Pregame: Illinois at Northwestern, Saturday, November 30th, 11:00am CT, BTN

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#127      
DeonThomas
Illini -8.5 (44.5 Total) ---- as I type.

Seems like another "sucker bet" from Las Vegas. Next to the PSU game (+21) and the Purdue game (-21), this one seems like the 3rd easiest call of the season. If we can't beat the Cats by at least 9 points, I'm speculating we'll be a dog fight and will end up losing. I really thought the opening line would be closer to 13.5 points. Neither Vegas nor the Stats guys like BB's squad that much.

I'm predicting we win and we cover, despite the cold weather currently expected:

30 ILLINI
16 cats

(9-2 predicting the winner ---- missed the Michigan and Minnesota games; 7-4 against the spread). Please make it a comfortable win Bret!
 
#128      
Illinir1
Noblesville Illini said:
Iowa, hands down , riverboat paddle wheel with smoke stacks.
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Yes! The Riverboat Casino Trophy
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#129      
BWBW
Some complain about the broadcast team, and I get that. OTOH, the game is not on Peacock with its extremely awful replay system. I'll gladly take a recordable game on the BTN with bad announcers.

I would like to see PB get his 86 (87?) yards on our first play from scrimmage, scoring a TD. :hailtotheorange:
 
#130      
SoCal Illini
Noblesville Illini said:
Iowa, hands down , riverboat paddle wheel with smoke stacks.
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One that takes the form of a parade float, a la Animal House, that a representative from the winning school gets to drive onto the field then back to the winning school with smoke coming out of the smokestacks. C’mon, this is our chance at something great.
 
#133      
IlliniInBuckeyeState
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Also this seems like a relevant time to bust out the results of what is easily Fighter's and Mrs. Fighter's nerdiest hobby ... a note on my phone that has tallied every piece of college sports apparel we have seen in the Chicago metro area since we moved here in August 2019. :ROFLMAO: It sounds a lot harder than it is, but it's super easy to mark down and my wife will text me while she's at work (RN at Northwestern Memorial downtown) and say something like, "2 Illini, 1 Michigan, 1 Iowa." I even have friends keeping track for me now since they're all pretty interested in the results. I have posted this before, but here is the count as of today ... keep in mind it is somewhat biased toward whatever the fan mix is in Gold Coast (where we lived until last October), Roscoe Village (where we've lived for the past year) and the northwest suburbs (where I drive for work and where we have friends). Schools with at least 10:

Illinois - 332
Michigan - 133
Iowa - 128
Notre Dame - 99
Wisconsin - 97
Indiana - 81
Michigan State - 70
Northwestern, aka Chicago's Big Ten Team - 64
Purdue - 52
Ohio State - 32
Marquette - 27
Illinois State - 25
DePaul - 23
Kansas - 19
Missouri - 16
Miami (OH) - 15
Northern Illinois - 14
Alabama - 14
Iowa State - 13
Loyola Chicago - 12
Texas - 11
Colorado - 10
Dayton - 10
Minnesota - 10

Obviously, this is far from scientific ... but I pretty much believe it to be directionally correct, all things considered. The only adjustments I would make if I were making an official guestimate would be:

- Knock Michigan and Iowa down just a touch, as I feel like their fans wear their gear ALL the time. In other words, you are way more likely to see a Purdue or Northwestern fan that is just in regular clothes, and thus they would be undercounted here.
- Move Notre Dame up, as I feel like their fan base is disproportionately concentrated in areas where we don't spend as much time (e.g., the southwest suburbs).
- Move Northern Illinois up a bit. NIU has a ton of alumni here, they probably just aren't as likely to be loud and proud about the football team.
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I've wanted to do this for a long time, except with decals/decor on vehicles. The challenge and danger of whipping out my phone while driving to update a note any time I see a college team's bumper sticker is what's prevented me from doing this.

Your observations on Iowa and Michigan fans being the boldest in their fandom is spot on. Living just 50ish miles away from C-U, I'm annoyed by how many Iowa decals or license plate frames I see around my town. If I lived in Cedar Rapids or Kalamazoo, would I see anywhere near that many Illinois decals on vehicles? Absolutely not. Yet even in our own state, seeing Illinois apparel, flags, decals, etc. feels outside the norm at times.
 
#134      
Old.Edgy
I spent nearly 11 years in China starting in late 2004 - when Americans were flocking to China... Anyway, during the 2005 basketball run and the 2007 football run, I witnessed 3 'Fighting Illini' jackets in the small village of Nanchang, Jiangxi Prov. (population only 6 million)... Does that count as 'Outside the Normal' ? ? ?
 
#137      
Fighter of the Nightman
IlliniInBuckeyeState said:
I've wanted to do this for a long time, except with decals/decor on vehicles. The challenge and danger of whipping out my phone while driving to update a note any time I see a college team's bumper sticker is what's prevented me from doing this.

