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Illinois Football: Illini Fans Still Optimistic About the Future
When the Illinois football team received a complete makeover in March of 2016, things seemed to be looking up for the fan base of this proud program.
Lovie Smith was brought in to coach this team who had been through two coaches prior in a four-month span.
This was a big splash hire for the Illini and new Athletic Director Josh Whitman. Over the next six months, the enthusiasm reigned supreme for the Illinois football team. The sky was the limit.
The first game of the season continued to increase the fire in the fans eyes. They witnessed an Illinois team pound Murray State 52-3. This victory seemed to have a different feeling.
North Carolina was the next opponent on the list for the Illini.
Illinois was in this game even into the fourth quarter. If I may remind you, this was a game in 2015 where the Illini fell to the Tar Heels 48-14.
But, a few mistakes at the end of the game led to a North Carolina victory. This took the wind out of the sails of some Illini fans and I remember hearing at the game, “oh it’s the same old Illinois team” from one of the fans.
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The following week was the game against Western Michigan. This was a must win because Illinois couldn’t lose to a MAC program.
Illinois didn’t just lose this game; they were really never in it. They lost the game 34-10 and fans started to get restless because many of them were starting to figure out this is the same team that floundered last season.
In the next game against No. 15 Nebraska, many people thought the Illini would get dominated. But, that result didn’t go the way many people thought it would.
Illinois fought tough in this game and really impressed some people. They played well enough to become 10-point favorites against Purdue the next week.
I don’t want to rehash the past but Illinois fell to the Boilermakers in overtime. This was a sad loss for the Illini and many fans really fell off the bandwagon this season.
A 1-4 start to the 2016 season is not the way fans wanted the football team to start. But, while many fans are down on the current year, they aren’t down on the future.
In a mini-poll on Twitter, 84-percent of Illinois football fans are optimistic about the future of the program.
This makes me happy that the vast majority of fans are still hopeful for the future. Even with a 1-4 start, the Lovie effect keeps people optimistic.
While the team is trying to find their way right now, the future is extremely bright and the fans realize this. We will emerge from this darkness and We Will Win.
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