I think times like the basketball team are going through now are when you can differentiate the more loyal Iowa fans from the bandwagon fans. The loyal fans still cheer for the team and refuse to attack or boo individual players no matter how bad they play. After all, they are our guys; working hard and doing their best. Sure, interest might wane a little.

With regard to attendance, the current style of play may drive some fans away; however, I think the athletic departments have done a lot to undermine fan loyalty. They have gouged (IMO) the fans with high ticket prices just because they could (football being the worst offender). Now they (bball)want to play the loyalty/relationship card.

Does anyone else remember how painful it was to watch the half-court 4-corner offense?

I was a teen-ager during the Ralph Miller years at Iowa. Sure, we went undefeated in the Big-10 season and were one win from the final four. BUT, there were only two national games per week on TV, then. Now, there are 20 games on the average sports fan’s TV, each week. I had to listen to Iowa’s loss to Jacksonville, in the ‘elite eight’ on the radio. That probably boggles the mind of today’s sports fan.

Illinois and Wisconsin have made the NCAA tourney each of the last ten years, but their fans are no more rabid then ours. UNI and ISU have earned higher RPI’s than the Hawks over that same decade. Hiring coaches, and sticking with them, is a cut-throat business in the last decade. There have probably been more fan’s hearts broken in Fayetteville, College Station, and Tulsa then in Iowa City in the last decade.

What has Gonzaga, Villanova, Vanderbilt, or Maryland got, that Iowa doesn’t? Continutity. We’ll be spoiled again, if we stick with a guy who teaches the same values that Dr. Tom did (Coach Lick). Unless you want to be a NWN or PSU in BB, quit changing horses in the middle of the stream.

I recall a poster saying earlier that people are frustrated with a rebuilding effort that has taken far too long. THAT is proof enough of a spoiled generation of fans. What on earth makes you think you know a damn thing about how long it should take to rebuild the absolute mess that Alford left us? You’ve never had to witness a true rebuilding process before for Iowa basketball. So why are you declaring that it’s taking too long? Because you’re an expert on the matter?

I seem to remember a lot of other people thinking they were experts on Iowa sports, and thought we should have canned Ferentz and Parker as recently as November 7, 2008. Glad Barta didn’t listen to all you “experts” then.

And you’ve got to remember, this team is VERY young. But they have a lot of the pieces in place, and Cody Larson should give us a good post presence when he arrives on campus next year. But Payne, May, and Cougill make up a very promising freshman class, and we still have Gatens, Fuller, and hopefully Tucker back as juniors next year, and Cole will benefit from another year of experience. I think the NIT isn’t an unreachable goal for next year.

Give Lick two more years. If we haven’t shown signs of progress by then, then it’s time to move on. But he’s not got the program in any worse shape than it was when Alford left, so it’s not really hurting us to hold on. Just be a little more patient.

If The U of I can put a product on the court that wins games, then people will come. It won’t happen until then. Even at that point, there are a lot of things competing for that almighty dollar.