For the Cyclones, About the
Cyclones, and Nothing but the Cyclones
Take a good look at the saying at
the top of the page, you’ll be seeing a lot of it here in the future at CN. As
most of you know by now, I was named the publisher of CycloneNation.com just
last week and the heading above is what I want this site to be described as from
here on out no matter what the circumstance.
I represent the new generation of
Cyclone fans, the Jamie Pollard generation. You see my friends; I don’t remember
watching our Clones losing 70 point games to Nebraska. I don’t remember the 15 straight
losses to the Hawks. That stuff is completely out of my system. I remember
Heisman trophy candidates in Troy Davis and Seneca Wallace. . I remember winning
bowl games. I remember an Elite Eight. I remember WINNING. It’s that simple.
That’s what CN is going to focus
on under my leadership. The positives.
From now on, I will have access to
all of the following: CycloneNation.com, Cyclone Nation the Magazine, Cy-Hawk
Talk: State of the Nations on Mediacom, outlets on KXNO and WHO. I will be
active in all of the above in the very near future and for a good time to come.
I will be active, and I will be spreading the positive story of Iowa State athletics.
These various media formats
provide me access to literally hundreds of thousands of people to reach with the
Cyclone story.
If there is something to argue
about, I’ll argue it, but it will always be for the Cyclones, about the Cyclones, and
nothing but the Cyclones. If it’s not, I’m not doing my job. I’m not
promoting Iowa
State athletics.
Where I stand…
For being the start of June,
message boards and radio shows have been as active as ever. Unfortunately,
negativity has taken over.
Here’s where I stand on the issue.
I have Steve Deace’s back. I,
unlike most out there, know Steve in a way much closer than a radio personality.
He’s a friend, an advisor and most importantly a mentor to me. He’s taught me
more in the past few months than I can ever describe, and I have his back.
I know Deace as an ordinary guy
and I know his family. He is a good man, no matter what you read about him or
think about his opinions.
The Future at
CN
One thing that I’ve had to learn
to deal with a lot in the past few months is criticism. It’s amazing how much
snipping there is out there by folks who call themselves Cyclones against those,
like myself, who are doing nothing more than trying to promote the
Cyclones. I’ve even read some
people claim I’m too young to be doing this.
That made me laugh and more
importantly, it threw fuel onto a fire. Criticize me for my opinions, because
that’s what I’m paid to do. But if you don’t know me, don’t write me off because
I’m 21 years old.
I’m full of energy and I’m full of
passion. I get emotional when it comes to my Cyclones. So why would my age make
me less credible? Wouldn’t you want someone with energy and passion covering and
promoting your team?
Going to a Big 12 basketball game
is a big deal to me. I get excited to cover the Clones. I’m jacked up about OUR
Cyclones. Talk to any loyal CN
subscriber. I’m confident that they are happy with the progress of this site,
and I’m even more confident that it will be better in the future.
My goal as publisher is to provide
content that truly thinks outside of the box and tells the Cyclone story I see
every day on campus. Being on campus, Brent Blum and I have access to things and
sources that no other media entity has. We will use them.
CN will utilize Brent Blum, who I
feel is the best columnist in the state of Iowa today. If you want to argue that, then
you obviously haven’t read his work. Right now Blum is in the middle of doing a
10 year timeline highlighting Iowa State athletics, an idea that is truly
outside of the box. You’ll see much more of Brent in the future.
In an attempt to keep positive
discussions on the message boards, CN will now feature a question of the day on the premium message board. It will
be a question of my choice and subscribers can debate the question and have fun
with it.
As always, recruiting is an
absolute must for CN to cover, but I want to bring so much more to the table. I
want the coaches and players to tell the stories. CN already gives readers more
interviews and commentary than any other place on the net, and that will
continue throughout the summer months and into the fall.
Room for
Improvement
Of course there are ways in which
I can improve this website. My number one goal is to improve CN’s coverage of
basketball recruiting. I’m confident that will happen in the near future.
CN wants to give you all more game
coverage. As always, you’ll get post-game quotes, summaries and all of the
goodies. But, along with that, you’ll receive contributions from Blum and former
Cyclones like Jack Whitver and Luke Vander Sanden, plus much, much, more.
It’s
Simple
While negativity might be the talk
of the town, it’s absolutely not going to happen when I’m at CN. I won’t take
part in it, and neither will CN subscribers. There’s a difference between
discussing what could have been done different in a loss, and ripping on a
Cyclone promoter because he likes Krispy Kremes (which are pretty good, I might
add). That garbage will not happen at CN.
If that’s what you’re about, then
CN probably isn’t the place fore you. Our message board is a place for diehard
Cyclones to discuss the Cyclones. Not badmouthing good people who are trying to
promote the Cyclones.
It’s very very simple. If it’s not
for the Cyclones, about the Cyclones,
and nothing but the Cyclones, it’s not going to happen at CN.
If I’m worrying about anything
other than the Cyclones, then I’m not doing my job. And neither are you as citizens of
Cyclone Nation, I might add.
So sit back, relax and enjoy the
positive perspective provided here
at CN, because in the end we’re all Cyclones and that’s really all that matters.
Go Cyclones!
Straight Shots From Welch
is a new weekly
column by CN’s publisher Chris Williams.
For the Cyclones. About the Cyclones. And nothing but the Cyclones.