to get tired and allowed the golden flashes to score another touchdown. Coach Rhoads quickly addressed this in the locker room and it will be an item they will improve on. Moving on to this week's game, we host the Black Knights of the United States Military Academy at West Point...aka Army. This won't be a push over but it won't be too terribly hard either. Army poses a couple of interesting match ups. First off they have a six foot ten tight end...that's a lot of highth on the line and down field. Second of all they have a six foot ten 283 pound WIDE RECIEVER, the guy played left tackle for them last year. That will be a once in a lifetime experience. Other than that it shouldn't be too bad, I would chalk this one up as a win for the good guys and move us to 3-1 heading into the Big 12 opener against Kansas State in Arrowhead Stadium.
I didn't get to see a ton of the Iowa game but from what I did see they looked improved and more like a hawkeye football team. The teams looked even but the hawks quickly put that to rest, especially in the second half. From here the hawks head out to Happy Valley Pennsylvania for a Saturday night showdown with Penn State. Now I know you are 3-0 but hawk fans...GET OVER YOURSELVES! Even if you go 12-0 you won't be in the BCS Championship game,okay you may come close if Texas and Florida lose a game but other than that you won't, not to mention you got your butts kicked by and almost lost to an FCS school...sorry. Good luck this week, I will be watching for your score at our game.
UNI continues to dominate it's foes. I know they lost to Iowa but anyone who knows anything about football knows that they should have won that game. This is UNI's year to win it all. I really hope they do too. I again don't feel like looking up who you are playing this week but good luck!
If I had to define Linn-Mar's season so far in one word I would say WOW! The Lions are a whole new football team and are out to prove it to anyone in this state. They are now 3-0 and I believe they were ranked #8 in the state going into last weeks game against Washington. I am looking forward to seeing the Lion's in action again at Armstrong field for their homecoming game on October 9th. GO LIONS!!!
That's about it for now. I may post again later this week with thoughts going into the games. However I have one quiz on Friday, along with two tests and a paper due on Monday so next weeks recap post may be late as well. Have a great week! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A Day In The Life...
Of an member of the ISUCF"V"MB. Okay first off I will clarify what that means The ISUCF"V"MB is the Iowa State University Cyclone Football "Varsity" Marching band. Well now that that's clarified your probably asking where the junior varsity band is, well they are in Iowa City, and Lincoln. Just kidding its a joke that we have. The Cyclone Marching Band picked up the "Varsity" back when they were REALLY bad it was in the late 70's (yes I know they went to a couple of bowl games then too) I believe it was in the Wooden or Majors era and the team was getting completely demolished in the game and the band was cleaning the stadium after games to help pay for some trips. After the was over the band cleaned the stadium and then went to the locker rooms (which they had been told they could use) to shower before leaving for Kansas City to perform at a Chiefs game the next day. While they were in there the coach walked in and said "You guys get have to get out of here this is the varsity locker room." Well a smart mouthed band member (go figure!) said "We are the Varsity band!" Well it the stuck and now we are "The pride of Iowa State. The Iowa State University Cyclone Football "Varsity" Marching Band!" If you want to know more of the story and know my dad, ask him he was in the band at the time and was present when it happened.
Okay so a day in the life. I will start off with a normal school day. We go to class all day (well most of us) and then we have practice that starts right at 4:30PM and ends at 5:50PM. Five days a week we do that, doesn't sound like much time does it. It really isn't and it goes fast which is why we work very fast. We are required to have all of our charts (the things that tell us where to go on the field) and music marked prior to practice to help practice along. As a freshman you audition during your summer orientation. We start band camp a week before school starts and have pretty much 8-12 hour days of practice then. Game day's are...interesting.
For the most part on game day's we meet a few hours before kickoff for morning practice. This past weekend for instance we had an 11:00AM kick, which meant morning practice started promptly at 7:00AM at the Bergstrom Indoor Practice Facility...in full uniform. Personally this meant I had to get up at 5:45 to get dressed and meet my ride at 6:15 to get a little closer and then walk the last mile or so. At morning practice we run through music, as well as the halftime and pre-game shows several times. After that we play for the Cyclone Spirit Walk, which is when the team gets there. That is SUPPOSED to be two hours before kick off however our team likes to be early so it was approx 2.5 hours before kick off this week. After we do that we eat, do another quick warm up and pep rally before stepping off to the stadium about an hour before kick off. Our march to the stadium is probably around 3/4-1 mile. After we do the whole game thing we wait for a bit and march back to Hilton. On a normal game day this is about seven to eight hours after starting and about five hours since you last sat down. Our next home game will be a little weird though. We will meet at 11:00AM practice for an hour and half take pictures then we are off for two hours until we resume the rest of game day with the Spirit Walk.
