The “It Could Be Worse” Thread
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As bad as it was, last night only counts as one loss as far as I can remember. Going into the season I predicted us to go 8-4 and I'm sticking with that. IU is a really talented team and are well coached - they are more than likely playoff bound IMO. Next year's freshmen will be our best recruiting class in a generation and I expect we will upgrade a couple coaching positions. The future is still bright here
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Our athletic program did not trade any Slovenians
Ok tough guy . You’re above it all . Who cares what you think
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Also, and I'm just spitballing here, but MAYBE Indinia is actually elite - like top 5 team in the country good - and what happened last night was similar to us getting boatraced by Oregon last year. It remains to be seen based on how the rest of IU's schedule shakes out but they legit looked as good as I've seen any team this year play. What Cignetti had done there is miraculous and I hate it a) because it's Indiana b) because it's taken some of the shine off the overall nearly as incredible a job that Brett has done here.
Hard to live that one down when hopes had gotten so high, but...
The people who've built up the program still deserve a ton of credit, and there's a lot of season left to take advantage of opportunities. Bummed that some of the difference makers are injured, but other than that, maybe coming down to earth is a good thing. Still love the vibe of the program.
The people who've built up the program still deserve a ton of credit, and there's a lot of season left to take advantage of opportunities. Bummed that some of the difference makers are injured, but other than that, maybe coming down to earth is a good thing. Still love the vibe of the program.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Thanks, @mattcoldagelli for starting this thread. I noticed it yesterday afternoon during the long drive home to DC from the Bloomington road trip. Didn't realize how deeply it would hit me by bedtime.
I arrived home to find that my partner had a fairly terrible weekend. Her best friend's sister, who was like an older sister to her, died on Friday. She'd had surgery the preceding week to repair a ruptured aorta (I didn't even know a ruptured aorta was survivable) that she'd suffered earlier in the year. When I last spoke to my partner on Thursday evening the woman seemed to be out of the woods. She'd emerged from the post-op induced coma, was talking, and seemed on the upswing. Apparently, not long after that call, the doctors discovered that the aortic repair was leaking. They got her into surgery that night. She was on the table for 12 hours, and finally suffered a catastrophic aneurysm in the process. That was it: she was brain-dead.
She was in her late 60s, and had struggled with health problems, but was unfailingly positive and a woman of great faith and goodwill toward others. Her younger sister, my partner's best friend since she could walk, has now lost her only child (in his 20s when he died), her mother, and her sister in the course of 4-5 years.
As I went to bed last night I simply gave thanks for life, consciousness, passion, and connectedness. I do that regularly but it had increased urgency last evening. We're all fortunate to have the capacity to revel in joy and struggle with grief, itself a marker of deep attachment and meaning, and to share it with those we love, and on this board.
My partner is half-Brazilian; she often uses the Portuguese term fortes emoções, which means, roughly, "strong emotions." Let's bathe in the fortes emoções of Illini fandom, and of life itself, and give thanks for all we enjoy in the process.
For every trial we face, the only way past is through.
I arrived home to find that my partner had a fairly terrible weekend. Her best friend's sister, who was like an older sister to her, died on Friday. She'd had surgery the preceding week to repair a ruptured aorta (I didn't even know a ruptured aorta was survivable) that she'd suffered earlier in the year. When I last spoke to my partner on Thursday evening the woman seemed to be out of the woods. She'd emerged from the post-op induced coma, was talking, and seemed on the upswing. Apparently, not long after that call, the doctors discovered that the aortic repair was leaking. They got her into surgery that night. She was on the table for 12 hours, and finally suffered a catastrophic aneurysm in the process. That was it: she was brain-dead.
She was in her late 60s, and had struggled with health problems, but was unfailingly positive and a woman of great faith and goodwill toward others. Her younger sister, my partner's best friend since she could walk, has now lost her only child (in his 20s when he died), her mother, and her sister in the course of 4-5 years.
As I went to bed last night I simply gave thanks for life, consciousness, passion, and connectedness. I do that regularly but it had increased urgency last evening. We're all fortunate to have the capacity to revel in joy and struggle with grief, itself a marker of deep attachment and meaning, and to share it with those we love, and on this board.
My partner is half-Brazilian; she often uses the Portuguese term fortes emoções, which means, roughly, "strong emotions." Let's bathe in the fortes emoções of Illini fandom, and of life itself, and give thanks for all we enjoy in the process.
For every trial we face, the only way past is through.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
In the spirit of this thread, Farm Aid was 40 years ago today. I remember it well, particularly because I lived in Snyder Hall across from IMPE and we had "guests" sleeping in our stairwells all weekend. A great event for a good cause.
www.billboard.com
40 Great Moments From 40 Years of Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid: ‘It’s the Music and the Message That Opens Up People’s Hearts’
A list of 40 Great Moments from 40 Years of Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid concert series.
www.billboard.com
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Yep he's a great coach but he is not long for Bloomington. Nothing to keep him there. He was coaching in the south before he got that job. FL, Clemson (if they go way off the rails) UNC could come calling perhaps at end of this year.
Eh, I'm not so sure. I had that thought process last season, but then signed a his big extension and IU went all-in on football. He has a good thing going, and he's 64. If he were 44 I'd agree but given that he's already likely in the last decade of his coaching career I'm not sure he'd give up a good situation in one of the 2 major conferences to start over somewhere else.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
That would be about the only job where you could claim you are hiring a younger coach if they were to go after Cignetti.
The guy will be 65 next season. No doubt the guy can coach, but I believe his age will be the reason why he will likely be at IU for the foreseeable future. He is literally at a job where football is not a high priority (to the global fanbase), and there is little pressure. If he sees success, why leave?
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Because his ego will look at Florida and say “I KNOW I can turn it around.”
I don’t think it’s money that’s the driving force with coaches. It’s ego. Look at Urban Meyer. He took the job in Jacksonville because he thought he could turn things around.
$$$$ works. They have some!
I don't know how soon this would happen, but I hope he brings his roster with him like he did at JMU
It also goes to show you how much coaching matters in college football and you can win without top 20 recruiting classes in the age of the portal. Maybe he’s a unicorn but he turned around IU who has a far worse history than we do in football to be much better than our program in 2 years- nothing short of remarkable.
I agree he’s not long for Bloomington and maybe that’s our advantage- that Bret will stay and he won’t but what he’s done at IU makes me question why Bret can’t have more success here- no question
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
Ready to take wagers that Cignetti retires in Bloomington. I think you guys are misreading him - he doesn't want to join the CFB elite, he wants to continue spitefully sticking it in their eye.
I would expect he does retire there!
At this point, I just want to see him humbled.
He’s in a premier league, other coaches are going to figure him out eventually. Hopefully one of them is BB.
At this point I just want to see us continue to build our program. Could not give a rats a$$ as to what Indiana does.
They are a direct competitor, I’ll care about it like I care about anything that could affect Illinois.
And man, I really wouldn’t mind some of his hubris turning into humility.
I do get that but we can only control what we do. I put more energy into watching what we do regardless of our competition…however I am with you on a return beatdown
Can you imagine if we did it this season, and absolutely smoked them?I do get that but we can only control what we do. I put more energy into watching what we do regardless of our competition…however I am with you on a return beatdown
A man can dream.
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