Am very late to this discussion as I spent the early part of the week in (!!) Champaign-Urbana for the first time in 22 yrs, with my phone largely off, wandering around and reveling in what a remarkable, thoroughly kick-a$$ university we're blessed to have affiliation with. Did my heart and soul a wonder of good.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Midwestern Big Ten originalist. My memories from the age of ~ 5 onward (nearly 52 yrs ago) are rooted in BT football and basketball. It took me 15 years (and finally sitting in Beaver Stadium watching PSU v. Illinois in Sept 2008) to accept PSU as a BT member.
However, I recognized a long while ago that the days I clung fondly to were long, long gone, and the game, conference, and world, had moved on. I'm completely with my DC brother here,
@The Galloping Ghost, on the virtue of expansion, as long as it adds schools and programs of high quality.
I had the good fortune to share part of the visit with a fellow Illini brother, and to enjoy his reminiscences. As I wandered through the buildings where I learned and labored ~35 years ago I thought occasionally of the recent USC/UCLA addition. I saw an analogy to various old departmental libraries I used to study in, and classrooms I remembered fondly, which have been reconfigured into different spaces; entire buildings no longer existing; and empty fields now built upon. Lots of physical change, wonderful new facilities, and yet so much history that endures, not only from my recent studenthood, but from a century ago and more. The physical reality I recall may be gone in many places, but I have my memories. The new, and reconfigured old, spaces and buildings are creating memories for the students and faculty there today, and have evolved precisely in order to maintain the excellence of the institution.
Before I departed yesterday, I sat at the top of the east balcony in the stadium, having walked through the east colonnade on my way up there. A WR was down on the field (I believe it was Isaiah Williams) repeatedly running a meticulous 7-12 yard out pattern along the near sideline. He'd marked the cut with small colored cards on the turf. So much history in that stadium, 98 years old this fall, and a talented young man down there on a warm late July morning trying to help build a sustained winning tradition by ensuring every footstep he takes is in the proper place. I completely grooved on that juxtaposition, spanning a century, honoring past and present.
As I noted, it all did my heart and soul a wonder of good. Kevin Warren, much as we mock him, knows what the score is. Let's hope he builds the strongest conference he can. We'll enjoy the product.
Oh, and BTW... we have the most glorious stadium in college football. I've seen a lot of them. Nothing compares.
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