Big Ten 2010 // Keeping the Enemy Close - A Northwestern Wildcat Riffs on the "Rivalry" with Illinois

by Graham Filler on Apr 1, 2010 10:30 PM CDT in Illinois

Our own Northwestern Law attending, beer swilling Hmlee has graciously shared her thoughts on the joy of beating up on Illinois and facing Ron Zook on a yearly basis.

**The meme towards Illinois is that they should be great - fertile recruiting grounds, great college town, some football tradition, fans that truly care. Why is this meme incorrect?**

The perception is wrong because Illinois is not special. Now, even though I am the "rival blogger" I'm not saying this just to be antagonistic. It's just a fact. When it comes down to it, Illinois is like pretty much every other Big 10 school. Does it have a fertile recruiting ground? Sure, but so do most of the other schools in the conference because, as large state schools, they command the loyalties of their various populations. Decent college town? Yeah. But I also hear that some little places called Madison and Ann Arbor are pretty nice during the autumn too. Some football tradition? Uhm, I think the Buckeyes and those that Hail to the Victors would like to have a word with you about that one. And the fans? Okay, but those that fill Kinnick, Beaver Stadium, and Camp Randall are at the very least equal in their dedication.

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What's this all mean, then? Well it means that Illinois should really be no better or worse on average than every other Big 10 school. There isn't anything, like with Michigan or Ohio State, that might push them to the top of the pile. Zook is a great recruiter to be sure, but he's a terrible coach, which pretty much negates the positive aspects right there. Admittedly, Illinois has been under performing to even this expectation over the last decade, but if we set their benchmark at "average" - where it really should be - instead of "great," then it really isn't as far.

On a scale of 1-10, how much satisfaction do you get from beating Illinois?

I'd say it's about a 6 or 7. Oh don't get me wrong, I like beating Illinois. And I much prefer not to be on the receiving end of taunts from my Illini friends. But... well, let's face it folks. Illinois isn't really a good football team. They have their years, but over the last decade or so, well, most of the time they've been pretty bad. If we beat them when they're having a good year that's a lot of fun. The other times it sort of feels like kicking a dog. A small, mutt-like, smelly dog, but a dog none the less.

What is your best memory of the last two years of Illini beatings by NW?

This past season I actually got to drive down to the NU - Illini game in Champaign. I met up with some friends and we took in the game for free (good seats too -- thanks connections!). We grilled lots of meat and drank lots of beer. And Northwestern won. A good weekend all around. I hope that the Northwestern - Illinois game for the upcoming season does in fact happen at Wrigley, as then I would only have to walk a mile to go see it. I think that'd be the only way to top this past season.

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What is the key to keeping NW football head and shoulders above Illinois football?

Well it would certainly help if Ron Zook could stick around for a few more years. NU and Illinois are almost polar opposites when it comes to coaching and recruiting. Northwestern has traditionally struggled to recruit top level players (though it's getting better) but Fitz and the rest of the staff have proven that they can make the best use of what they do have. Zook, on the other hand, is able to recruit top level players and then utterly fails to utilize them in any successful way. I fear the day when Illinois hires a real coach and puts Zook in charge of recruiting.

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This week...

MONDAY: Spring Field Guide

TUESDAY: Illinois' Achilles Heel - The Coaching

WEDNESDAY: Illinois' Greatest Strength

THURSDAY: MVP Profile

FRIDAY: Keeping the Enemy Close - Rival Blogger Interview

***
More Big Ten 2010...

Indiana | Michigan

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Comments

I love all these write-ups

I find I’m interested in the articles even if I don’t particularly care for the team. That’s good writing.

by HeartOfHawkness on Apr 2, 2010 5:15 AM CDT reply actions

Thanks for the compliment.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the series.

The Rivalry, Esq.
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.

by Jonathan Franz on Apr 2, 2010 9:15 AM CDT up reply actions

Don't mean to quibble but

And the fans? Okay, but those that fill Kinnick, Beaver Stadium, and Camp Randall are at the very least equal in their dedication.

I think that’s being too generous to the fans at Memorial Stadium.

Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.

by Kyle McCann't on Apr 2, 2010 8:50 AM CDT reply actions

You'll notice

they couldn’t say “the fans that fill Ryan Field”. I’d like to think it was because those are the same fans that fill Kinnick, Beaver Stadium, and Camp Randall, and the author didn’t want to be redundant…. but it was really due to “fans” meaning “more than one fan” and even the credibility of a lawyer doesn’t stretch that far.

Facts sometimes have a strange and bizarre power that makes their inherent truth seem unbelievable. - Werner Herzog

by Flakbait on Apr 2, 2010 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions

As a fellow lawyer and Northwestern fan...

…let me assure you, hmlee, that you need to up your hatred-quotient in regards to Illinois.

No discussion of how the local papers cover Illinois football’s losing tradition extensively, while virtually ignoring the winning program up the El line in Evanston? (And don’t even get me started on That School in South Bend in this regard…)

Saying that Illinois has been “underperforming over the last decade,” when in fact they’ve been almost consistently AWFUL for the past 20 years? (Give or take a few outliers seasons…)

Failing to mention they way they rolled over in 2008 against Northwestern when they had bowl eligibility on the line?

Ignoring the year when classless Illini players put an Illini helmet on the statue of Willie after a victory in Evanston one year, and the absolute thrashing we gave them the next time they came to our house? (I think the first game was 1998, the next was 2000…)

Failing to mention how ugly the orange is, especially when contrasted with the majesty that is Northwestern purple?

