Big Jack
- Decatur
Yep but the Krush was to be all decked out in Orange per the announcement flyer
State Farm Center
- Status
A lot of the complaints in this thread (especially the early, pre-Wisconsin posts) come from people watching on TV who don't realize how much the broadcast mix dictates the vibe and sound level. The design of SFC naturally funnels noise to the court, not the top ring of the 100s where the TV platform sits. I bet CBS placed a field mic down courtside today, while the normal Fox/BTN setup does not.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
It is definitely true that FOX has ALWAYS seemingly had terrible decision making when it comes to audio for crowds. I even remember being a kid and hating having to watch MLB games on FOX vs. WGN or ESPN because they did some weird thing with the crowd noise that sounded terrible. So, I'm sure you do have a point here.
However, I am with others in recognizing not just the noise but the visual improvements. While there is still room for improvement with Krush (the back few rows remain rather worthless...), the energy yesterday was so much better than the Wisconsin game. There were way more students jumping up and down or just making motions with their arms that made it clear they were more engaged this time around (i.e., fewer people literally folding their arms looking bored, lol). The guy(s) running across in front definitely helped with this, and I loved seeing that!
There was also a very noticeable improvement with how often the non-student fans were standing or at the very least clapping. It was shocking how many people you could see during the Wisconsin broadcast who weren't just standing but not even CLAPPING during some of our big defensive possessions. I saw way less of that yesterday, and I think that sort of validates that the Krush is the rising tide that can lift all of the non-student boats at SFC!
blackdog
- Champaign
I'm probably one of the most vocal people on this topic here and I'm not watching on TV. The energy and noise level were night and day different from Wisconsin to Indiana. And even though the Indiana game was pretty good it was about the bare minimum energy level for an afternoon weekend game against a long time rival.
I have full faith that the atmosphere for Michigan will be top tier with it being a Friday evening against a hated rival at their peak.
Friday night against a Top 5 opponent (with hopefully our full squad and a couple more wins).
That is the exact scenario for priming the engine around 2pm after you last class and riding through for a raucous night.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I also have faith (I've been hurt too many times this season to go with "full" faith, though!
), but the DIA and social media pages better be doing EVERYTHING possible to encourage a rowdy atmosphere. "Be loud" should be in all of their posts, as some folks really do need that nudge. I do think, though, the House of 'Paign will be electric that night. I personally felt that for the first time in several years, you could actually notice our guys get a little energy boost from the crowd yesterday. That was awesome to see. We very well might need an even bigger boost if we are going to beat Michigan, so the crowd better bring it!!
KRUSH, watch the Purdue student section on Peacock...thats how you get an advantage
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
I hope people are watching this Purdue-Michigan game. Purdue got smacked around for the first 24 minutes and the crowd is simply not letting them cave.
The Krush vice president acknowledged and agreed the Wisconsin atmosphere was poor and that it hasn’t been good enough this season
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Interesting points made by Robert on his most recent podcast episode: (20 min mark)
1. He noted that Krush during the Wisconsin game was more focused on insulting the Wisconsin bench and staff than being loud and impacting the actual play on the court. The Wisconsin staff yelled back at Krush after the game and the situation needed security intervention.
Robert did a post on X after the game Wisconsin talking about how Krush could improve and one of the members of Krush came up to Robert before the Indiana game and mentioned they had a meeting and decided to change some things. Mainly have a greater focus on being loud.
2. Robert asks the producer of the show, who’s currently in a sorority at the UofI right now, about her thoughts. She said that the frat and sorority houses specifically plan around the games, not to attend them, but to watch them at the bars. So the rowdiest students aren’t necessarily attending the games anymore (football and basketball).
1. He noted that Krush during the Wisconsin game was more focused on insulting the Wisconsin bench and staff than being loud and impacting the actual play on the court. The Wisconsin staff yelled back at Krush after the game and the situation needed security intervention.
