Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I miss that ole gal.
Also, the more I thought about it, the more I hope Iowa emerges as our clear rival in all sports (and vice versa for them) in the next decade plus. It just makes so much sense.
Illinois Side
- Yes, people hate Michigan or whatever ... but come on. Especially in football, they just have other rivalries that take up their attention.
- Northwestern will just always be a weird one ... it's like Tennessee/Vanderbilt or Georgia/Georgia Tech - I'm fine calling it a "rivalry," but we are just fundamentally different sports teams and fan bases. It'll never truly heat up.
- Indiana is a great rivalry, but they will ALWAYS prioritize Purdue and that's understandable. The thought of proudly declaring they're our "biggest rival" while they poo-poo the rivalry in general makes me want to puke ... F 'em.
- Missouri will always remain a huge rivalry, but non-conference is just a different dynamic. There is and always will be room for both.
Iowa Side
- On that same Mizzou note, there is plenty of room for them to keep playing Iowa State. Also, a lot of Iowa fans take pride in that being Iowa State's "super bowl," so you won't find a single Hawkeye fan proudly saying ISU is a bigger rivalry to them than Illinois; it's part of the dynamic for them to pretend that Iowa State is fundamentally beneath them.
- Wisconsin is a great rivalry of theirs, but (1) it is has cooled somewhat since the Bielema days (hello!!) and (2) Wisconsin will always, always, always have Minnesota as its biggest rival, and it will be 100% reciprocated on the Minny side.
- Regarding Minnesota ... see above.
Illinois/Iowa is the winner!