Agreed In the last 20 years, we hae had 16 losing sub-500 seasons Changing habits and mindset takes times.
Totally agree with you guys in general ... guess I'm just overly eager to see it change. I have said this before, but I was born in Peoria to two parents who were NIU grads but avid Illini fans their whole lives (as were their parents) for no other reason than ... they were Illinoisans, and the Illini were the state flagship team. I moved to Iowa in grade school and grew up the only Illini fan in a sea of Hawkeyes fans - many of whom had parents who went to different schools and a lot of these kids remained avid Hawkeyes fans even after attending other schools, including rival Big Ten universities. So, given the emotional attachment I developed to Illini sports (much more similar to growing up a "Cubs fan" for many people rather than usual NCAA allegiances) and how "personal" to my identity that fandom became considering where I lived and how it played a part in my friend groups, I inevitably remained a huge Illini fan even after going to college elsewhere.
It was jarring and disappointing as an adult, especially now living in Illinois, to see not only how few non-alum Illinoisans felt the same about the Illini but also how many
alumni distanced themselves from the Illini, especially when they were bad. I think the number of non-alumni fans in Illinois, even in Chicagoland, is incredibly underrated and it's clear our alumni get into it when there's something to cheer for ... but I'd say it's fair to say that CASUAL Illinois fans have less of an emotional attachment to the Illini than many other CASUAL Big Ten fans do to their teams. Part of that is the track record of our football program vs. theirs, but part of it is more intangible and can be changed through marketing and outreach, IMO. I would like to see this change, and I believe it will with more wins ... it's just frustrating to wait, because I'm so ready!!
Let's get a huge win Saturday and take a huge step toward that goal!