Forgetting that Fitz is 3-1 against Illinois, and Northwestern is currently 46-52-5 against Illinois, meaning that Illinois will soon become only the 2nd team in the Big Ten (Indiana is the other) to have a losing record all-time against Northwestern?

Tap into your hatred, hmlee….

by Chadnudj on Apr 2, 2010 9:33 AM CDT reply actions

Hmlee

…is knee deep in legal writing and reading. This constant flow of logical analysis being piped into her brain surely impacted her conciliatory attitude toward the Illini and lack of homerism.

The Rivalry, Esq.

by Graham Filler on Apr 2, 2010 9:43 AM CDT up reply actions

Is this the part where you offer

to let me join you and rule the galaxy with the power of the dark side?

The Rivalry, Esq. - Judging the Big 10 since 2008

by Hilary Lee on Apr 2, 2010 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

You've controlled your fear. But now, you must release your anger!

by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Apr 2, 2010 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions

by GregGoBlue on Apr 3, 2010 3:46 PM CDT up reply actions

You're smart enough to understand the covereage:

No discussion of how the local papers cover Illinois football’s losing tradition extensively, while virtually ignoring the winning program up the El line in Evanston?

Northwestern might as well be located in Somalia. Not only is it a small, private school, but its elite status has made it a national/international school. Sure there are more NU grads in the Chicago area than other places, but just as many grads end up in places like NYC, L.A., D.C. and even London, Paris, Moscow, etc and the small pool from which they come makes that impact less pronounced than from a huge state institution like UIUC. There are far more alums in the Chicago area from schools like NIU or even Iowa and Wisconsin than there are for NU, hence “poor” coverage. I’ve long felt those in charge of marketing for NU have missed the boat by trying to force the Wildcats on the Chicago area at large; if they were to focus their efforts on making NU “The North Shore’s Team”, and get locals to fill the stands, they would have a greater home field advantage than they currently do by trying to convince Chicagoland (whose college football fans tend to be from places that foster preexisting allegiances) that they are somehow “their” team.

Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.

by Kyle McCann't on Apr 2, 2010 11:40 AM CDT up reply actions

I hate

HATE the Tribs coverage of college sports. Despite being a hotbed of total Big 10 fandom, they cover, ND and Illinois primarily, then Northwestern. Forget Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa.
Newspapers are a losing game right now, but I firmly believe that this is part of the reason why. People want sports coverage. Ignoring a large chunk of your potential customers is just bad business.
When fertile recruiting grounds were mentioned above, that’s not entirely true. Chicago is huge, and there are plenty of opportunities for players to go to Illinois. But they’re not really any closer than other B10 schools, so the effect is diluted.

It never gets to be easy

by chitownhawkeye on Apr 2, 2010 9:27 PM CDT up reply actions

Agreed

This obvious dearth in quality spots coverage is precisely why ESPN thought it profitable to set up a hub in Chicago. The way the Trib is cutting coverage of… well… everything, it looks like ESPN made a savvy investment.

by GregGoBlue on Apr 3, 2010 3:49 PM CDT up reply actions

The local papers probably ignore NW ...

… because covering NW would sell about an extra five copies. Fill your stadium – with home fans – and then you might get some attention.

by SpartanDan on Apr 4, 2010 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions

There's a certain chicken-egg thing...

It might be easier to fill NU’s stadium with home fans if we got a little more attention from the local news. But I think we all probably get your point.

As a long-term thing, I think this problem will go away as the memories of the Dark Ages fade. If you graduated between 1975 and spring of 1995, you never once saw a winning season of Northwestern football. From 1972 to 1994, there were only 48 Wildcat victories— barely an average of 2 per season.

Obviously, today’s team is very different from those teams. But there are 20 years of Northwestern alumni who probably never saw a victory as a student (especially since attendance was sometimes even lower back then). Already spread out across the country instead of concentrated in Chicago, those alumni are between 37 and 57 years old. Which is a problem. Why?

They’re the ones that buy football tickets. Basically reflecting the overall population distribution, 40% of college football fans nationwide fall in roughly that age range. And that’s also the age group that has the money to buy tickets regularly. But the people who should be our most loyal fans were never fans to begin with, because there was nothing to cheer for.

The same argument applies for Chicago non-alumni, who reached college football maturity during the same period. Even though That School In South Bend and Illinois are rapidly becoming/have become jokes now, they were way more exciting than Dark Age NU football.

This is changing. In 15 years, I think the “Expect Victory” generations will have mostly taken over. Ryan Field will be majority purple and consistently full, so long as the team continues on its current path. Sell-outs for every game? Probably not. But consistently full is all we need.

In the meantime, though, it might be nice if we got a little more coverage in local media. It might speed things along just a little.

Play trombone?
http://groups.northwestern.edu/boneheads/
http://numb.northwesternbands.org/

by TDozer on Apr 5, 2010 1:09 AM CDT up reply actions

I too have trouble getting that excited at beating Illinois. I think it’s that by the end of the season when NU usually plays them, the fighting zookers have given up on any sort of trying. The loss to NU is just viewed as the final inevitable failure.

Now if Illini fans could treat all the losses to Northwestern with the same disbelief and apoplexy as the average Iowa fan treats each and every one of their losses, I would enjoy it much more.

by nuftw on Apr 2, 2010 10:57 AM CDT reply actions