What's in a name?

#26      

ILLINI IN NE

Omaha,Ne.
I got lucky and have it as my license plate number. I actually got pulled over by the Pennsylvania State Police to check my registration.

In Grand Island Nebraska but you can see from my avatar/license plate where my loyalties lie.
 
#29      

Illiini

In the land of the Nittany Lion
I've been in PA for 29 years (after ten years in MD, and my wife got her PhD from U of M), and I am most definitely NOT a Penn State fan. My wife's loyalties didn't change, btw. She still a true Orange and Blue Illini.

If fact, because we lost this last basketball game @ PSU, I have to wear a Penn State jacket at church on Sunday. The Illini had better win at the Assembly Hall so the owner of the jacket will have to wear my orange CHIEF sweatshirt. Because if we lose, I'll have to wear that Penn State blue jacket again.
 
#30      

ChiefIlliniwek

Omaha, Nebraska
I've been asked that before. The L is for loyalty because after living in Ne for 30+ years my friends here can't believe I have not converted to a big red fan.

People here just don't get it... You tell them you aren't a Nebraska fan and they get a look on their face like you just killed their dog.

A True (and sad) story: I was at a wedding this past fall here in Omaha on the day that Nebraska played Wisconsin. During the reception I'd say 90% of the people were watching the game on their phones at their tables while the Father of the Bride was making his speech. Some of them WITH sound. Classless, disrespectful, and pathetic.

:chief:
 
#31      
My name is pretty self explanatory. One of the few and proud Illini out here! Although the new VP of my company recently sought me because he heard I was an Illini and he's also a U of I grad :)

I've been asked that before. The L is for loyalty because after living in Ne for 30+ years my friends here can't believe I have not converted to a big red fan.

I've been in PA for 29 years (after ten years in MD, and my wife got her PhD from U of M), and I am most definitely NOT a Penn State fan. My wife's loyalties didn't change, btw. She still a true Orange and Blue Illini.

Much to the dismay of many on here, I've slowly been converted into a KU fan as well. My sister finally got to me, as she's a KU grad and was in the band there. She's still well aware of where my true loyalties are, but I don't actively root against them anymore like I did for so many years. The best I can give her is them being my #3 basketball team (#1 obviously being :illinois: and #2 being Wichita State).
 
#32      
I have always been jealous of people that have a #2 and #3 team. I can't do it. Must be nice when you can root for a fallback team. When my teams suck (often) I just spend the rest of the year rooting against a bunch of other teams. Pretty miserable feeling.
 
#33      

blmillini

Bloomington, IL
I have always been jealous of people that have a #2 and #3 team. I can't do it. Must be nice when you can root for a fallback team. When my teams suck (often) I just spend the rest of the year rooting against a bunch of other teams. Pretty miserable feeling.

That just makes you a true fan.
 
#34      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
Iowa St is my #2 or 3 cause my wife's and fam are from nearby and big fans. Arizona State is my other since I went there for grad school, but I only really pay attention to their football team.
 
#35      

Serious Late

Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
People here just don't get it... You tell them you aren't a Nebraska fan and they get a look on their face like you just killed their dog.

My wife (U of I class of 2006) did a sports medicine fellowship with Michigan. Resulted in her being on the sidelines for every Michigan football game. She wore Orange knee high socks every game. She is pretty awesome. We spent a year in Ann Arbor, and people didn't get how we didn't automatically convert to being Michigan fans. Honestly, our year there (even though my wife ended with a degree there) made us even stronger Illini.

A True (and sad) story: I was at a wedding this past fall here in Omaha on the day that Nebraska played Wisconsin. During the reception I'd say 90% of the people were watching the game on their phones at their tables while the Father of the Bride was making his speech. Some of them WITH sound. Classless, disrespectful, and pathetic.

:chief:

I am not getting the classless/disrespectful/pathetic commentary. The father of the bride should have known better! I would LOVE if Illinois had fans that good. My buddy insists PEORIA doesn't truly care about U of I athletics, a truly sad place we find ourselves in.
 
#36      

ChiefIlliniwek

Omaha, Nebraska
I am not getting the classless/disrespectful/pathetic commentary. The father of the bride should have known better! I would LOVE if Illinois had fans that good. My buddy insists PEORIA doesn't truly care about U of I athletics, a truly sad place we find ourselves in.

Yeah, you're right. The father of the bride totally should have waited until the game was over at 11pm to make his speech and give his toast. It's just his daughter's wedding day, definitely not as important as football.
 
