Your first Illini FB game you attended in person

SuperMetroid · Mar 9, 2016

Had to look up the date but it was Nov 25, 1989. Illini crush Northwestern 63-14 at Dyche Stadium. I was a junior in high school at the time.

The year Michigan ruined both seasons for Illinois :frustrated:

Centennial Illini · Mar 9, 2016

Buck and I would love nothing more than for the younger alums/students to enjoy what we did in 1983.

I heard we led the NCAA in obnoxious behavior.

The 33-0 shutout of undefeated Iowa when 70,000 people chanted in perfect unity "Iowa sucks"

IllianaOne · Mar 9, 2016

IllianaOne said:
Fall of 82' verses Pitt. Pitt had some QB named Dan everyone made a big deal about.

Doh, 82' not 83'.

FlyingIllini7737 · Mar 9, 2016

It might have been vs. Minnesota in 2003 but I vividly remember going to CU in 2004 against Iowa. It was super windy day and Steve Weatherford had about a sixty yard punt against the wind and we got killed. Anyway I've been to nine games in person and I've only seen them win once.

BananaShampoo · Mar 9, 2016

Illini vs Northwestern in 1986? It was pretty cold and I was 9 years old. Don't remember much else.

TheFlyingIllini1317 · Mar 9, 2016

FlyingIllini7737 said:
It might have been vs. Minnesota in 2003 but I vividly remember going to CU in 2004 against Iowa. It was super windy day and Steve Weatherford had about a sixty yard punt against the wind and we got killed. Anyway I've been to nine games in person and I've only seen them win once.

Well I guess I found my old account haha, I can never remember my user name.

champaignchris · Mar 9, 2016

The first one I remember was 1984 (? I think. The Peach Bowl year.) at Dyche stadium in Evanston. We beat them to secure the bowl bid. Don't remember much about the game other than it was cold. I do remember the ride down LSD and Wacker Dr and then the great meal at the Parthenon in Greektown.

I'm sure I was at games at Memorial stadium before then. I have vague memories of walking through campus to get there before a game. But I can't remember any details.

First game I can remember going to at Memorial Stadium was against Michigan in 1987. Mike White's last year. We weren't any good, but the crowd was bonkers. Loved every second of it. I'm a third generation Illini and there was never much doubt where I'd go to school, but that game pretty much sealed the deal in my mind.

Ransom Stoddard · Mar 9, 2016

FlyingIllini7737 said:
It might have been vs. Minnesota in 2003 but I vividly remember going to CU in 2004 against Iowa. It was super windy day and Steve Weatherford had about a sixty yard punt against the wind and we got killed. Anyway I've been to nine games in person and I've only seen them win once.

I think that was against Minny in '03. If so, that was the last game I've been to, but I think I'm going to try to get back up there this fall.

EJ33 · Mar 9, 2016

Centennial Illini said:
You guys are all children. October, 1963. Butkus at ML, Bob Trumpe at TE, Grabowski at FB.

I've seen a lot of Illini football but the fall of 83 was best, It was like basketball 2005 from one end of the state to the other.

In Nov of 83, AD Neil Stoner got a bill from Northwestern for $1,580 to cover the cost of a new goalpost. Illinois students had torn their's down after the game, carried through the streets of Evanston (I saw that) and I heard later tried to throw it in Lake Michigan.

I want JW to get a bill like that some day

The fall of '83 is what we all dream of...an incredible fan experience.

Remember the "80s Belong to the Illini" slogan? There was a local band that played that outside the stadium during tailgating. I can't find it anywhere online. Does anybody else remember this song / band?

Ransom Stoddard · Mar 9, 2016

EJ33 said:
The fall of '83 is what we all dream of...an incredible fan experience.

Remember the "80s Belong to the Illini" slogan? There was a local band that played that outside the stadium during tailgating. I can't find it anywhere online. Does anybody else remember this song / band?

Yes!!! I had an MP3 of that somewhere, along with all the downloadable MI stuff that used to be available (don't know if it still is). I'll see if I can find it in my mess of computers, hard drives, and cloud storage.

dgcrow · Mar 9, 2016

I was just a child, but the earliest game I can remember attending in person was on October 11, 1952, at Memorial Stadium: Illinois 48, Washington 14. Ironically, I ended up attending graduate school at UW.

Trakis · Mar 9, 2016

The 2007 Michigan game we lost... Was front row in the student overflow section (when there was still one).

If I'm correct, if we won that game, College Gameday was going to come to campus for the Ball State game (Or maybe it was: if we won Iowa they'd come to Michigan)

WesterveltVictoryCigar · Mar 9, 2016

IllianaOne said:
Fall of 83' verses Pitt. Pitt had some QB named Dan everyone made a big deal about.

