Trips like this remind me there truly is no place like Nebraska. Walking into Memorial Stadium in Champaign is quite a different experience than walking into the stadium of the same name in Lincoln.
For starters, 30 minutes before kickoff there were hundreds of college kids in the fields surrounding the stadium playing intramural games of soccer, basketball, sand volleyball, etc. 30 minutes before kickoff as if there wasn't even a game going on. In Nebraska, those students would have been in the stadium an hour ago.
Going on my annual road-trip to a fellow Big Ten stadium often reveals a world quite different than the one we inhabit 7 Saturdays a year in Lincoln. Most of the time that's pretty cool. It's fun to experience other school's traditions and atmospheres. Other times, it can be a little sad.
In the case of Illinois, it was kind of sad.
I've definitely traveled to stadiums that were less than full, but it's always a surprising to come across a fanbase that struggles to even halfway fill their stadium. Being a part of a fanbase like Nebraska's, it's always a bit of a culture shock to come across a fan-base as dejected and lifeless as Illinois'. The fans, at least the ones actually in attendance, seemed as if they were there for lack of anything better to do. It terrifies me to think of Nebraska's fan-base ever becoming so apathetic.
Going to Purdue in 2013 was kind of the same way. Nice fans. It's just hard for them to get into the stadium apparently.
And the Illinois fans I came across were very nice and I still had a ton of fun at the game. How could I not when I was watching Nebraska put together their most complete game of the season? I heard more "Go Big Red" chants on Friday night than I had the rest of the season combined. By the end of the game, there were probably less than 2,000 Illinois fans left in the stadium. The thousands of Nebraska fans left in the almost empty stadium chanted "Go Big Red" for the entirety of the final minute as the clock ticked down to 0:00.
There's something magical about watching your team coast to a drama-free win in someone else's stadium, causing the home crowd to head to their cars early. Then you just soak up the chants that echo throughout, bringing a little slice of Nebraska to a far away land. I think that's my favorite memory from this game.
For starters, 30 minutes before kickoff there were hundreds of college kids in the fields surrounding the stadium playing intramural games of soccer, basketball, sand volleyball, etc. 30 minutes before kickoff as if there wasn't even a game going on. In Nebraska, those students would have been in the stadium an hour ago.
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| Kacey and I outside Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL |
Going on my annual road-trip to a fellow Big Ten stadium often reveals a world quite different than the one we inhabit 7 Saturdays a year in Lincoln. Most of the time that's pretty cool. It's fun to experience other school's traditions and atmospheres. Other times, it can be a little sad.
In the case of Illinois, it was kind of sad.
I've definitely traveled to stadiums that were less than full, but it's always a surprising to come across a fanbase that struggles to even halfway fill their stadium. Being a part of a fanbase like Nebraska's, it's always a bit of a culture shock to come across a fan-base as dejected and lifeless as Illinois'. The fans, at least the ones actually in attendance, seemed as if they were there for lack of anything better to do. It terrifies me to think of Nebraska's fan-base ever becoming so apathetic.
Going to Purdue in 2013 was kind of the same way. Nice fans. It's just hard for them to get into the stadium apparently.
And the Illinois fans I came across were very nice and I still had a ton of fun at the game. How could I not when I was watching Nebraska put together their most complete game of the season? I heard more "Go Big Red" chants on Friday night than I had the rest of the season combined. By the end of the game, there were probably less than 2,000 Illinois fans left in the stadium. The thousands of Nebraska fans left in the almost empty stadium chanted "Go Big Red" for the entirety of the final minute as the clock ticked down to 0:00.
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| Yep, this is how empty the stadium was right at the end of the game. |
There's something magical about watching your team coast to a drama-free win in someone else's stadium, causing the home crowd to head to their cars early. Then you just soak up the chants that echo throughout, bringing a little slice of Nebraska to a far away land. I think that's my favorite memory from this game.
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