[81alum]

Hilton Arena does have a special reputation.  It is literally the only game in town, and absorbs a quarter of the local population.  Phenomenal.  Just contrast that with UCLA, which has a community of several million people to draw from and managed to draw 820 to a home game against WSU this year.

Iowa State fans of the men’s and women’s basketball teams share something in common—they believe in “Hilton Magic.” That’s when more than 14,000 fans—nearly a quarter of the population of Ames, home to Iowa State—fill the Hilton Coliseum to its capacity, cheering on their Cyclones so enthusiastically that they tip the scoreboard in their favor.

The magic of Hilton is ingrained in the people,” agreed ISU women’s coach Bill Fennelly, who’s in his 19th season—the longest-tenured coach in the Big-12. “It’s loud in a way that I think does impact the game. The players, the coaches, the fans are eerily connected. It just seems like there have been a lot of moments here where something has happened that people are like, ‘How did that happen?’ I think that’s where the magic comes from.

http://espn.go.com/blog/espnevents/post/...magic-ride

[81alum]

Hilton Arena does have a special reputation.  It is literally the only game in town, and absorbs a quarter of the local population.  Phenomenal.  Just contrast that with UCLA, which has a community of several million people to draw from and managed to draw 820 to a home game against WSU this year.

Iowa State fans of the men’s and women’s basketball teams share something in common—they believe in “Hilton Magic.” That’s when more than 14,000 fans—nearly a quarter of the population of Ames, home to Iowa State—fill the Hilton Coliseum to its capacity, cheering on their Cyclones so enthusiastically that they tip the scoreboard in their favor.

The magic of Hilton is ingrained in the people,” agreed ISU women’s coach Bill Fennelly, who’s in his 19th season—the longest-tenured coach in the Big-12. “It’s loud in a way that I think does impact the game. The players, the coaches, the fans are eerily connected. It just seems like there have been a lot of moments here where something has happened that people are like, ‘How did that happen?’ I think that’s where the magic comes from.

http://espn.go.com/blog/espnevents/post/...magic-ride