Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
I was there 1979-1983
good times in MS in 1981 & 1982 seasons and in AH the whole time I was there .
Illini Football 2023
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good times in MS in 1981 & 1982 seasons and in AH the whole time I was there .
illiniswish09
- Northwest Suburbs
Just stumbled upon this… Man I’m ready for some Illini football
Was in the student section that day. Only defeat of a CO team that was named national champion that year.
MoCoMdIllini
- Montgomery County, Maryland
This was a good day.
Thank you so much for posting that. My freshman year at Illinois -- had only been on campus for a couple weeks and the first game I see Illinois beats the team that goes on to win the national championship with a TD in the final two minutes by a 5-9 QB who also was a wrestler in HS (Bielema really knows what he's doing) in front of an absolutely electric crowd at Memorial Stadium.
Wait, they aren't all going to be like this? (If only I knew then how the next 33 years would play out)
Seriously though, my first game as an Illini freshman? How unbelievable is that. Watching that game again on your link, the crowd was rocking. Forgot just how loud Memorial Stadium could get, and fun to know I was there doing my part in the Block I as a dorky freshman.
And that was such a fun home schedule with Howard Griffith's NCAA record 8 TDs vs. SIU, storming the field after Doug Higgins makes his 5th FG to beat Michigan State 15-13 in another ABC national game.....of course all those highs don't equal the low that was about to come losing to Nick Bell and Iowa with the Rose Bowl on the line in the height of the Bruce Pearl Illinois/Iowa hatred. All these years later, that Iowa loss is still the most painful to me in any year in any sport. Either that or Michigan in the '89 Final Four. Weird that '05 Carolina isn't in front of those two but for me it isn't and I admit that's probably off.
But so fun to watch that Colorado game video. Didn't remember Brent Musburger was on the call....how good is it to hear (for the old-timers like me) "you are looking live at Memorial Stadium..."
And now this year I have a son who will be a freshman at Illinois. Don't think his first game will be as memorable vs. Toledo as Colorado was for me, but I also think his four years will be much better overall for the football and basketball programs, and nothing could make me happier than seeing him enjoy all of it and become a lifelong absolute diehard bleed orange and blue fan like I have. Such a special thing, this Illinois Loyalty. Damn, I love this school.
My freshman year. I have fond memories of going to games that year.
Classmates? Also my freshman year. I was never so excited as when we hit the last second field goal against MSU. Pretty cool memories. I also will have a son attending the beloved as a freshman this year.
Classmates my friend -- one year at Bromley, one year at Six Pack for me and then apartments --
Congrats to your son! Hope he loves U of I half as much as I did and still do. I have had so much fun the last few weeks with orientation and such and just pinching myself that now I have a son doing this
So good to hear both of those again -- especially the war chant
MoCoMdIllini
- Montgomery County, Maryland
This was my first year having season tickets.
There was nothing better than hearing the war chant on 3rd down and the imperial march on 4th down, those just feed the soul.
blackdog
- Champaign
I will say I wasn't a huge fan of the war chant on third down because it sometimes seemed less noisy with just people clapping but I sure do miss it.
Stayed at Saunders in PAR and then apartments/houses. This is my fourth and last child to attend the beloved. I hope they have as many fond memories as we do!
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
I was there too, my junior year. Sat next to Cam Pepper in Russian History class that year. He was a good dude.
Regarding the war chant: I can’t think of a less intimidating 3rd down experience… 
It was cool for what it was as a chant, but I wish they would have found a better time to use it than when we needed to be loud.
It was cool for what it was as a chant, but I wish they would have found a better time to use it than when we needed to be loud.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
Idk, to me, the War Chant itself from the band sounded AWESOME on tv and I can't help but think that it was probably the most intimidating music the band could play for such an occasion. But to your point, it was not ideal at all for getting the crowd loud.Regarding the war chant: I can’t think of a less intimidating 3rd down experience…
It was cool for what it was as a chant, but I wish they would have found a better time to use it than when we needed to be loud.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Didn't Bielema accidentally let it slip last season that there were plans to move the students out of the NEZ this season?? God, I hope that is true. The Horseshoe would honestly be a nice place for them IF we did something to bring the stands closer to the field ... in other words, there is nothing wrong with students in the end zone, but there is ALWAYS something wrong with having the students far away from the field. And it just so happens that one of our end zones (NEZ) is WAY too high up in the air and feels totally detached, and the other (SEZ) is way too far away from the field.
Echoing what another poster said, Memorial Stadium can get SHOCKINGLY loud for "only" having under 75k seats for its entire history and being a very open stadium. I stumbled across this YouTube video of the 2007 Michigan game (I know
), and that stadium is as loud as most of the other ones I ever hear on TV. Just watch the first 35 seconds, and you can feel the electric atmosphere, culminating in a touchdown. One Michigan fan even has a comment on the video where he/she says, "this was one loud stadium for 55,000 fans." Compare that to our YouTube highlights from last year's home games vs. Iowa or Minnesota, and it isn't even close. Hopefully this year we take another step forward in reestablishing a great gameday atmosphere in Champaign!Am I the only one that prefers the balcony seats over the main stand seat?
Doesn't seem that high when I'm in the balcony.
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Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I went to my first game in a while last year vs. Purdue, and we sat in West Main, about two thirds of the way to the Horseshoe. It felt, visually and vocally, like the students were a million miles away. The noise from them was like a distant echo rather than the beating heart of the stadium. I would personally say it REALLY diluted the atmosphere.
I'm not trying to match the bazillion and 1 reasons you don't like seating in Memorial Stadium.
It's just that some of us have seats in higher or far away places we kinda like, at least for the price of admission. Not perfect seats but enjoyable.
I too wouldn't mind seating improvements but at this point spending 200M+ for better sight lines doesn't seem prudent.
It will eventually come.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
This isn't my standard bltching about the Horseshoe, man, lol. The students are the loudest and best fans in the stadium, and they will inevitably carry the atmosphere. This is closer to an objective fact than to my opinion: you want the students CLOSE to the field and in an area where they will positively affect the atmosphere. I'm not doubting they're good seats, I just think that area would be better used as a family area or large group ticket sales (e.g., high school football teams or youth groups) rather than putting our students there. It wouldn't cost a penny (at least in direct costs) to move the students to anywhere else in the stadium.
EDIT: Given the photo you posted, it seemed like you were at least kind of defending the students being there. If you were not, I apologize - that is the ONLY thing I was trying to talk about in my post. I think having the students there negatively affects our homefield advantage.
blackdog
- Champaign
I purposely chose my season tickets to be closer to the student section to try and get at least some of the vibe from it. My grandfather's tickets used to be on the opposite side closed to where the opposing team section is and let me tell you that does not make for a pleasant game experience much of the time.
Here’s the problem: they aren’t and they don’t. Should they be? Yes. Could this be a product of where they sit? Possibly. I am certainly not defending their current seating location. I will say this, though… They are oftentimes the last to arrive and the first to leave games.
Our student section leaves a lot to be desired. And, I’m not sure it has to do with where/how they’re seated.
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