#37      

Serious Late

Peoria via Denver via Ann Arbor via Albuquerque vi
Yeah, you're right. The father of the bride totally should have waited until the game was over at 11pm to make his speech and give his toast. It's just his daughter's wedding day, definitely not as important as football.
You're fun. :thumb:
 
#38      

illynifan34

That's a winner!!
OH
Yeah, you're right. The father of the bride totally should have waited until the game was over at 11pm to make his speech and give his toast. It's just his daughter's wedding day, definitely not as important as football.

Major life events should be scheduled around football season.
 
#39      

DrewD007

Woodridge, IL
Major life events should be scheduled around football season.

True. My wife insisted on a fall wedding, so I insisted on having it on the bye week last year. :thumb:

In regards to the username, it's what I used on AOL instant messenger in grade school. It's obviously my name, however despite the 007 seemingly indicating me as a big Bond fan, I just used it at the end because my older brother had it at the end of his AOL username so I wanted to be cool like him.
 
#40      

Buck Turgidson

Massachusetts
My IL name is one of the great characters from one of the greatest movies ever (and there is a bit of a resemblance). Incidentally, I first saw Dr. Strangelove in Urbana on a Friday night my freshman year. They used to show classic movies in classrooms around campus. My next door neighbor at Blaisdell suggested going. I think there were 15 or so people watching. I've probably seen it a hundred times since.

Also I notice several other people here use a Strangelove-themed avatar.
 
#41      

Stevegarbs

Mokena, IL
My IL name is one of the great characters from one of the greatest movies ever (and there is a bit of a resemblance). Incidentally, I first saw Dr. Strangelove in Urbana on a Friday night my freshman year. They used to show classic movies in classrooms around campus. My next door neighbor at Blaisdell suggested going. I think there were 15 or so people watching. I've probably seen it a hundred times since.

Also I notice several other people here use a Strangelove-themed avatar.



Yes, some of us do. And it is a great character from a great movie!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#42      

Illiini

In the land of the Nittany Lion
Much to the dismay of many on here, I've slowly been converted into a KU fan as well.

The longer I live in Pennsylvania, the more PSU averse I have become. But since we're pretty well settled where we are, even to the point of owning burial plots here, I'll have to see about having Orange and Blue on the headstone somehow, just to annoy future Penn Staters. :wave:
 
#43      

Deleted member 3875

D
Guest
My #2 team is Boise State Broncos, my spouse's alma mater. She has had FB bragging rights for an extended period of time.
 
#44      

BluesBro

Round Lake, Illinois
Mine comes from how I spent many, many times out during Illini basketball and football games during my five year Illinois career (81-86).

I was in the Marching Illini and the Basketball band. During Basketball games, my fellow Baritone Sax player and I were so involved in the games, we often neglected to play during some of the time out songs we were performing...most often...the William Tell Overture, which rolled right into the Blue Brothers riff. We routinely got the stink eye from the director because of this, so we decided to do a poor imitation of the Blues Brother dance for the song from the movie ... complete with an awful cartwheel. We originally just did it at women's games, and for our own (the band's entertainment) ... but we were approached by one of the Associate ADs (and some spectators) asking us to do it at Men's games.

We walked out to center court during a nationally televised Iowa game and did the dance once. ONCE. Turned out THAT violated some B1G rule. Oops. We kept it to the sideline after that.

Got pats on the back and 'that's pretty cool' comments about it from Heathecoat, Keady and, even, Knight. After the last one, I asked him why he was watching the band screw around during a timeout, shouldn't he have been yelling at his players? He just laughed, shook his head and muttered something about "F'ing Illinois."

My partner changed after a couple years due to graduation, and I saw other subsequent band geeks doing it for several years afterward. The dance changed along the way, but the spirit remained.

It was a fun part of an even more fun experience with the bands and figured I'd bring it along as my moniker here. Not that I post very often...
 
#45      
Got pats on the back and 'that's pretty cool' comments about it from Heathecoat, Keady and, even, Knight. After the last one, I asked him why he was watching the band screw around during a timeout, shouldn't he have been yelling at his players? He just laughed, shook his head and muttered something about "F'ing Illinois."

:thumb::thumb: Beautifully played
 
#46      

TownieMatt

CU Expat
Chicago
Name is Matt. From Champaign, so when I went to the beloved everyone called me a "townie". So I just owned it.
 
#47      

afpharmdawg

Colorado Springs
I am retired Air Force and spent most of my career as a pharmacy tech. We called ourselves pharm dawgs. So, afpharmdawg kind of fit.
 
#49      
What a great thread, always pondered this question.

Mine is rather obvious. IlliniJim, not very creative, goes back to Big Ten Fan Forums :eek:.

20 because IlliniJim was taken, and 20 is a favorite number from days of yore.

Keep ' em coming :thumb: