Usually winning the Illibuck trophy doesn't mean a whole lot to me. But this year, it was especially sweet. When you have a .500 record playing an undefeated team, it feels great to get the win.
Today was my first away game as a Buckeye fan. Memorial Stadium was nice, but I disliked the fact that there is just the one big scoreboard to look at. I missed the thinner boards that Ohio Stadium has at the bottom of the upper deck where they display things like game stats and other games' scores.
In my experience 99% of the Illini fans I interacted with were polite and welcoming. Unfortunately, I had the misfortune of being within shouting distance of one total d-bag Illini fan who bought tickets in the visitor section and proceeded to berate everything about Ohio athletics at the top of his lungs. I mean this guy left no stone unturned. He crapped all over the Buckeyes, the Indians, the Reds, the Cavs, the Browns, the Bengals, and the Bluejackets - the only team he never mention was the Crew. The guy was a real troll. Then the game started, and that shut him up pretty quickly. But again, this was one guy in hundreds. There's always that one guy... I had no issues with the vast majority of the people I encountered. I'd gladly go back again for future games.
Anybody else who was at the game have an experience to share?
Champaign is one of my favorite places to travel to as a Buckeye. For some reason, i really dig Memorial Stadium. The fans are usually pretty polite (I sat in a midst of orange in section 107) and several congratulated the Buckeyes effort after the game. I agree, scoreboard sucks with no sort of real in-game stats and the exuberhent announcement of every 1st down is pretty annoying. But overall, a pretty fun trip. Be sure to check out the Beef House off of I-74 for an awesome victory steak next time you're out there. That place is full of Buckeyes after each game in Illinois.
The Ohio State University Class of 2001
BS Aero & Astronautical Engineering