110%. I lived in Iowa City from about age 7 (~1998) all the way until 2019. I'm not saying this is
necessarily a good thing, but VERY successful people with wonderfully functional marriages, families, jobs, etc. literally planned their entire falls around tailgating for Iowa football games. It was a "can't miss" event in the community, and having a "good tailgating spot" was a sort of status symbol and something people would pay a lot of money for just to be a part of the action on a fall Saturday. And you know what?? It's gotten exponentially more fun over time, because a CULTURE has developed around everyone knowing it's going to be a blast regardless of how good Iowa is:
There are literally HUNDREDS of backyards that match that last photo full of college kids partying - something I think really hurts Illinois that there aren't more, err, "college kid-friendly" party spots closer to the stadium where they can actually get a bit wild and not infringe upon adults' and children's fun. I literally never miss an opportunity to drive back when the Illini play at Kinnick (REALLY hoping this is the year we finally get a W there!) simply because it's really fun. And it's frustrating, because Illinois actually has a BETTER setup for tailgating!! We just need consistency from our football program to get people (especially those who weren't old enough to remember consistency in the 1980s) to realize how fun it can be to be a "football school" (or better yet an "everything school"
). That's why the PSU game is so important ... it could be a huge move forward in changing the gameday reputation of Champaign, not only with a national audience but
with our own fans!! We've seen the potential before, but it legitimately pumps me up to imagine a near future where Grange Grove and Memorial Stadium are known throughout the conference as awesome atmospheres ... it can be done, and we have already seen the flashes!!
My pregnant wife and I will be doing our part for the Penn State game this year, and I hope the crowds look like those photos above! I-L-L!!
