First off, Cyclone basketball fans, let’s acknowledge our collective pain. We’re all hurting, whether you’re the outspoken Twitter rant type, or the more reserved type who suffers quietly. We all hurt following home losses like those we’ve experienced recently, particularly the one that concluded 2019. Why do we hurt? Because something we love and take pride in appears wounded, and gravely so. As fans of Iowa State athletics, there are few precious things that we would collectively consider definitive points of pride. Hilton Magic is one of those things, and its proud reputation has been damaged (arguably, defiled) over the past three seasons of college basketball.
As I’ve applied my own personal coping method following losses of this nature, probing the temperature of Cyclone Nation on various message boards and social media outlets, I’ve noticed a frequent refrain among the calls for a new coach: Hilton Magic is dead. Such a statement generates significant emotion from the Cyclone fanbase; a rallying cry for some, and blasphemy to others.
Regardless of your personal reaction to such claims, the origin is typically the same: a home loss that was either universally unexpected (this past New Year’s eve) or carried significant emotional implications (the recent loss to rival Iowa). Such a reaction is expected and, arguably, rational following such uninspiring performances in the hallowed arena that is Hilton Coliseum. I don’t seek to downplay or minimize those reactions as I’ve experienced and expressed them myself over the years. Rather, I want offer some reassurance.
This isn’t the first time that Hilton Magic has been pronounced dead. Look no further than the McDermott era, when such proclamations came early and often. (And, again, with good reason.) Those were desperate times, which I experienced up close as a season ticket holder for each and every season. Yet the fate of the Magic wasn’t held by one man or one era. I posted the following to this generally dormant personal fan blog in March of Hoiberg’s first season: BELIEVE IT.
On the heels of the demoralizing McDermott era, the Cyclones finished in last place that season, yet you could feel the Magic! What that transition proved to me is that the ultimate fate of Hilton Magic is not at the mercy of the Iowa State men’s basketball head coach and the performance of his team. Yes, the physical expression and on-court manifestation of the Magic may ebb and flow with each season. But there is not a man, a roster, nor a season that can extinguish the Magic. Why? Because the Magic does not exist within the persons who set foot on the hallowed hardwood. The Magic exists and emanates from us, the fans.
How do I know that? I know that because I’ve been in Hilton Coliseum to experience the Magic. I know that because I’ve felt it spontaneously originate in my belly, fill my lungs, and erupt across my vocal chords at decibel levels I’ve only experienced in that majestic concrete structure. I’ve then felt the goosebumps and the surge of energy as it reverberates off of the rafters and onto the arena floor. I’ve then seen the manifestation of the Magic in the players, as they respond with seemingly impossible comebacks and victories against hated foes.
Hilton Magic is not dead, no matter how little the current collection of coaches and players seem to cherish and respond to it. I know that because I feel it in my belly with each keystroke, and I know you feel it in yours. Those who have experienced the Magic likely feel a lump of pride in their throat as they evoke memories of games and seasons past. Hilton Magic is a point of pride that can never be extinguished as long as we, the Cyclone Nation, hold it dear. And I KNOW WITH CERTAINTY we hold it dear. Take heart, Cyclone fans. Hilton Magic is stronger than the man.
Eye of the Storm 