Even though we get free trips, food, and into games being in band is no cake walk. Practices and game days are a ton of fun, but strict. If we are even five seconds late to anything you are an alternate for the next game. On game day's we are required to have our uniform completely on from when we leave our room till we get back when the game is over, no exceptions. This is not fun especially when it is hot. We are also not allowed to use phones at any time during any practice or performance. Swearing of any kind is strictly prohibited as well. Violation of any of these will result in becoming an alternate. This may sound a little too strict and obsessive but there is also a reason why we get hundreds of e-mails and comments from not only Cyclone fans but from the general public and fans of opposing teams that wish their bands conducted themselves as well as we do.
Overall band is a tough but more than worth it. The friends and relationships that you develop in such a tight group will last a lifetime and they really do become your family. I have several favorite parts of band from marching in front of a packed house at Jack Trice Stadium to yelling "GO STATE!" one of the best though is singing the Alma Mater of Iowa state "The Bells of Iowa State" after every practice and performance with my band family. Every day is truly a great day to be alive and be Cyclone! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
A video of Pregame...not very good sorry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vLkssP6ePY
A video of the Drumline from our visit to Cedar Rapids last year
A little fun prior to a game in 2007. It's good but you have to see it in person to understand the power of 350 members.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CalXTr7qc7g&feature=related
A video of us at Linn-Mar last year...very rainy night so we didn't march to save the field
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TddETplq66k&feature=related
FIGHTS!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgsdqrXNzDo&feature=related
Us singing Bells after the game this past weekend along with Drum Major Dan Heinz's Dismissal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xnRASaqjyg
On our march to the stadium this past weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xGKm_rdaMM&feature=related
Another video of our march to the stadium this past week...the guy with the hat on backwards at the start of the video towards the bottom...ya that's my dad with my mom next to him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tELKnL28e4c&feature=channel
The all of those from that person are from last weekend...I am done now...for real
GO CYCLONES!!!
Okay so a day in the life. I will start off with a normal school day. We go to class all day (well most of us) and then we have practice that starts right at 4:30PM and ends at 5:50PM. Five days a week we do that, doesn't sound like much time does it. It really isn't and it goes fast which is why we work very fast. We are required to have all of our charts (the things that tell us where to go on the field) and music marked prior to practice to help practice along. As a freshman you audition during your summer orientation. We start band camp a week before school starts and have pretty much 8-12 hour days of practice then. Game day's are...interesting.
For the most part on game day's we meet a few hours before kickoff for morning practice. This past weekend for instance we had an 11:00AM kick, which meant morning practice started promptly at 7:00AM at the Bergstrom Indoor Practice Facility...in full uniform. Personally this meant I had to get up at 5:45 to get dressed and meet my ride at 6:15 to get a little closer and then walk the last mile or so. At morning practice we run through music, as well as the halftime and pre-game shows several times. After that we play for the Cyclone Spirit Walk, which is when the team gets there. That is SUPPOSED to be two hours before kick off however our team likes to be early so it was approx 2.5 hours before kick off this week. After we do that we eat, do another quick warm up and pep rally before stepping off to the stadium about an hour before kick off. Our march to the stadium is probably around 3/4-1 mile. After we do the whole game thing we wait for a bit and march back to Hilton. On a normal game day this is about seven to eight hours after starting and about five hours since you last sat down. Our next home game will be a little weird though. We will meet at 11:00AM practice for an hour and half take pictures then we are off for two hours until we resume the rest of game day with the Spirit Walk.
Even though we get free trips, food, and into games being in band is no cake walk. Practices and game days are a ton of fun, but strict. If we are even five seconds late to anything you are an alternate for the next game. On game day's we are required to have our uniform completely on from when we leave our room till we get back when the game is over, no exceptions. This is not fun especially when it is hot. We are also not allowed to use phones at any time during any practice or performance. Swearing of any kind is strictly prohibited as well. Violation of any of these will result in becoming an alternate. This may sound a little too strict and obsessive but there is also a reason why we get hundreds of e-mails and comments from not only Cyclone fans but from the general public and fans of opposing teams that wish their bands conducted themselves as well as we do.
