Has anyone done a foreign trip to watch the team before? Spain is on the bucket list....
[EDIT: Oh, my. That will teach me not to read an entire thread before responding. And me, a GIF aficionado, completely missing the boat. OK... my post below can be recaptured in the following GIF:]
I saw them in August '07 when they took a spin through Canada and I was living in Ottawa. (Is that a foreign country?! Yes. Yes, indeed it is! Seven years in Canada teaches a man to hate
)
They played the reigning Canadian National Champions, Carleton University, and won in overtime. It was helpful, if depressing, to see that game and realize that the ensuing season would be a long one. I was so desperate for hope that I actually thought there was a chance that Steve Holdren (whom I believe was the leading scorer that evening) would be dropping daggers on the BT from the perimeter all season long!
Pretty cool to see the team in a gym that seated fewer than 1k, however, sit a dozen rows behind the bench, and chat with boosters afterward. (One told me that Jamar Smith, who was still suspended during that summer, was shooting the ball like no one he had ever seen. Alas, I don't believe Jamar ever stepped on the court for the Illini again.)
The Canadians also mercilessly heckled Jeff Jordan.
Go to Spain to see the team if they go this summer. You won't regret it.