Your observations on Iowa and Michigan fans being the boldest in their fandom is spot on. Living just 50ish miles away from C-U, I'm annoyed by how many Iowa decals or license plate frames I see around my town. If I lived in Cedar Rapids or Kalamazoo, would I see anywhere near that many Illinois decals on vehicles? Absolutely not. Yet even in our own state, seeing Illinois apparel, flags, decals, etc. feels outside the norm at times.
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Yeah, as someone who grew up IN Iowa City beginning at age 8 or so, I was old enough to have learned to be an Illini fan from my dad (we were from Peoria) and yet old enough to have learned HOW to become a college sports fan from all of the rabid Hawkeyes fans around me. So in effect, I grew up as an Illini fan in hostile territory with the fan perspective of an Iowa fan.

This has led me to be DEEPLY frustrated with how some Illinoisans view sports. With the exception of the Cubs, far too many Illinois sports fans have the perspective that they are OWED something from their sports teams - rabid fandom is an AFTER effect of quality sports performance rather than something baked into your very existence as a fan because you just love your team to death. While that is obviously true to SOME extent, people in states like Iowa treat being a Hawkeyes fan as part of their core character; it speaks to where their home is that they root for Iowa in the first place. While not a majority or anything, too many Illini fans are either alumni who follow the Illini out of some type of initial, relatively passionless obligation ("How could I not root for my alma mater??" etc.) or non-alum fans that only hop on the bandwagon when Illinois is good (i.e., they have a soft affection for Illinois as the biggest program instate, but they're not going to stick around in hard times for a sports program that just isn't that big of a deal to them). Don't get me wrong ... tons of diehard fans in IL, and we are actually extremely loyal ... we just have a bit more of a pessimistic, less "loving" perspective toward our teams.

I unironically root for the Illini as a reflection on our entire state ... not just the university, not just Champaign and not just Central Illinois. A sports team synonymous with the Land of Lincoln itself. We would benefit greatly from more young Illinoisans and even U of I alumni thinking of things that way, too, because God knows our rivals have fans with that kind of dedication in places like Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, etc.

TL;DR

I suspect Illinois fans are probably actually some of the least likely Big Ten fans to be "in your face" about being Illini fans, and that is indeed less than ideal for the development of our brand and thus success. Smacking Northwestern in front of a heavily pro-Illini crowd on Saturday will be a step in the right direction!
 
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#138      
Epsilon
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Also this seems like a relevant time to bust out the results of what is easily Fighter's and Mrs. Fighter's nerdiest hobby ... a note on my phone that has tallied every piece of college sports apparel we have seen in the Chicago metro area since we moved here in August 2019. :ROFLMAO: It sounds a lot harder than it is, but it's super easy to mark down and my wife will text me while she's at work (RN at Northwestern Memorial downtown) and say something like, "2 Illini, 1 Michigan, 1 Iowa." I even have friends keeping track for me now since they're all pretty interested in the results. I have posted this before, but here is the count as of today ... keep in mind it is somewhat biased toward whatever the fan mix is in Gold Coast (where we lived until last October), Roscoe Village (where we've lived for the past year) and the northwest suburbs (where I drive for work and where we have friends). Schools with at least 10:

Illinois - 332
Michigan - 133
Iowa - 128
Notre Dame - 99
Wisconsin - 97
Indiana - 81
Michigan State - 70
Northwestern, aka Chicago's Big Ten Team - 64
Purdue - 52
Ohio State - 32
Marquette - 27
Illinois State - 25
DePaul - 23
Kansas - 19
Missouri - 16
Miami (OH) - 15
Northern Illinois - 14
Alabama - 14
Iowa State - 13
Loyola Chicago - 12
Texas - 11
Colorado - 10
Dayton - 10
Minnesota - 10

Obviously, this is far from scientific ... but I pretty much believe it to be directionally correct, all things considered. The only adjustments I would make if I were making an official guestimate would be:

- Knock Michigan and Iowa down just a touch, as I feel like their fans wear their gear ALL the time. In other words, you are way more likely to see a Purdue or Northwestern fan that is just in regular clothes, and thus they would be undercounted here.
- Move Notre Dame up, as I feel like their fan base is disproportionately concentrated in areas where we don't spend as much time (e.g., the southwest suburbs).
- Move Northern Illinois up a bit. NIU has a ton of alumni here, they probably just aren't as likely to be loud and proud about the football team.
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What, no Nebrnois?!?

Also, you know how to tell if someone went to Michigan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.
 
#139      
band camp
#140      
Fighter of the Nightman
Epsilon said:
What, no Nebrnois?!?

Also, you know how to tell if someone went to Michigan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.
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Nebraska is just below the cutoff. Just for fun, here were the next schools in the 5-9 range:

Tennessee - 9
Duke - 8
Kentucky - 8
UIC - 6
Boston College - 6
Nebraska - 6
Penn State - 6
Arizona State - 5
Florida - 5
Florida State - 5
LSU - 5
Maryland - 5
Miami (FL) - 5
Ole Miss - 5
UCLA - 5
USC - 5
Vanderbilt - 5

Also, I did not get into this in my first post, but we do have a set of rules!