Overall band is a tough but more than worth it. The friends and relationships that you develop in such a tight group will last a lifetime and they really do become your family. I have several favorite parts of band from marching in front of a packed house at Jack Trice Stadium to yelling "GO STATE!" one of the best though is singing the Alma Mater of Iowa state "The Bells of Iowa State" after every practice and performance with my band family. Every day is truly a great day to be alive and be Cyclone! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
A video of Pregame...not very good sorry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vLkssP6ePY
A video of the Drumline from our visit to Cedar Rapids last year
A little fun prior to a game in 2007. It's good but you have to see it in person to understand the power of 350 members.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CalXTr7qc7g&feature=related
A video of us at Linn-Mar last year...very rainy night so we didn't march to save the field
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TddETplq66k&feature=related
FIGHTS!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgsdqrXNzDo&feature=related
Us singing Bells after the game this past weekend along with Drum Major Dan Heinz's Dismissal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xnRASaqjyg
On our march to the stadium this past weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xGKm_rdaMM&feature=related
Another video of our march to the stadium this past week...the guy with the hat on backwards at the start of the video towards the bottom...ya that's my dad with my mom next to him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tELKnL28e4c&feature=channel
The all of those from that person are from last weekend...I am done now...for real
GO CYCLONES!!!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Week Two Review...
Well before to many people jump on my back and start bashing my Clones I would like to come right out and say that we did play terribly, we were never really there mentally and just never put anything together. There are not many positive things to take from the game for the Cyclones, however I guarantee you the team is currently watching the tape (I am writing this just after two on Sunday afternoon)after they watch the tape from yesterday they will start watching the tape on Kent State. We have four days to prepare and get re-focussed on winning. I found a really good quote earlier today.
"If you can't accept losing, you can't win."-Vince Lombardi
Never let anyone beat up this great university. Always always always be proud to be a Cyclone no matter what! There are so many reasons other than what happens on a field or court to be proud and honored to be a Cyclone and part of the Iowa State family!
On the other hand, Congrats iowa. You bounced back from barely escaping UNI and came to Ames and pounded us into the ground. You had a great game plan and you executed it nearly perfectly. Good luck with the rest of your season, you have a couple tough weeks coming up with Arizona State visiting Iowa City next week and then I believe you go to Happy Valley for a Saturday night game on ESPN. I think you will win this week, but I am thinking Penn State will get the W.
UNI absolutely destroyed SDSU winning by something around 60 points! Great job! The panthers will win many games this year and I believe (and hope) that they go deep in the playoffs and hopefully this year finally win the National Championship!
I am wiped from yesterday still. Thankfully my parents took my girlfriend and I out to Valentino's after the game yesterday, after which we both took a nap. I only slept for about two hours, she basically slept from 5:30PM yesterday to 9:30AM today. I was able to catch my second favorite college team The USC Trojans beat The Ohio State Buckeye's in Columbus. If you missed it you missed a great game. Anyway I am waiting for washing machine's to open up so I can do my laundry. I am going to update sometime this week on what a typical game day for the ISUCF"V"MB is like along with what it's like to be in it so look for that. I hope everyone has had a great weekend and has a great week! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
"If you can't accept losing, you can't win."-Vince Lombardi
Never let anyone beat up this great university. Always always always be proud to be a Cyclone no matter what! There are so many reasons other than what happens on a field or court to be proud and honored to be a Cyclone and part of the Iowa State family!
On the other hand, Congrats iowa. You bounced back from barely escaping UNI and came to Ames and pounded us into the ground. You had a great game plan and you executed it nearly perfectly. Good luck with the rest of your season, you have a couple tough weeks coming up with Arizona State visiting Iowa City next week and then I believe you go to Happy Valley for a Saturday night game on ESPN. I think you will win this week, but I am thinking Penn State will get the W.
UNI absolutely destroyed SDSU winning by something around 60 points! Great job! The panthers will win many games this year and I believe (and hope) that they go deep in the playoffs and hopefully this year finally win the National Championship!
I am wiped from yesterday still. Thankfully my parents took my girlfriend and I out to Valentino's after the game yesterday, after which we both took a nap. I only slept for about two hours, she basically slept from 5:30PM yesterday to 9:30AM today. I was able to catch my second favorite college team The USC Trojans beat The Ohio State Buckeye's in Columbus. If you missed it you missed a great game. Anyway I am waiting for washing machine's to open up so I can do my laundry. I am going to update sometime this week on what a typical game day for the ISUCF"V"MB is like along with what it's like to be in it so look for that. I hope everyone has had a great weekend and has a great week! GO STATE!!! GOD BLESS!!!
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