Robert did a post on X after the game Wisconsin talking about how Krush could improve and one of the members of Krush came up to Robert before the Indiana game and mentioned they had a meeting and decided to change some things. Mainly have a greater focus on being loud.
2. Robert asks the producer of the show, who’s currently in a sorority at the UofI right now, about her thoughts. She said that the frat and sorority houses specifically plan around the games, not to attend them, but to watch them at the bars. So the rowdiest students aren’t necessarily attending the games anymore (football and basketball).
Wish we could at least bring back the War Chant (drum sounds) during timeouts...it used to be great.
The "stripe out" against IU was dumb. I would like to see a "navy-out" or a blackout at SFC. It would be visually striking, lean into those shadows that start in the 200 level, make the hall really loom.
I mean I think we have a great basketball fanbase and a lot of good history, but I can't really think of many specific traditions we have?
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
It really pains me to say this, but the experience at Illinois seems almost intentionally generic. We could do a lot more to incorporate things that are unique to the university, Champaign, Central Illinois, the State of Illinois in general, etc. These could be entirely new traditions, and they would still give the arena / atmosphere a lot more character than filling the gameday agenda with very NBA-esque and bland fillers.
We aren't getting the Chief back (at least anytime remotely soon), and it's pointless to bring that into this conversation ... and I say that as someone who was and is a Chief supporter. That used to be our unique aspect of going to an Illinois home game that would make the experience unmistakably different than going anywhere else. It's up to us to find something new, and it seems the DIA is much, MUCH more comfortable "playing it safe" and going with the types of things any Create-A-School would naturally have. A tradition can be brand new and still almost immediately catch on, captivate the fan base and instantly transform outsiders' impression of the gameday experience ... and we need look no further than The Wave at Iowa football games (for those who do not know, everyone in the stadium waves at the nearby children's hospital where patients are able to see the full game / stadium). The DIA seems to disagree with this, but the ABSOLUTE WORST thing you can be is forgettable and boring, blending into the crowd.
I've posted many, many times that I think there are two obvious solutions staring us in the face, and they REALLY shouldn't offend anyone, lol. One is more fun, and one is more reverent. Both draw on our school's and state's actual histories and aren't totally contrived.
(1) For the fun aspect, incorporate a goofy Abe Lincoln WAY more. We are the Land of Lincoln, after all, and it re-emphasizes that the Illini are the team that represents our ENTIRE STATE when they compete, not just alumni or C-U locals. You can incorporate fun / goofy things in TV breaks that are at least unique to us, like having Abe doing some silly game involving splitting logs, lol.
(2) The second idea is much more reverent, and I frankly feel like I'm taking crazy pills that most seem to shut it down immediately, and that is drawing on our "Fighting Illini" nickname and our school's unique ties to veterans. We can keep this hyper-respectful and avoid making it a gimmick of any kind, but something like a brief but moving ceremony remembering Illinois veterans at each game could become seen as an intensely cool experience a lot quicker than most realize, IMO. Make it known everywhere that Illinois goes above and beyond anybody else when it comes to celebrating those who have served, especially from our state. If you want a "vibe inspiration," just think how cool the National Anthem can be at certain sporting events. Everyone knows it will be a fixture at every sporting event, and there is a buzz leading up to it followed by an explosive infusion of atmosphere once it is over. Someone more creative than me can come up with a better idea, but one example of something with the "flavor" I am envisioning could involve some type of consistent and concise ceremony that does something like this, with parts that gradually get more bombastic just like the Three-in-One did and the National Anthem does.
---> (A) Starts with a brief moment of silence after the PA guy delivers a stirring speech that reminds us of why we are called the Fighting Illini and why at the University of Illinois, it is an integral part of our history and heritage to remember those who have served, from the Land of Lincoln and from beyond.
---> (B) Find some way to have the moment of silence transition into a slightly more energetic part, such as the band rearranging and / or a specific thing coming on the video board that builds excitement toward some sort of finale.
