Pregame: Illinois vs Nebraska, Friday, October 6th, 7:00pm CT, FS1
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Yes, but one troubled team is going to take a step toward redemption while the other will sink deeper into a pit of despair.
Both squads are lacking in confidence. A win will start to build some confidence back into a team and sport that requires supreme belief in oneself in order to succeed.
Michigan, 'The' (deleted), USC, Georgia, Alabama, etc. do NOT lack confidence.
Will a win begin to satisfy either fan base? No. Both fan bases will diminish the victory since it is not against a currently 'Elite' opponent. But one fan base will have a more pleasant weekend and week ahead. And the other will wonder why they didn't just go ahead and paint the garage doors.
BZuppke
- Plainfield
And the happy fan base will be ours. I really believe we’re going to win this game.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but we haven’t lost to Nebraska in either football or basketball in the 2020’s. I say we keep that streak going.
Most fans around the Nation don’t pay attention to Nebraska Sports nor do they comprehend how the Husker State itself views its Major U’s football program.
We in Illini Nation love the Illini. They are important to us and we make them some level of priority within our lives. But the truth is that much of the State of Illinois does not pay a great deal of attention to the Illini either because they are just not in to College Athletics or they have divided loyalties with Northwestern, Illinois State, Bradley, Notre Dame, or someone else. And Illinois has a World Class City that diverts attention away from Champaign, as well as Downstate which is like a different State entirely in many ways.
This is NOT the case with the State of Nebraska. The fortunes of the football team are entwined with the the pride and well-being of State residents like you would not believe.
Husker football is by far the biggest thing in the State and nothing is even close. The Husker program is an intimate member of most families in Nebraska either by direct family connection or just because the State identifies with Husker football so closely. Husker football has brought success and attention to the State in the past in a way like nothing else has.
Many to most Nebraskans eat, sleep, think about, dream about, and obsess about the Huskers (at least until lately, maybe). This just isn’t the case in most American States with the possible exception of The Tide. Even the great and wide Notre Dame Nation doesn’t quite reach the same level of identification because They are spread far and wide around the Nation and they haven’t had the same personal need to latch on to the football program like the fanatics in Nebraska and Alabama do.
The ego of the State of Nebraska has taken a major hit in the years since the ‘90s when the Huskers ruled College Ball. And many in the State are having a hard time with that... and They crave the day when the Huskers are thought of again as an Elite football program that competes for National Titles.
College Football may in a sense just be a game played by a bunch of mostly big guys on the way to to young people getting ready to do something next with their lives. But to some American States... College Football is right up their with Life, Death, and getting the Tax Man off your back.
How do you get more of the State of Illinois into bigger interest in the football program? Just Win, Baby...
Not confident in this team unless they prove otherwise. Safe to say, this game is a toss-up.
Team with the better o-line wins. If defense can play to their potential and wreak havoc and cause turnovers…..should be a win by 10. If not, oh boy.
Team with the better o-line wins. If defense can play to their potential and wreak havoc and cause turnovers…..should be a win by 10. If not, oh boy.
the national
- the Front Range
A factor worth considering when it comes to a fan base is its concentration. Nebraska fans are focused, to a large part, on one sport (obviously football). The same can be said for most of the SEC (excluding Kentucky). Illinois is much like Kentucky in that fan attention is divided over 2 sports. Those who like one have only a passing interest in the other. It can make the fan base seem less interested in supporting their school when one sport is considered but that is certainly not the case when you look at the dedication overall.
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Captain 14
- The Last Best Place
String of home game sellouts dating back to 1962 or something like that...even in lean years
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Anytime Blake Hayes does something I say, "He's old enough to know better."
I'm certain in the joke has worn thin in my household.
I posted some thoughts the other day that addressed the very issues you outline here; but as it pertains to Illinois football. Apparently it hit too close to home as the post was deleted. Censorship at its finest. God forbid someone might actually be confronted with something that might be the truth.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
While incredibly impressive and considering I would give ANYTHING for our fan base to have the passion of Nebraska's ... this has also been "propped up" by donors being huge swathes of tickets for several years, just to keep the streak going.
For those going to the game — some street closures. Don’t know if these are different than the norm.
Sounds like the usual closures.
No one told me it was overreaction Thursday.
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