A$m AWOL?

As I drove back home after a weekend out of town, I contemplated what dimissive headline the Register would conceive to minimize ISU's thrashing of a$m in College Station. "A&M AWOL" was the best I could arrive at.

It is sport among Cyclone fans to dream up Register headlines that pick out any downside of ISU success. Perhaps "ISU survives big plays" would have been apt for Saturday, with one Aggie TD scored on a long run, and another called back by a holding penalty. The Rag often finds a way to downplay the big moments in Cyclone Nation while pumping up every tiny glimmer of hope from Iowa City. A win over a last place team by Iowa is a "Crushing"; the same win in Ames is "workmanlike". A close loss to a better team "Valiant" for one; "Horrific" the other.

So imagine my surprise at the positive spin Saturday's win received. "Historic" read the headline, the copy even more glowing, accurately reflecting the dismantling of a team some had thought was a darkhorse in the league. How fun to read about the same game you watched on TV.

Perhaps a play on "Silent Killers" would have been appropriate given the way normally boisterous Kyle Field fell silent as the margin grew bigger. Most of the fans left late in the third quarter. When your fans are making more noise than the home team, you know you have done your job.

The win does make one wonder just how good this team can be, since we have witness how bad- most of Illinois State, the first half against Army, the second half against Baylor, the last 10 minutes versus Mizzou- the team is capable of playing. But we should all step back and enjoy the moment: 8 solid quarters of football against two South teams that dominated ISU on both sides of the ball just last season. Two complete games with little to turn the nose up at. A team on a losing streak coming to Ames this week, and the North leader on the horizon. Potential abounds, still. One can even contemplate a bowl trip to a town other than Shreveport. Happy day, happy day.

Peterclone