I won’t greedy if we are even SNIFFING 10-2, but man would I like one of those wins to be at Iowa…
Especially because the West will likely come down to head-to-head, and Bret absolutely owns PJ’s a$$!
agree
Whitman: Changes both complete and upcoming for Memorial Stadium
One change: “Distributed sound” which would replace the current system that “just blow(s) it out from the south end zone,” AD says.www.news-gazette.com
Love every opportunity to hear Whitman speak, and I love what he had to say this time!Whitman: Changes both complete and upcoming for Memorial Stadium
One change: “Distributed sound” which would replace the current system that “just blow(s) it out from the south end zone,” AD says.
This has a far different meaning for the people from St. Louis...
The more I think about this, I am actually kind of disappointed. There are "quick fixes" we could do to at least make the Horseshoe a bit more visually appealing, both inside and outside of the stadium. I am a bit puzzled why that is SUCH a low priority for so many. As I have said before, I have brought many non-Illini fans to Memorial Stadium, and they spend the first couple hours outside the stadium talking about how beautiful it is due to the brick architecture and the columns ... only to be completely underwhelmed when they get inside. Every single one says most of the stadium looks fine, but the Horseshoe is comically far away from the end zone, and it's frankly really ugly to the point of distracting from the rest of the stadium. Even just putting temporary bleachers that bring the stands down to field level on game days would be a massive improvement aesthetically and not difficult in any way, shape or form.Love every opportunity to hear Whitman speak, and I love what he had to say this time!
RIP to my desperate hope of them fixing up the Horseshoe soon, though.
Continuity of coordinators is something I've been expecting with the BB regime. It has gotten off to a rough start, but hoping the troubles are behind us.
It would literally look better if we had a permanent basketball court there rather than this empty grass.
It would literally look better if we had a permanent basketball court there rather than this empty grass.
It would honestly even look better with the track still there (like Kansas) or a frickin' garden or ANYTHING but empty grass extending a hilarious distance past the goal line. I know it is this way because we used to have a track, but we have not had one in years. Right now, while looking at the rest of the stadium, it honestly looks like we just messed up and got the angle wrong on accident and decided to stop.
I know I care about this more than most, but I wouldn't expend any energy on it if the rest of Memorial Stadium weren't so beautiful and the potential weren't so high. This should be one of the most revered stadiums in the conference; there is nothing we don't have "baked in" to make it a beautiful stadium that places like Camp Randall and Kinnick Stadium have ... we just have one end zone that looks totally out of place, outdated and ugly.
The photo definitely exaggerates it, and it's not like this is holding back our program in some super serious way. However, I would argue you that you are used to it, as I just do not think it looks imposing at all for the away team, and a lot of my non-Illini fans agree. The ultimate goal for Memorial Stadium should be for it to give us a great home field advantage and intimidate opponents, and I think we need that feel of fans right on top of you. Multiple schools have figured out a way to do it in relatively small stadiums (smaller than ours) with relatively minor renovations, IMO.
That appears to be where Josh is concentrating — game day experience — which makes perfect sense to me. He’s got a good football team to get people in the stadium and you don’t want to blow it with the new ticket buyers by them have a poor experience at the game. I can’t imagine a fan saying “good game, no big issues getting concessions, sound and scoreboards were great, but I don’t think I’ll go back cuz of all that grass behind the end zone.” Donors are more likely to pony up when team is good and stadium is selling out.
Fill the stadium consistently then the horseshoe will be taken care of. BB is investing the energy to make us have a good product
sports.usatoday.com
