What Cyclone Would You Most Like to See in the Super Bowl?

(This article originally appeared on www.big12-fans.com.)

Brian #1

When I start thinking about Cyclones I’d like to see get a shot on sports’ biggest stage, the list gets long fast. Jordan Carstens is rushing Sage Rosenfels out of the pocket, Seneca Wallace is lined up in the slot on a trick play, Reggie Hayward and James Reed are stuffing the run, Ellis Hobbs is returning Tony Yelk’s booming kickoffs, Troy Davis is watching from a TV somewhere in Canada, and Pete Taylor is doing play-by-play from the big pressbox in the sky. But if I could pick one former Cyclone to shine on Super Sunday, its really not that hard. I’m going with the one common link between all these great Cyclones: Dan McCarney.

Now that Bill Cowher is out of the league, there’s a huge vacancy just waiting to be filled for a coach that leads with a scowl and an angry chin. Cowher never went Clapping Monkey like Mac, but just imagine Mac at Media Day for the Super Bowl. Even with the limited coverage at Iowa State, the amount of hot air Mac spewed at reporters was probably the chief cause of Global Warming. Picture him at media day:

Reporter: What are your chances on Sunday, Coach McCarney?

Mac: I tell ya, its not gonna be easy Sunday, Jimmy, no way. This is the fourth straight playoff team we faced, we had one of the hardest schedules in the entire NFC North this season, we’re going up against a team on a three game winning streak, you don’t win that many football games by accident, they’re doing it with toughness, with heart, they’re playing smart, they make big plays, they get turnovers, they don’t turn the ball over, they have a good plan, they’re big, they’re strong, they’re experienced, they have amazing fans, they perform well under pressure, they’re great on both sides of the ball, they have unbelievable special teams, we’re going to have be better than we’ve ever even considered thinking about being before just to be in this game at halftime. And oh yeah, their punt coverage in the second half when leading is tops in the AFC East, so we’ve got to be ready for that. Did I mention what an honor it is to coach against Romeo Crennel, who is one of the all-time legends in this sport?

(Polar ice caps melt.)

Seriously, I love Coach Mac, and I always will, and I’ll always pull for him wherever he goes. I want him in the Super Bowl. I want to hear what Joe Buck says as Mac grimaces after we get stuffed on 4th and short. I want to see him cheering and clapping after our defense gets a stop while trailing 42-7. I want to see him manage the clock in the 4th quarter with the added complication of the two minute warning. I want to see him lead the team in “kumbaya” when they’re trailing 24-7 at halftime.

Truly, no Cyclone, past, present or future, deserves a chance to have his hard work appreciated and praised for all the world to see as much as Dan McCarney.

Brian #2

There are certainly a number of Cyclones who were fan favorites throughout their careers who I would love to see play in a Super Bowl. There may be no one who deserves a chance in the spotlight more, though, than Tony Yelk. The state of Iowa’s football version of Jess Settles, Yelk experienced some serious ups and downs throughout his 8 year Cyclone career. Or at least some serious downs.

When Yelk was a freshman I remember feeling like he had the world at his feet. Sure, he was inaccurate, but he had the leg to knock down field goals from 55+ yards, and his punts were absolute bombs! Who cares if he took 6 steps before he punted? Gramted, I was a little angry too when Yelk went 0-4 on FG in a 24-21 loss to Texas A&M, or “missed” that field goal that would have won the Independence Bowl against Alabama. But its cool. We get chances to beat two of the most storied programs in the country in the same year all the time. Don’t sweat it, Tony.

Lots of kickers are injury plagued, and that’s why I was understanding of Tony when he spent his second senior year out with a pulled muscle when many fans were throwing him under the bus. It’s not like we lost 4 really close games where an inch could have made a huge difference, and the two guys who tried to replace him combined for 56.4 yards a kickoff, putting their average blast at the 9-yard line, before the average 18.6 yard return put teams at the 28-yard line. Wait, all that actually did happen.

Sure, maybe I am a little bitter about the Tony Yelk era. But I am ready to see him succeed so that both of us can exercise our demons. I just want to see Tony catch on with a team that can afford to use one of its roster spots on a guy who can be a very good kickoff man and emergency quarterback (Tony was an all-state QB in high school). Maybe I just want to see Tony in a Super Bowl because I could makes jokes about it with my family for month, whether about his hair, his brittle body, or his career at ISU. Regardless, Tony is my man.

Brad

When people need some hard work done in Bagley, Iowa, they don’t have to look very far. 6 feet 5 inches, 300 pounds of lean muscle. Jordan Carstens is a man among boys but, more than that, he embodied what it meant to be a classy Iowa State Cyclone football player under Dan McCarney.

He walked on at ISU in 1999, weighing only 215 pounds. Getty probably had him on more protein shakes than Herschel Walker. What seemed like overnight, the boy from Bagley had turned into the beast from Bagley. Improbably he became a starter and, eventually, a star. In 2002 and 2003 he earned all conference recognition while playing through several obviously painful injuries.

One only has to look to the Oklahoma game his junior year. The Cyclones came into Norman the #9 team in the country, and came away wondering what hit them. But on that day, even Sooner fans would agree, Jordan Carstens was packing a punch. Limping around the field Carstens piled up 13 tackles and was the only ISU player who looked like he belonged on the field that day.

I wish that Carstens could rid the injury plague that has continued to hinder his NFL career with the Panthers. Although it never seemed to stop him from having career games in college, the stakes are higher and the he’s not competing with Klayton Shoals anymore. Carstens will always be one of my favorite Cyclones and I think he deserves a Super Bowl. I will always miss the beast from Bagley, ole #92 in cardinal and gold.


Brian #1 is a freelance writer living in Chicago, and a regular contributor to Rivals.com and his website, briankgolden.blogspot.com. Brian #2 is a sophomore at Iowa State University majoring in finance and Spanish. Brad is a junior at Notre Dame, majoring in Economics and Philosophy.