Illinois 24, Maryland 6 Postgame

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#201      
fuddrules
kyillinifan said:
We had a Md fan about 10 seats from who screamed during every play. Even when the game was almost over. I wonder if he woke up with a sore throat on Sunday morning.
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One issue with attendance, I saw less than 10 Maryland fans. Their turnout was bad. We usually have in the 1000's of visiting B1G fans. Not Maryland and zero Maryland fans around me. I did see the back of a guys red shirt - "The Terps gave my mom the Herps." LOL, was that a fraternity shirt? Was it a Maryland fan given the red shirt? I had no idea.

Illinois football fans as a whole, compared to many other B1G football fans, are not an impressive group. From a fan standpoint, it's a basketball school.
 
#202      
LouDou
Curbelo Fanboy said:
It is a mark of how much we’ve improved that we can win a league game with a very mid effort on offense and some odd replay calls.

An ugly win looks a heck of a lot better than a pretty loss. Today wasn’t necessarily ugly. Just kind of blah. But we used to lose these kind of games with regularity.
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I'm surprised they didn't call us for targeting.
 
#203      
lstewart53x3
fuddrules said:
One issue with attendance, I saw less than 10 Maryland fans. Their turnout was bad. We usually have in the 1000's of visiting B1G fans. Not Maryland and zero Maryland fans around me. I did see the back of a guys red shirt - "The Terps gave my mom the Herps." LOL, was that a fraternity shirt? Was it a Maryland fan given the red shirt? I had no idea.

Illinois football fans as a whole, compared to many other B1G football fans, are not an impressive group. From a fan standpoint, it's a basketball school.
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But is our basketball atmosphere all that intimidating compared to some of the other places to play in the B1G (Mackey, Breslin, fake Assembly Hall, etc)?
 
#205      
Curbelo Fanboy
lstewart53x3 said:
But is our basketball atmosphere all that intimidating compared to some of the other places to play in the B1G (Mackey, Breslin, fake Assembly Hall, etc)?
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The Hall is so cavernous & now with less of the crush at courtside it is not an intimidating venue. The intimidation comes from the talent on the court. In the pre renovation days of Self & early Weber it was a hell hole for the opposition. Crush surrounded courtside & they generated the juice that the building would feed off of. From Self thru first 2 years of Weber I think we only lost like 5 at home.
 
#206      
Curbelo Fanboy
fuddrules said:
One issue with attendance, I saw less than 10 Maryland fans. Their turnout was bad. We usually have in the 1000's of visiting B1G fans. Not Maryland and zero Maryland fans around me. I did see the back of a guys red shirt - "The Terps gave my mom the Herps." LOL, was that a fraternity shirt? Was it a Maryland fan given the red shirt? I had no idea.

Illinois football fans as a whole, compared to many other B1G football fans, are not an impressive group. From a fan standpoint, it's a basketball school.
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Illinois football fans are good when there is a product that is good. Bret is building it back to something to be able to count on. We've just been so consistently bad since the early 90's that people have gotten out of the habit of caring and going to games. It takes time to eat away at that.

When we were good in the 80's thru early 90's, there were routinely sellouts or crowds north of 70k. An engaged fanbase. It just got beaten down so much starting in like 95 or so that it just fell off over time. If Bret keeps rolling out good teams the perception will change.
 
#208      
fuddrules
Curbelo Fanboy said:
Illinois football fans are good when there is a product that is good. Bret is building it back to something to be able to count on. We've just been so consistently bad since the early 90's that people have gotten out of the habit of caring and going to games. It takes time to eat away at that.

When we were good in the 80's thru early 90's, there were routinely sellouts or crowds north of 70k. An engaged fanbase. It just got beaten down so much starting in like 95 or so that it just fell off over time. If Bret keeps rolling out good teams the perception will change.
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You would think the Maryland game was a good barometer. It was an OK attendance. I did think it would be a little better given the weather. I'm talking actual attendance, not paid. I couldn't give my 5 extra tickets away, first time all year. And another family didn't want them as they were tailgating only and not attending the game :rolleyes: . He was all for taking my extra parking pass :). He did give me a TT ticket so, I considered it an even trade.

My wife has already informed me she's not going to the Northwestern game because it will be cold. She's never attended the last game of the season so I already knew that.

Hopefully fan attendance continues to slowly build as overall this year was a nice improvement.

I do think there will be a number of people giving up some of their "extra" season tickets as they probably didn't make as much as they thought and/or OSU isn't coming to town. So just a suggestion to all - you may be able to improve your seat location at renewal time.
 