This is the earliest game I can recall going to. I know I went to other games that season and probably a few seasons before, but this one sticks out. Terrible games for both Eason and Marino. Pitt won because some big fat DL ran back a fumble for a TD. :tsk:

Second and Chalmers · Mar 9, 2016

Trakis said:
The 2007 Michigan game we lost... Was front row in the student overflow section (when there was still one).

Great atmosphere that night. Until Kyle Hudson muffed that punt. :tsk:

filthytacos · Mar 9, 2016

Was not a big CFB fan until I started school, so while I watched the 2007 Rose Bowl game, my first live contest was 10-5-2013 against Wisconsin. What a terrible game to pick as my first live one.

Here's to a better experience in the coming years!

EJ33 · Mar 9, 2016

Ransom Stoddard said:
Yes!!! I had an MP3 of that somewhere, along with all the downloadable MI stuff that used to be available (don't know if it still is). I'll see if I can find it in my mess of computers, hard drives, and cloud storage.

That would be awesome - thanks!

USNIlliniFan · Mar 9, 2016

Homecoming 1963, I think it was Minnesota game. Wow, I'm really that old? Didn't look so bad until I typed it out...hahahaha

Trakis · Mar 9, 2016

Second and Chalmers said:
Great atmosphere that night. Until Kyle Hudson muffed that punt. :tsk:

Very painful moment.

Glaze72 · Mar 9, 2016

My freshman year. September 15, 1990. Illinois 23, Colorado 22. One of the top five game-day atmospheres of my entire life. Unbelievably loud.

blackdog · Mar 9, 2016

ChiefIlliniwek said:
Hope you stayed in the stands at halftime as I believe that was the Chief's final performance at a football game. I used to make an annual trip to Champaign for a game every year and chose that one to come to specifically because I figured I wouldn't ever see the Chief dance again.

I had totally forgotten about that but you're right that was the Chief's last dance for football. Glad I got to see it once at least. My freshman year was the first without Chief.

ATL Chief · Mar 9, 2016

Born in '86, and was going to games my whole life, but the earliest one I really remember was Michigan in 2000 and those 2 fumbles...

All the memories of games prior to that blended into that one painful moment of me crying walking down the ramps while being yelled at by Michigan fans. That was the night I vowed to get a Muck Fichigan shirt...

I can't wait to get back in games like that. Games that matter!!!

Go Lovie!

Chilliniwek · Mar 9, 2016

I was at the Pitt game in 82 as well. I actually felt like the stadium swayed a bit at one point, the crowd was so intense. But then, Eason threw the interception that totally changed the outcome. The crowd went utterly silent as that big lineman ran 95 yards for a td. All you could hear was the Pitt sideline going crazy. Here's a link.

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/26/sports/pitt-overcomes-illinois-by-20-3.html

Golfer63 · Mar 9, 2016

1997 vs. the Ryan Leaf lead WSU cougars

Illinnoying Orange · Mar 9, 2016

1975 or 76. It was either vs Baylor or Texas A&M. Went with my dad. Horshoe tickets were only something like $2.50 per game back then.

I went to several games each year up until Beckman's 2nd year here. After his first disaster of a season, I couldn't stand going to games with him as coach. In my opinion, he was even worse than Moeller (and that was pretty damn bad). I started going to games again last season and definitely will be attending games this season.

I miss the atmosphere of the 80's the most. Huge crowds, huge tailgates and pretty darn good Illini teams back then for the most part. MS was rocking (literally) back then :chief:

Clete1 · Mar 9, 2016

Buck Turgidson said:
Sept 6, 1980 vs. NU my sophomore year. My older brother was a Northwestern grad and came down from Chicago. It was the first game of the Mike White era. We won 35-9. I think that equaled the number of points scored in all of 1979 (kidding...sort of).

And just to jump on the 1983 bandwagon...my buddies talked me into Block I that year. We road tripped to Miznoz...and lost. It felt like 'here we go again'. But then we ran the table. I helped tear down the south goal posts after beating OSU (I was hanging onto one of the uprights). It seemed like the greatest thing in the world...until they started coming down. Then I realized I was holding onto a giant aluminum tube that picked up a lot of momentum, right up until the point we landed on the people below. The poor guy underneath me. I also stormed the field after Michigan, when Bo had a couple of his linemen clearing a path and mowing down fans on his way off the field. Sadly, we had to end it on a sour note in Pasadena, but what a year

Same here - start of the Mike White era.

Your first Illini FB game you attended in person

SuperMetroid

Centennial Illini

IllianaOne

FlyingIllini7737

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign

TheFlyingIllini1317

champaignchris

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest

EJ33

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest

dgcrow

Trakis

WesterveltVictoryCigar

Second and Chalmers

filthytacos

EJ33

USNIlliniFan

Trakis

Glaze72

blackdog

ATL Chief

Chilliniwek

Golfer63

Illinnoying Orange

Clete1