(08-12-2019 03:37 PM)Wedge Wrote: (08-12-2019 01:20 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote: (07-31-2019 12:09 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote: AAC will still be claiming they are P6.
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Crazy if you say something enough people start to believe it.
Iowa State is a power school.
Look down on a small town in Iowa if it makes you feel good, I guess, but Iowa State has sold over 43,000 football season tickets for 2019. Bowl games prefer Iowa State to teams in their own conference with better records because Iowa State fans buy bowl game tickets. Sometimes being the biggest deal in the area is better than being one of dozens of options in a large metropolis.
No doubt that the support for ISU from Ames (and the state) is strong, and I agree with you that "sometimes being the biggest deal in the area is better than being one of dozens of options in a large metropolis."
Having said that — and with absolutely no reason to be anti-ISU — ponder this: My brother (who extensively traveled Iowa and its many cities/towns during a previous job; he likes Ames) attended a Big Ten school in a college town similar to Ames. The Big Ten town is charming (I've been many times) and has its positives.
But there are lot of folks who have basically zero interest in sports. And a town like Ames or the Big Ten town in which my brother went to school ... for contrast, Asheville, North Carolina, is like Paris compared to Ames, according to my brother and many folks I've talked to who have visited both Asheville and Ames. (True, UNC-Asheville is like a high school compared to ISU in terms of sports.). And a major city compared to Ames ... well, there is no comparison (in fairness, I've never been to Ames and might love it). So it works both ways. But for people who are not into sports, Asheville (and, again, I'm simply using that city as an example) or Ames ...? The choice is easy.
Again, I understand your point that Iowa State does well with fan support. And we should all respect that. But when a college town basically has very few other cultural/civic educational/entertainment options ... you tend to see strong fans support. This is not necessarily a bad thing and clearly not something to mock or trivialize. But ...
Maybe I'm over-simplfying but I wanted to weigh in.