College Fandom Landscape in Your Location
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I used to live in Naples as well, and while I distinctly remember an abnormally high level of maize and blue (surprised scUM didn’t make your list), there was never a sign of kitten purple anywhere. In fact, besides at a game, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a NW fan in the wild, anywhere. Gross.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
My friend, I'm reminded of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who endured the Gulag Archipelago for decades based on his implacable adherence to the principle that human dignity, agency, dedication to reality, and implacable opposition to tyranny is sacrosanct. Based on my long experience of you on the Board, I'm confident you are no less a man of ideals than he was, and can and will, accordingly, make the necessary sacrifices this entail.
You can always buy a large space heater for the garage, and I recently slept on a very comfy thick foam mattress in the desert. Which is more than he had in the various Siberian penal colonies he inhabited. Please know that, throughout the years of suffering and privation to come, we here support you without reservation. Do not relinquish hope that ultimate liberation from the tyranny of the evil empire (Notre Dame) awaits you, and I don't mean simply the eventual capitulation to permanent slumber that awaits us all.
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Further to that, props to Fighter for starting this thread.
Regarding the DC area, our local compadre @Navy_illini observed that he sees lots of PSU, VT and Navy wear locally, but not much MD stuff.
I had the pleasure of dining with my bro @Retro62 last evening and he mentioned this thread, which I missed 'cause I've not visited regularly the past couple weeks. I live in Arlington, VA, close in to DC, and spend lots of time there, in DC (where my office is located), up in Bethesda, MD, and between here and the Delaware beaches, too.
FWIW, I see lots of UVa and VT gear over in NoVA, and a fair amount of Maryland stuff in MD and DC. PSU, for sure. Michigan and OUS (*gag*), too. I actually don't notice a lot of Navy stuff, compared with these others, even when I'm over on the Chesapeake Bay and the DE beaches.
However, I'm sure that @Navy_illini notices USNA gear in the way that, as an Ohio native, I notice Ohio State togs (however, I assume that he perks up in seeing the Block N + star, whereas I develop a facial tic upon noticing the tOSU logos.)
Finally, Virginia offers college/uni affinity license plates. Driving around the area I notice a ton of VT, UVa and James Madison ones, as well as PSU, Michigan, OSU and the occasional Clemson, UNC and Duke ones.
illinoisgrad1990
- Bloomington, IL
Up 74 in Bloomington, there’s quite a bit of Illini gear to be seen. In fact, off campus I’d say it’s 50/50 Illinois/Illinois State. On campus at ISU (where I work), it’s more ISU of course - I would estimate 70% ISU, 20% Illinois, and 10% all other schools without any particular trends.
Retro62
- North Bethesda, Maryland
I agree with all of this, and would like to add that I teach at a high school in suburban MD, and if any of my students come in wearing any of the following:
Michigan
Iowa
Missouri
Indiana
North Carolina
I tell them they had better be on their best behavior in class, because they have used up both their malarkey and shenanigan quotas for the day by making said fashion choice.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
I'm in Eureka, which has me going to Peoria and Bloomington regularly for various reasons. Not the least of which is because I officiate basketball, baseball, and softball.
I don't feel like I recognize much other trends outside of the local schools and the Illini. But I don't really consider MVC schools to be in the same arena. Much like I don't think the professional sports should be compared here.
Thanks for the interesting topic, Fighter. The amazing thing to me is how the border areas of Illinois leak to competitors like KY, MO and IA - even though they live in Illinois. I guess that's because they are often times closer to Iowa City or Columbia than Champaign, but still...
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I'd agree with this. I'd say that in Des Moines, Drake (MVC school) is a very prevalent "second favorite team" for the those who didn't grow up in the area or attend Drake. That was the same type of situation for Northern Iowa when I lived in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo, IA area many years ago. People supported UNI, but if Iowa State or Iowa played at Cedar Falls you'd see a lot of fans put their purple and gold away for black and gold or red and gold for a night.
Oh boy, I am not great at accepting compliments but this is on an entirely different level.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
In Houston, the college landscape looks like:
1. Texas A&M
2. University of Houston
3. University of Texas
4. LSU - plenty of folks from the area go to school here.
5. Rice University
6. The rest of the big Texas universities. Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech all get pub here.
7. Colleges/Universities where former star players in the local high schools go to school.
It's a drop off from 3 to 4 then a much bigger drop of from 4 to 5. 6 is mostly during bowl/NCAA tourney time and 7 is the same. Houston definitely is a pro town with the Texans and Astros getting top billing followed by the Rockets. Dynamo and Dash get pub, too, but they're further down the list.
1. Texas A&M
2. University of Houston
3. University of Texas
4. LSU - plenty of folks from the area go to school here.
5. Rice University
6. The rest of the big Texas universities. Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech all get pub here.
7. Colleges/Universities where former star players in the local high schools go to school.
It's a drop off from 3 to 4 then a much bigger drop of from 4 to 5. 6 is mostly during bowl/NCAA tourney time and 7 is the same. Houston definitely is a pro town with the Texans and Astros getting top billing followed by the Rockets. Dynamo and Dash get pub, too, but they're further down the list.
