The only thing about Illinois football that’s memorable to me in my lifetime is Cap Boso. Not because he was anything special as a TE, but because his name was Cap Boso.
The Illinois enigma
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The only thing about Illinois football that’s memorable to me in my lifetime is Cap Boso. Not because he was anything special as a TE, but because his name was Cap Boso.
David Hudson..."a rolling ball of butcher knives". One of Hayden's best quips
The rivalry isn't there like it used to be. We haven't held up our end in basketball in over 20 years. They haven't held up their end in football for most of that same time frame.
I do think Lovie can get it done there though. In the past you can see that he's getting young talented guys that need more experience but play tough. He's just trying to build a program in a time where his division consists of a Wisconsin team that is bordering on elite. An Iowa team that is almost always tough. A Northwestern team that usually punches above their weight class. And a Minnesota team that didn't have as far of a hole to climb out of giving them a head start on their rebuild. Plus Purdue and Nebraska that both have better history in the last 20 years than Illinois does.
If they stick with Lovie, I could see him getting them into a conference championship game in the next 5 years with the right schedule and a few breaks.
I do think Lovie can get it done there though. In the past you can see that he's getting young talented guys that need more experience but play tough. He's just trying to build a program in a time where his division consists of a Wisconsin team that is bordering on elite. An Iowa team that is almost always tough. A Northwestern team that usually punches above their weight class. And a Minnesota team that didn't have as far of a hole to climb out of giving them a head start on their rebuild. Plus Purdue and Nebraska that both have better history in the last 20 years than Illinois does.
If they stick with Lovie, I could see him getting them into a conference championship game in the next 5 years with the right schedule and a few breaks.
I've watched Iowa-Illinois football games since 1975. I've lived in the Chicago area for 26 years. My observation on Illini football is that most years the fans don't care, but when their team is winning they are insufferable.
Richard Bass was the "rolling ball of butcher knives."
Ah...that's right. I typed Richard Hudson initially and thought WTF? My subconscious must have known
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63-0
One of the most dominant quarters of football I’ve ever seen was credited to AJ Epenesa.
You pretty much asked why we care more about what happens at Nebraska and not at Illinois correct?
You got what I think is a legitimate reason .
Incorrect. I noted that we have an active rivalry with all of our neighboring schools except Illinois. The focus was on why is Illinois so weak?
Fair enough .
I’ll also go with Illinois isn’t good enough to care about and their fans know it. Nebby isn’t either for that matter but their fans are much more the douche nozzles....
Nebraska being a bottom feeder is exactly what their fan base deserves. They are the most obnoxious bunch of internet trolls, even greater than PSU.
As far as Illinois, I wouldn’t sleep on them. Beating Illinois any year, in any sport is a good feeling when you live near the Mississippi River. The majority of the Illini fans are just smart enough to shut their mouths, unlike the GBR’s. Illinois gave Iowa a pretty decent game last year in Kinnick and seem to be getting better. I wouldn’t sleep on their squad.
I think this is the answer. I’ve lived in suburban Chicago my whole life. 2001-2007 you would see Illini apparel everywhere, especially 2005 & 2007.
Last 5-10 years, I rarely see people wearing Illini clothes. Even Illinois fans I bantered with in the 2000s, they readily admit they hardly even follow anymore. And these were people who would travel to road games.
It’s actually eerily similar to the Sox fan base, post-2008. Too many years of losing, so the fans just disappeared.
I grew up in the Quad Cities so I’ve always considered this a rivalry. Now, I’ve lived in the suburbs for 25 years and have yet to met a passionate Illinois fan.
A couple of years ago I took my son to Champaign to tour the campus. During the presentation at the beginning of the tour, they had current students share their experiences at Illinois. You know it’s telling when a current student said in front of the parents and future students, ‘I became interested in Illinois when I was a little kid. That’s when we used to be good in sports’.
A couple of years ago I took my son to Champaign to tour the campus. During the presentation at the beginning of the tour, they had current students share their experiences at Illinois. You know it’s telling when a current student said in front of the parents and future students, ‘I became interested in Illinois when I was a little kid. That’s when we used to be good in sports’.
Bringing up Nebraska in a thread about
This thread is about Illinois.
I grew up in Central Illinois and would say that outside of the Bears and Cubs, the fans are very fair weather. I don’t recall there being a lot of support for the Illini, but the fanbase was a little more noticeable for basketball.
Lovie saved his job by beating Wisconsin last year but his live off of transfer model isn’t sustainable. (I don’t follow their recruiting, has it improved drastically?)
Lovie saved his job by beating Wisconsin last year but his live off of transfer model isn’t sustainable. (I don’t follow their recruiting, has it improved drastically?)
Yep. Pre-2008, Blackhawks fans were non-existent. Suddenly, 2009-2016 Blackhawks fans far surpassed the number of Bulls fans. It was the equivalent of a tsunami.
In the 90s, Bulls fans were everywhere. Nowadays, you see little Bulls apparel.
Have it your way jack ....
You won’t find me starting any Nebraska posts but if it makes you feel better to keep pissing and moaning over a couple comments then have at it .
So many hot takes, haha. I live in Chicago, and even when we are bad (which is usual, though there have been precious few mentions that we were decent enough last year), there are absolutely more Illini fans than any other school here. It’s not about what shirt you choose to see during your family trip to town, lol ... it’s math. When we’re good, it’s not close.
