WATERLOO – Jimmy Rogers may be from Arizona, but after nearly two decades as a football coach in South Dakota, he had to have become plenty acquainted with Midwest Nice.
Twenty years makes for a lot of “Ope, let me squeeze past yous.” Plenty of gatherings with the last piece of pizza left untouched. More than a few sidewalks shoveled by neighbors.
Still, as the new Iowa State football coach made his way around his new home state last month for the annual Tailgate Tour, he was a little taken aback by Cyclone Nice as he met his newest fans and neighbors.
“Really supportive as far as them trying to give me expectations,” Rogers told me, “that I’m unwilling to listen to.”
Which is to say … low expectations.
“Just like understanding of the circumstance,” Rogers said.
Those circumstances, of course, being a program, essentially, rebuilt from the ground up.
A new coaching staff. More than 80 new players. A new era.
A hard reset like that is easy to see and understand, even if it’s not fun to accept after the best 10-year run in program history under former coach Matt Campbell. But facts are facts, and even as passionate as Iowa State fans are and as optimistic as they want to be in the offseason – where hope can grow unfettered – the challenge is clear to see. It’s the kind that has Las Vegas putting the Cyclones as 100-to-1 underdogs to win the Big 12 and has national publications predicting the Cyclones last in the league.
So, as Rogers shook hands, signed autographs and posed for selfies between the Missouri and Mississippi in May, I suppose it’s not surprising he heard a steady drumbeat of ‘try hard, do your best and let’s go for ice cream after’ from fans acknowledging the work ahead.
“I just don’t believe in any of that,” Rogers said.
I’d imagine this is one of the more welcome ‘agree-to-disagree’ situations Iowa State fans could imagine.
One area where Rogers and his new fans were in (near) 100% agreement, though, was in his ability to deliver an inspiring in-game speech.
Specifically, the one he delivered during the annual Cy-Hawk men’s basketball game, in which he delivered the now-iconic line of “Let’s beat the (expletive) Hawks!” at Hilton Coliseum.
“I wasn’t expecting that to be such a constant theme,” Rogers said, “but I guess I’m not shocked either.”
It’s worth noting that the Cyclones did indeed go on to beat those gosh-darned Hawks that December evening.
I did, though, ask Rogers if there was any blowback for his potty mouth, noting that I got shamed in my own newspaper for not disavowing something that would make the cut in a PG-13-rated Jimmy Rogers biopic.
“Not one person,” Rogers said.
Well, with a single notable exception.
“Outside of maybe (Iowa State athletic director Jamie) Pollard,” Rogers said. “He said that’s my one-time pass.”
I, for one, am glad that the anti-profanity movement is limited to op-eds and admins.
Midwest Nice might mean cutting the break room’s last donut in half until it’s microscopic, but Iowa Nice means that a few times a year, you playfully swear at your family and friends who root for the wrong team.
As for modest expectations? Well, Iowa Nice makes that easy in the spring. We’ll see how it endures some losses this fall.
Or, if Rogers gets his way, it won’t even be tested.
Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football’s Jimmy Rogers meets Cyclone Nation | Hines
Reporting by Travis Hines, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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