Seattle; the Capitol Hill neighborhood. We get a lot of new arrivals fresh out of college landing here for their first big job with Amazon, Microsoft or one of the other tech companies. But we are also thick with UW students as Montlake is only 2 mi away.
In terms of fandom on shirts or clothes, limiting this just to college I’d rank them about like this:
1 University of Washington. Clear favorite.
2. Gonzaga
3. Washington State
4. Oregon
5. Seattle University
6. Michigan
7. Notre Dame
8. Hawaii
9. USC
10. Illinois
I have been seeing more Illini gear occasionally. There are also likely a bunch of “Large State School” colors that come and go. We had a guy across the street hanging a Clemson banner out his balcony for a couple of years. He seems to have moved on.
If we’re including pros in all this it would be a very different list.
1. Seattle Seahawks
2, Seattle Kraken
3. Dawgs
4. Seattle Mariners
5. Seattle Sounders
6. Zags
7. Seattle Sonics. Keeping the flame burning
8. Cougs
9. Seattle Storm
10. Random NFL out of town team. Niners probably but too much Green Bay as well
In terms of fandom on shirts or clothes, limiting this just to college I’d rank them about like this:
1 University of Washington. Clear favorite.
2. Gonzaga
3. Washington State
4. Oregon
5. Seattle University
6. Michigan
7. Notre Dame
8. Hawaii
9. USC
10. Illinois
I have been seeing more Illini gear occasionally. There are also likely a bunch of “Large State School” colors that come and go. We had a guy across the street hanging a Clemson banner out his balcony for a couple of years. He seems to have moved on.
If we’re including pros in all this it would be a very different list.
1. Seattle Seahawks
2, Seattle Kraken
3. Dawgs
4. Seattle Mariners
5. Seattle Sounders
6. Zags
7. Seattle Sonics. Keeping the flame burning
8. Cougs
9. Seattle Storm
10. Random NFL out of town team. Niners probably but too much Green Bay as well
Zorak
- Naperville
I don't think I could be as precise as others in this thread, but I see in Naperville a lot of Illini, some Michigan, some Michigan State, some Iowa, some Wisconsin, a little Notre Dame, and a little Loyola. Northwestern basically doesn't exist.
In Bloomington (2014-2019) I saw a major UIUC-ISU power struggle, with ISU winning out because Illini athletics were in a bad, bad place. The more interesting competition there may be Cubs-Cardinals; I thought that was the halfway point from a fandom standpoint, with more Cubs up 55 and more Cardinals down south.
In Bloomington (2014-2019) I saw a major UIUC-ISU power struggle, with ISU winning out because Illini athletics were in a bad, bad place. The more interesting competition there may be Cubs-Cardinals; I thought that was the halfway point from a fandom standpoint, with more Cubs up 55 and more Cardinals down south.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
That's what has happened in the Quad Cities. The QCs (two Iowa cities, two Illinois cities) are pretty strong Hawkeye country because it's an hour from Iowa City compared to Champaign being 2 1/2 hours away. Media coverage is very pro-Hawkeye there.
splitter
- and not Nebraska
As a White Sox fan the Cardinals-Cubs competition is not all that interesting to me.
05 Illini - 05 White Sox
My sympathies...
Memphis here. Lots of Tennessee then Ole Miss. I’d say then Alabama and Mississippi State, then Memphis. Besides my dad and I, I think I’ve met maybe 3 other Illini fans (and used to commonly get asked what’s an Ill-ee-knee in high school many years ago)
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Genuinely kind of surprised at this. I would have figured that since Memphis is only 85 miles from Oxford that you'd see a lot more Ole Miss in Memphis. But I guess given the age-old feelings about states' rights in that part of the country Tennessee would still have a sizable following in the state.
It’s a weird melting pot for sure. I think you hit the nail on the head though that so many people are more about Tennessee pride. That and the Ole Miss graduates don’t seem to end up in Memphis by and large.
I'm in Bloomington, and I have a slightly more nuanced opinion than my neighbors that have chimed in earlier in this thread. I'd agree that Illinois and ISU battle it out for the most represented, roughly 40% each, with 20% everybody else. That 20% is mostly Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, and Mizzou, in that order. Here's what bothers me, the level to which each of these other fan bases proudly rep their school is not equal. For example, there are probably 8-10x the amount of Illinois fans as there are Iowa fans in Bloomington/Normal, but I can think of three Iowa flags that hang in my neighborhood. I can't think of anywhere near 25 Illinois flags - in fact I can only think of two. The fact is Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio State fans rep their team on everything. They have shirts, they have hats, they have license plate covers, they have window decals, they have flags, they have Yetis. But Illinois fans just don't rep the orange and blue nearly as much. My Illinois grad coworker...has a coffee mug. Another coworker wears an Illinois hat to play sand volleyball. Maybe an Illinois branded item here or there, but not on everything they own. There are many people who I know are Illini fans, and you'd never know because they don't rep their team in any visible way.