---> (C) End with something that builds up to an abridged medley of Battle Hymn of the Republic and finishes off with a thunderous applause from the crowd. We can recreate the same epic, non-gimmicky feel that the Three-in-One with the Chief had.
TL;DR
There simply has to be something about attending State Farm Center that makes it so unmistakably "Illini Basketball" beyond seeing orange and blue everywhere and it being physically located in Champaign. We start with a few things in our favor, such as the very unique shape / setup of the arena compared to most bland new pro-style ones. Beyond that, we don't only not try very hard ... we seem to actively avoid trying. Get some creatives in a room (admittedly not my expertise!!) and come up with some new traditions, and have one guiding question while brainstorming - How inherently unique would this thing be to Illinois? Free nuggets ain't it, lol.
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Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
As I mentioned on here a couple weeks back I attended the Washington game. First home game I'd attended in a few years & the promos had all the buzz of a minor league baseball game. Dizzy bat race kind of stuff. And the band might as well have just stayed at the dorm & studied. They were barely used at all. I was kind of surprised tbh.
Yeah and to piggy back on the military idea (which I also agree with), I think the Red Grange race was actually brilliant. I originally thought it was silly, but it brought both a connection to the past and a new tradition for a school without many. I've mentioned before that multiple players said it was their favorite Illini gameday tradition, including Altmyer. I think even the siren they use for the football games could kind of be repurposed with the military theme for basketball. Basketball has less of a legendary past but a much stronger current fanbase and recent history, there's a lot of ties we could connect to. Right now it's just sterile imo.
This^^^. I've been to the IU, Minny, and NU games. Our production team has turned ILL games into corny/generic game experiences.
There is absolutely no reason to play 10 seconds of music every dead ball. My honest opinion that's worth absolutely nothing is that the KRUSH isn't actually to blame at all. Every time they get chants going they are now drowned out by the PA guy blasting music whether it's a dead ball or timeout. Why would I stand up and yell just to be immediately blared over?
The band also may as well not be there. It's a shame. Watching MSU game and Purdue games where they let the band be the band rip and play their school songs make it much more of a fun and unique to their school's atmosphere than our tacky production.
FWIW, I graduated in 17. May be a bit of a traditionalist, but I would love to know who they think their target market is with the new production shticks in-place. Less is more. You have one of the best on-court products in the country. Let the non-basketball parts of the game go back to the students (band/Krush).
As an alum and a vet I support the concept of honoring veterans … but do it in a respectful, low key manner (maybe a moment of silence before the anthem?). Don’t be exploitative with a bunch of unnecessary hoopla. Thanks
This isn't an issue exclusive to the U of I. In my experience (again not in Chambana), it was basically like pulling teeth trying to get the Greeks to come out. Any university can promote Greek nights to try and get the sororities and frats to come out but for them it will just be another social event and they won't be invested in what's going on on the court. Most likely wouldn't come to the game anyway if they weren't forced to.
I have wondered if the band's program has changed, as well, compared to the past. I haven't been a game in Champaign for quite a while so I don't have much direct experience except for what is on TV which obviously cuts away during most time outs. I did notice that against Wisconsin during one of the timeouts their were playing some kind mellower jazz song. There hasn't been much discussion about them.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I will agree that the band needs to be utilized a lot more. I know some folks are tired of hearing about how epic the atmosphere was that night, but it should tell us everything we need to know that our United Center game felt infinitely less like an "NBA atmosphere" than our games in Champaign. The band was very active at the UC, and there was practically zero lame, gimmicky PA stunts to engage the crowd.
Agree. Band was really good that night. And the crowd included many many Illini Nation fans who were ready and willing to loudly voice their support throughout the entire ball game.
hooraybeer
- Peoria, IL
what’s crazy is it’s a lot of the same people in the stands, just acting differently bc the culture inside the SFC (especially the lower bowl) is what it is. many of the people down there want to stand and shout but don’t because they’re worried they might annoy the people around them. at a neutral site they can act how they want
- Status