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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/Evening_Ad4108 on 2025-12-05 18:39:34+00:00.
Very sad to hear the news today. Growing up, my family wasn’t too into the nfl outside of my dad, so Iowa State was all I ever knew, and we were terrible. I did not have any hope in football until the Matt Campbell hire. My first game I went to with him as the coach was the 66-10 beatdown on Patrick Mahomes and Texas Tech, and I was instantly hooked on excited for the team for the first time in my lifetime.
2017 was so magical, man. Bowl win, 8 wins in a season, it was all new to me, and it honestly felt amazing. Then 2018, and we get Brock MFing Purdy, and I go to my first ever bowl game at the Alamo. Sure, we lost, but just the thought of being there (and witnessing the GOAT Gardner Minshew) was insane and a foreign concept to me. It was around this time I got into football more and started watching the NFL, all thanks to Matt Campbell.
Making the Big12 championship in 2020 was a bigger win for me than when my nfl won the superbowl that same year. 9 wins in a season was insane and to win a NY6 bowl was the cherry on top of the best season in school history.
Yeah, 2021 and 2022 were a little short of expectations, but the fact that we as a school had expectations in the first place meant that we had finally made it into being relevant.
I began attending Iowa State in 2024, so for the first time I was able to go all the games, and there simply could not have been a better year for it. My dad and I went to the final regular season game against Kstate, and we were both in tears as we stormed the field after solidifying our first 10 win season in history.
Even though the black uniforms were way past their prime, I would let the team wear them every game if it meant keeping Campbell.
I always thought Campbell would be a lifer, but I guess he had other plans. I wish him nothing but the best, but this really hurts. Thank you, coach, for igniting my love for football, and I wish you luck at Penn State.