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#209      
Illinirog70
RML said:
Great memories from sitting in my fraternity's block back in the day (starting in '78 when I was a freshman and the team was awful) is probably a large part of why I'm a fan today.
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Starting as a freshman in '65, I sat in the Block-I most of the time because they were great seats. Having a season pass for fifteen bucks didn't hurt either~. Never missed a home football or basketball game in my 4 1/2 years, despite it being during the slush fund scandal. Loved the Illini...then and now!
 
#210      
illinoistradition
Curbelo Fanboy said:
The Hall is so cavernous & now with less of the crush at courtside it is not an intimidating venue. The intimidation comes from the talent on the court. In the pre renovation days of Self & early Weber it was a hell hole for the opposition. Crush surrounded courtside & they generated the juice that the building would feed off of. From Self thru first 2 years of Weber I think we only lost like 5 at home.
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Less of the Krush? Haven't they brought them all down around the court? Half of the Krush used to be in the upperdecks pre-renovation.
 
#211      
Curbelo Fanboy
illinoistradition said:
Less of the Krush? Haven't they brought them all down around the court? Half of the Krush used to be in the upperdecks pre-renovation.
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Crush used to be more visible in that bottom bowl. Now the one side of the bottom bowl is the luxury suites and some floor seats that aren't students. TBH the place has always felt "cavernous" unless the crowd is really juiced up. I was at an Illini Classic game in the mid 90's that was maybe 2/3 full. It was so quiet at one point you could hear a phone ringing out in the concession area.
 
#212      
DeonThomas
lstewart53x3 said:
What encouraged me about the defense this game is that it actually worked the way it’s supposed to work philosophically and for a lot of the season it didn’t.

This defense is designed to give up yards, but limit big plays to extend drives, limit possessions, and lead to mistakes. Then, when needed, bow up in the red zone and force field goals instead of touchdowns.

The problem is, for much of the season it still allowed big plays, couldn’t get off the field on 3rd down, and gave up red zone touchdowns.

In this game, however:

- We forced Maryland into long drives (they had zero plays over 20 yards. Their first field goal required 13 plays to get 65 yards and their turnover on downs in the red zone required 17 plays to get 96 yards).

- We got off the field on 3rd and 4th down (3-12 on 3rd and 0-2 on 4th).

- We bowed up in the red zone (two field goals, one turnover on downs, and zero touchdowns in 3 red zone trips).

Once we went up 21-6, the game was effectively over because they weren’t going to get the possessions needed to come back thanks to the defensive style and our offensive efficiency in the 2nd half.
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And the overall talent on Maryland's roster is not quite up to par with IND and OSU.
 
#213      
AirNeazy
lstewart53x3 said:
The Illini barstool page on X called out the student section for leaving at half time.

This was their response:

View attachment 45005

^^^ that’s from the official Block I account on X. I would link to it but it has since been deleted.

The idea that this football team no longer deserves the support of students because the team likely won’t make the CFP is insane.

No other student section in the country thinks like this.

Over the past 2 past years, this group of guys has given these students 17-6. SEVENTEEN and SIX.

From 2016-2020, they went 17-40.

From 17 wins in 57 games to 17 wins in 23 games and they don’t deserve students in attendance on a perfect fall day!? Are you kidding me?

This fan base is so far behind the success on the field it’s unbelievable.
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Look no further than across the street at SFC for another example of an absolutely terrible student section. The students not in the front row of Krush barely even jump around most of the game. Understand that It's hard to build back that kind of fan culture overnight after long periods of futility, but c'mon...Whitman needs to figure this one out somehow.
 
#215      
ForeverOrange
Illini2010-11 said:
Sorry, but the DIA cannot move students into prime seats (where they may or may not show up). That is a lot of revenue for prime seats lost, especially with huge season ticket sales now.

The current engagement issue is not where the students are located, IMO.
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There are a lot of variables going on here for sure. But the placement of our students is the most obvious one and sadly the hardest to fix.
 
#216      
DeonThomas
fuddrules said:
Good question. Mackey - No. The others? Not sure, I've never been.
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Top 6 Big Ten basketball venues just might be (I've been to all 6):
1. Mackey
2. Breslin
3. Real Assembly Hall (oops, SFC)
4. Fake Assembly Hall (admittedly, probably better than #4. I went in 1986 and we crushed the Loosiers that day --- led by 20+ pts most of the game).
5. Welsh-Ryan (tiny, but a bit intimidating and incredibly fun!)
6. Crisler Arena (I went in 2005 and it was all yellow and loud; we trailed at the half and came back to win by 6 to improve to 24-0)

Pauley Pavilion should be #1 given all the rich tradition, but I don't think they've ever returned to the glory days and packed crowds they had for John Wooden in the 1960's and 1970's. And I've never been to Carver Hawkeye, or the Kohl Center.....
 