The fact is, we have consistently let our fans down for decades. It’s fun to think there is something special about your fans and fundamentally different or worse about ours, but we packed the house in the 1980s. We packed the house during the Rose Bowl year in 2007, and we brought a good following to Pasadena. (Speaking of Chicago, that year shows how quickly the Illini fans come flowing out of the woodworks.)
Thousands and thousands of Illini fans are afraid to reinvest, and can you blame him? Yes, IL is a pro-sports state and Chicago even more so. Yes, IL gets picked over from outside schools who have less instate talent of their own. Yes, Chicago has a ton of transplants and grads of other schools, making it a melting pot. However, frankly, your fan base specifically constantly overrated every one of those things.
I don’t know or care how Iowa fans would react, but if Illinois were consistently competitive for years in a row, our fans would buy back in. Yap about all the other shit you want, but the reason for 99.9% if perceived apathy is simply that we have been so bad that our fan base has been beaten down and has a hard time buying back in. That changes with wins and wins alone.
The fact is, we have consistently let our fans down for decades. It’s fun to think there is something special about your fans and fundamentally different or worse about ours, but we packed the house in the 1980s. We packed the house during the Rose Bowl year in 2007, and we brought a good following to Pasadena. (Speaking of Chicago, that year shows how quickly the Illini fans come flowing out of the woodworks.)
Thousands and thousands of Illini fans are afraid to reinvest, and can you blame him? Yes, IL is a pro-sports state and Chicago even more so. Yes, IL gets picked over from outside schools who have less instate talent of their own. Yes, Chicago has a ton of transplants and grads of other schools, making it a melting pot. However, frankly, your fan base specifically constantly overrated every one of those things.
I don’t know or care how Iowa fans would react, but if Illinois were consistently competitive for years in a row, our fans would buy back in. Yap about all the other shit you want, but the reason for 99.9% if perceived apathy is simply that we have been so bad that our fan base has been beaten down and has a hard time buying back in. That changes with wins and wins alone.
When you live in Illinois there are so many options for favorite sports teams in the state. The Bears have a great following, win or lose, Same for the Cubs. The White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks.
IN college football you have Illinois and Northwestern, in basketball the Illini and Cats, Bradley and DePaul and Loyola and others.
It is very different from Iowa where you have the Hawkeyes, a couple of other schools like UNI and ISU, after that the Iowa Cubs.
Illini fans are very fair weather, perhaps because of all the options they have.
IN college football you have Illinois and Northwestern, in basketball the Illini and Cats, Bradley and DePaul and Loyola and others.
It is very different from Iowa where you have the Hawkeyes, a couple of other schools like UNI and ISU, after that the Iowa Cubs.
Illini fans are very fair weather, perhaps because of all the options they have.
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They played the same time so not hard to get them mixed up 35 years later. Hudson was a stud his sophomore year but got hurt then got heavier and wasn't the factor he had been. He and Bass were two of the better FBs among a large group of good ones at Iowa these past forty years.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
I knew IL has been pretty bad but it is worse than i realized. Since 2003, the only P5 program that is worse is Kansas. I like Lovie Smith, but he has to get you guys into the high single digit wins this year (assuming there is a season) or I think you have to cut bait and try and find a young PJ Fleck/Matt Campbell type coach that can generate more excitement and try and change the culture even more.
https://www.teamrankings.com/ncf/trends/win_trends/?range=yearly_since_2003
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I was at this one, and it is still the most fun I've ever had at an Iowa game start to finish (even better than the OSU Woodshed game).
We had just come off our loss in Columbus in the rain, and here comes a ranked Illini team we'd lost to badly in 83, and barely beat in 84, and its pouring rain, and dark and shitty weather, and they had a great QB in Jack Trudeau so I was nervous about this one.
By the time it was 35-0 at end of 1st qtr, my nerves had lessened quite a bit. And then 49-0 at half! It was NUTS. We could do no wrong, they could do no right. It was a lot like our game with them 2 years ago, but at home, and against a good Illini squad, not a terrible one.
The weather may have been the worst, but man this one was the best.
I'd definitely disagree on diehard broncos as Tix have been super easy to come by lately and fans pout excessively when they aren't good but yes....broncos are top dog and no one really cares about CU or CSU. I think it even effects Rockies and Nuggets.
That's the point though, I know Illinois has a ton of alumni and fans but they only show their colors when things are going well. I live in Chicago as well, grew up in the suburbs, so for 30+ years of experience it's more than "seeing tshirts on a family trip".
It's not like Illinois fans are for the most part die hards who just don't flaunt their fandom, like there are thousands of fans who pretend not to be invested in public but in private are the biggest fans ever. For how large a fan base there is in Chicago at least, one would think they would show out through bad times at least respectably but they don't.
Yes, Mike White had a couple of good teams in the mid 80s when Tony Eason was their QB. Think they went to the Rose Bowl one of those years.
I will never forget that game, (early 90s I think), when we rolled into Champaign behind Nick Bell and just laid a beat down on their home field. What a great memory!
1990. Keith Jackson did that game. Funny moment hearing him trying to pronounce Kujawa. 90 was a great season, especially after 89.
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