Story time: my neighbor pays someone to mow their yard. It's a father/son operation, and they've been doing it for several years. The son was probably a junior in high school when they started. Now he's probably a junior in college somewhere, and so I only see him come around when he's home on summer break (presumably). Both the father and son are wearing Iowa gear >60% of the time. The dad's truck has an Iowa license plate cover. It's always irritated me when I would think, "how many father/son lawncare duos <60 minutes from Kinnick Stadium are proudly repping Illinois gear? Probably none."
Well today, the son showed up, and he got out of the truck...in an Illinois basketball shirt. Orange as can be. Couldn't believe my eyes. I have no additional detail - the shirt was very basic design and easily could have been a SFC t-shirt cannon ball that immediately got designated as a "mowing shirt" - but I don't care, I'm chalking it up as a win.
Bottom line: I do think things are trending in the right direction now that Illinois revenue sports are sustaining success. But we're still far from having a rabid regional fanbase shows the world who their favorite team is.
Story time: my neighbor pays someone to mow their yard. It's a father/son operation, and they've been doing it for several years. The son was probably a junior in high school when they started. Now he's probably a junior in college somewhere, and so I only see him come around when he's home on summer break (presumably). Both the father and son are wearing Iowa gear >60% of the time. The dad's truck has an Iowa license plate cover. It's always irritated me when I would think, "how many father/son lawncare duos <60 minutes from Kinnick Stadium are proudly repping Illinois gear? Probably none."
Well today, the son showed up, and he got out of the truck...in an Illinois basketball shirt. Orange as can be. Couldn't believe my eyes. I have no additional detail - the shirt was very basic design and easily could have been a SFC t-shirt cannon ball that immediately got designated as a "mowing shirt" - but I don't care, I'm chalking it up as a win.
Bottom line: I do think things are trending in the right direction now that Illinois revenue sports are sustaining success. But we're still far from having a rabid regional fanbase shows the world who their favorite team is.
IbleedOandB2014
In BU we trust
- Chattanooga
I reside in Chattanooga, TN.
Big 3 when it comes to college fandoms here. 95% of all college fans fit in these groups.
TN vols
Georgia dawgs
Roll Tide
Big 3 when it comes to college fandoms here. 95% of all college fans fit in these groups.
TN vols
Georgia dawgs
Roll Tide
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I could not agree more, and this has always bothered me. I get that it takes sustained winning to teach fans the right habits of a diehard, but there are other factors, as well ... and we can do so much better. I will never forget moving to Chicago for my MBA and me - a NON-alum fan!! - having to tell a U of I grad in my program that we had won 8 straight in hoops and were ranked during the 2019-20 season. It was weird and frustrating, lol.
As I have mentioned before, I am an Illini fan since birth via having been born in Peoria to two (non-alum) Illini fan parents, but I grew up amid a sea of Hawkeyes fans in Iowa City. So, I always joke that I grew up cheering for the Illini in the STYLE of a Hawkeye fan. In other words, I approach my love of the Illini in the same way that tons of Iowans do the Hawkeyes - it is my STATE'S team, and it is a matter of personal pride that I see Illinois succeed in sports. Where I got my diploma is a relevant but non-essential factor in all of that. We really need Illinoisans to adopt that attitude to at least WAY more of an extent than they do today, and it starts with at least getting alumni engaged ... that alone swells our fan base to a very large size and helps create momentum to foster new generations of non-alum diehards like me! I get that other factors like our instate politics and a Chicago/Downstate tension can hurt state pride in the Land of Lincoln, but we really should be able to separate those things from sports.
I will also agree, though, that the tide has been slowly turning since about 2021. I noticed a very material uptick in enthusiasm when we were on our way to a #1 seed in March 2021 in Chicago, and it was awesome to see ... random door guys who'd never commented on my Illini gear asking if "we" could cut down the nets, bars that had never hosted Illini watch parties flying an Illinois flag, a noticeable uptick in orange and blue apparel out and about, etc. I think the renaissance of the football program has only helped this, and I think this season is a H-U-G-E opportunity to solidify the fandom for those "bandwagon" folks (don't forget, we need 'em!!) who might have their interest enhanced last season but aren't ready just yet for Iowa/Nebraska enthusiasm for the state school. Another season like last year could be the straw that breaks the camel's back in changing the perception in a positive way.
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
SoCal here
I wear an Illini baseball cap. My SUV has Illini license plate holder.
There is a strong Illini club in OC. Lots of engineering grads recruited from U of I work in SoCal.
Lots of obnoxious USC football fans here. Most did not go to USC.
Dodgers, Lakers and Rams very popular. Nobody cares about Angels, Chargers or Clippers.
Surprisingly pro soccer getting some traction LAFC (even though Beckham has retired)
I wear an Illini baseball cap. My SUV has Illini license plate holder.
There is a strong Illini club in OC. Lots of engineering grads recruited from U of I work in SoCal.
Lots of obnoxious USC football fans here. Most did not go to USC.
Dodgers, Lakers and Rams very popular. Nobody cares about Angels, Chargers or Clippers.
Surprisingly pro soccer getting some traction LAFC (even though Beckham has retired)
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