Football has never given Iowa State fans much to celebrate, but yet we continue to believe in, and faithfully support, a program without a history. Why?
Cyclone Nation is an extremely loyal group. We know this. ESPN and Fox Sports broadcasters know this. It isn't new information. However, there is, I believe, an unspoken phenomenon that occurs each year as fall approaches and the Iowa air begins to thicken with humidity and hype. This condition doesn't last long, sometimes it dissipates shortly after week 1, but it is real. I have seen it in myself.
A medical professional may define it as a collective form of Dissociative Reality Disorder, where we, as Cyclone fans clearly marked by various traumatic events in our fandom past, gloss over the disappointments we have suffered over the years and believe that this is the year fate smiles down from above and our patience and unwavering loyalty is finally rewarded.