- We never count close friends/family.
- A maximum of 3 can be counted of one school at a given establishment. This prevents the fact that we accidentally wound up at a Michigan State bar from adding like 30 MSU shirts to the count and distorting the numbers, lol.
- If we are not 100% sure, it is not added to the list. For example, I saw a really faded Block I on a car once, and it was impossible to tell if it was yellow or orange (it also looked like it was before we got our new Block I with the curves).
- If someone is not from the Chicago MSA, it is not counted (e.g., for simplicity's sake, non-Illinois plates are disqualified). Also, nothing at O'Hare is counted.
- We can count something non-apparel if it is clear enough. For example, if someone we meet at a party mentions they are a big Ohio State fan but they're not wearing OSU gear, they are added to the tally. After all, the point is to get the best possible estimate of the ACTUAL fan breakdown here!
 
#141      
kyillinifan
Can’t let Lauch escape the pocket. Yes we will give up some yards, but I believe turnovers will play a big part on Saturday. Mi ran all over them last week. My butt will be in a seat. What sidelines are we on for Saturday?
 
#142      
blackdog
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Yeah, as someone who grew up IN Iowa City beginning at age 8 or so, I was old enough to have learned to be an Illini fan from my dad (we were from Peoria) and yet old enough to have learned HOW to become a college sports fan from all of the rabid Hawkeyes fans around me. So in effect, I grew up as an Illini fan in hostile territory with the fan perspective of an Iowa fan.

This has led me to be DEEPLY frustrated with how some Illinoisans view sports. With the exception of the Cubs, far too many Illinois sports fans have the perspective that they are OWED something from their sports teams - rabid fandom is an AFTER effect of quality sports performance rather than something baked into your very existence as a fan because you just love your team to death. While that is obviously true to SOME extent, people in states like Iowa treat being a Hawkeyes fan as part of their core character; it speaks to where their home is that they root for Iowa in the first place. While not a majority or anything, too many Illini fans are either alumni who follow the Illini out of some type of initial, relatively passionless obligation ("How could I not root for my alma mater??" etc.) or non-alum fans that only hop on the bandwagon when Illinois is good (i.e., they have a soft affection for Illinois as the biggest program instate, but they're not going to stick around in hard times for a sports program that just isn't that big of a deal to them). Don't get me wrong ... tons of diehard fans in IL, and we are actually extremely loyal ... we just have a bit more of a pessimistic, less "loving" perspective toward our teams.

I unironically root for the Illini as a reflection on our entire state ... not just the university, not just Champaign and not just Central Illinois. A sports team synonymous with the Land of Lincoln itself. We would benefit greatly from more young Illinoisans and even U of I alumni thinking of things that way, too, because God knows our rivals have fans with that kind of dedication in places like Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, etc.

TL;DR

I suspect Illinois fans are probably actually some of the least likely Big Ten fans to be "in your face" about being Illini fans, and that is indeed less than ideal for the development of our brand and thus success. Smacking Northwestern in front of a heavily pro-Illini crowd on Saturday will be a step in the right direction!
Click to expand...

Part of the problem is Illinois has always been a huge pro sports state. People associate a lot more with the Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Cardinals, Packers, Blackhawk than any college sports. That takes away a lot of opportunity for someone to put their passion into Illinois sports.
 
#144      
Fuze
kyillinifan said:
Can’t let Lauch escape the pocket. Yes we will give up some yards, but I believe turnovers will play a big part on Saturday. Mi ran all over them last week. My butt will be in a seat. What sidelines are we on for Saturday?
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First baseline unless they get weird and change things around from the OSU game 2 weeks ago. Setup from then appeared to be visitors on the first baseline using the visitor's dugout for their tunnel, NU students in right field bleachers behind the east endzone, and NU sideline obviously in left field with them using a maintenance door on the left field wall as their tunnel. The NU band is weirdly enough in bleachers on the warning track in the left-field corner. Weird to not only move them so far from the other students but to also put them there when it will be undoubtedly nearly impossible to hear them from most of the stadium because of how far they are and how small they are.
 
#145      
Bilbo
Having grown up in Illinois, I would have thought Notre Dame would have led the list of most spotted brand. Great to see that's my perception and not reality. Go Illini!

Also, agree with commentator about pro sports. I'm now in the South and SEC teams are their pro sports teams. Their apparel is worn by all and their brands just more widespread. But that decline gets even worse as you go East. (Rutgers, Maryland, U Conn etc.)
 
#148      
Mr. Roberts
I have the whole clan - 24 people - coming over for Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday (dinner is at 3:00 EST, so no close game, please, just stomp the kitties). The family is 60% Purdue fans, so I am sure the bucket game will be turned on at 6:00. It would be sweet to have an Illini win in the bank, several other dominoes fall, and then actually join them in cheering Purdue to a bucket win to put us in the playoff.

I can dream, can't I?
 
#150      
3in1
blackdog said:
Part of the problem is Illinois has always been a huge pro sports state. People associate a lot more with the Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Cardinals, Packers, Blackhawk than any college sports. That takes away a lot of opportunity for someone to put their passion into Illinois sports.
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Well, pro sports teams from Illinois are an absolute dumpster fire right now, maybe with the exception of the Blackhawks and Cubs. They are just bad but have not reached the level of dumpster fire (yet).
 
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