#217      
Mr. Roberts
DeonThomas said:
Top 6 Big Ten basketball venues just might be (I've been to all 6):
1. Mackey
2. Breslin
3. Real Assembly Hall (oops, SFC)
4. Fake Assembly Hall (admittedly, probably better than #4. I went in 1986 and we crushed the Loosiers that day --- led by 20+ pts most of the game).
5. Welsh-Ryan (tiny, but a bit intimidating and incredibly fun!)
6. Crisler Arena (I went in 2005 and it was all yellow and loud; we trailed at the half and came back to win by 6 to improve to 24-0)

Pauley Pavilion should be #1 given all the rich tradition, but I don't think they've ever returned to the glory days and packed crowds they had for John Wooden in the 1960's and 1970's. And I've never been to Carver Hawkeye, or the Kohl Center.....
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Agree with this except for W-R. Always enough orange there to cancel any intimidation. Kohl Center would take its place.

Mackey is head and shoulders above the rest, though. Been there many times, not just for Illini games (my kids used to play in the pep band).
 
#218      
Dkayak
Oracle21 said:
You are right when I was in school the Blocks were at the 40 yard line and those were great seats. I just don’t expect many students to stay all game in that north end zone especially for games that are cold. In this regard i don’t blame the students. It’s hard selling terrible seats to any group (students or adults) even if the team is above average
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Yet somehow we sell out the horseshoe, arguably worse seats than the NEZ. It’s just a matter of price. And I’ve been just as cold in the east balcony as students were in the NEZ. Maybe it’s not about sight lines or comfort, but lack of interest?

Freshmen had the opportunity to buy 4 year’s for just $250. We sold out the NEZ as well as sections 101-102 but still visibly lacked butts in seats on a warm, sunny Saturday. Maybe it’s human nature to devalue what costs you very little? At the same time, I doubt many of them would pay more for better seats. There’s no obvious answer to indifference toward watching a great team win in good weather.

Consequently, I’m skeptical that students would all show up even if given the best seats in the house free, and even more skeptical they’d stay through the 4th quarter.
 
#220      
Curbelo Fanboy
Another thought on student attendance & fan attendance in general. Modern society offers so many distractions & other ways to consume the games (80 inch screen at home, at the bar with friends, on your phone while running errands), that it is much easier to not attend & still be able to take in the game. And frankly the viewing experience on the modern 80 inch HD screen is often times more informative than being at the game itself.

This isn't a problem unique to Illinois. I remember late in Saban's time at Bama him whining about students not showing up/leaving games early. On a given Saturday these days, most people have access to somewhere on the order of 30 or so games just on network & cable tv. Not to mention a few on streaming & then if you have the ESPN+ package you have access to virtually every FBS game & a whole lot of FCS games.

30 years ago there were games that IL would play that were only available on WCIA via either Raycom Sports (old old days) or ESPN Regional (old days). There would be conference games that if you lived outside Decatur/Champaign/Springfield & wanted to see the game, you had to go to the game. It has been many years since the last time IL played a game that wasn't available on one of BTN, the ESPNs, Fox, FS1 or CBS. I frankly can't remember. It is pre the existence of BTN.

Also, one of the drawbacks of the 12 team playoff is it creates a "playoff or bust" mentality. In the old days, an IL team with a chance to go 9-3 would be huge buzz. Playing for a good bowl game in warm weather somewhere. This year once the team lost at UW, there was a collective "checking out" on the part of a large chunk of the fanbase. I'll admit to being let down myself but am old enough to have the perspective of where we've been & how far Bret has brought this thing. That is worthy of support IMO. I went on Saturday. Bought a ticket Friday night. Couldn't pass up a 70 degree day in November to watch a team try to get to 7-3. Those days haven't come around often in my lifetime.

When you combine the above with our lack of a football "culture" in the last 30 years until Bret arrived, going to the games just isn't ingrained in people that live in this state the way it is in other places.
 
#221      
Illiniguy74
Given the dwindling interest to attending games, any upgrades to the south end zone should probably be amenities and appearance heavy ((including closer to the field and/or better viewing angles)) and capacity lite.
 
#222      
1970 John
Not just Greek houses. Those of us GDI used to attend games in groups as well.
 
#223      
1970 John
I still have two of my Block I season tickets, ‘66 and ‘69, and the first was $12 and the last $14.

I remember going to a practice before the first game of the season to learn how to properly do stunts—ready, down, up—and I remember being proud of being the oldest and best (although I have no idea whether other schools even had one) card section.

It’s the difference between “Block I” and “the Block I.”
 
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