Probably wrong place to put this but the 1989 Iowa game popped up in my youtube today
So many thoughts --
1) Wow, Iowa really had it going back then, really talented and strong and so thankful they took a major step back from that era for about 30 years. Thinking on it now that I didn't before, were they so good back then because of Bruce Pearl? I thought Davis had a connection to Michigan before Bruce to get some of those guys. And of course their best players were from Illinois which we can never let happen again.
2) that was Kendall Gill's first game back from a serious injury he suffered in that Georgia tech win to put Illinois at No. 1 in country on super bowl sunday 49ers over cincy, 89, Assembly Hall absolutely electric, an all-time Illini win, Kenny Battle with the best dunk in Illinois history, will never be topped, the rest can go for second best, and as that season went on and the way it ended in final four vs f'ing Michigan and their "Michigan Man" coach in final four, any Illini newcomers here need to know the history of the pain that school has caused and why there's a segment of us who will hate Michigan and Iowa with everything we have
3) Had some feel good, weird thoughts about the generations of Illini fandom, and I know it goes way back before '89, but now to see where the program is, just so happy for the old timers who suffered through Bruce Pearl, the more recents who suffered through Weber/Groce, .... and just hoping we can all enjoy the Final four last year and even better this coming season, it really is a special fanbase that I'm thankful to be part of, and we have more reasons than ever to be optomisitc big things are coming
I-L-L