Iowa fan is rightfully crowing about the 45,000 season tickets they have sold for 2006.
Iowa fan also snickers that ISU fan celebrates selling 30,000.
Given Iowa's play the last five years, 45K shouldn't be a surprise- it should be the norm.
Given ISU slightly above average results the last five years, 30K is commendable.
A quick review: Iowa has every advantage over ISU in fan support, fawning press coverage, TV exposure, membership in a league with bottomless pockets and a very sports friendly campus. They should sell twice the number of tickets ISU does, and right now could if Kinnick could hold it. But these are exceptional times in IC.
Before KF hit his stride, sales were slipping a few thousand each year. When football fortunes turn south again- and they inevitably will, as nobody wins forever- the slide will return. Only the true hardcores will be in the stands, as the fans of winning will have moved onto something else, finding the overpriced seats with bad sight lines that required a 45 minute walk from a $10 parking place in somebody's yard not worth an entire Saturday.
At the end of the day, it comes down to simple math: A bigger percentage of the ISU fan base buys tickets, despite having a lame history of success, uninspiring game day atmosphere, and a gnawing feeling deep down in their bellies that their Cyclones will some how, some way, break their hearts.
To the Cyclone fan, I say: Bravo!
Peterclone
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