Remember when we were a clear Bubble team at this point in the year and we were rooting for "good teams" that we beat or were about to play to do well so that we could have a desperate chance at a signature win? And our fans mostly just defaulted to cheering against teams they hated like Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, etc.?
MAN, it feels good to "have to" root for an unlikable Michigan team simply because the only thing on my mind is hoisting a Big Ten Championship banner in Champaign during our last home game vs. Iowa.
P.S. It's interesting to compare homecourt advantages to when I was first watching college basketball as a kid (2001 to 2006 ... great time to grow up as an Illini fan!). I feel like the intensity inside even the best venues fluctuates WAY more today than it did 20 years ago or so. I have seen games this year where the Kohl Center was indistinguishable from Iowa as far as the atmosphere goes, but it sounds/looks like a great atmosphere today. Similarly, the atmosphere inside SFC for the Arizona game was truly on par with the old days - loud every single play with the Krush bouncing up and down all game long - but there have been other games where it seems dead. Must just be one of those things as TV gets bigger and bigger.