Get Over It, Illini Fans Are Real College Basketball Fans

All of the local talk radio stations and newspapers are abuzz because of the display by the Illini fans at the Illinois vs. Indiana basketball game on Wednesday night. Apparently it's a sin to actually, you know, stand up and cheer your team on, rather than sit like a stiff little bitch in a button up shirt at a pro sports event.

I've got news for you, that's how good college basketball fans and teams operate, with energy and passion. The people who threw ice at Eric Gordon's parents were out of line, as is anything physical in the stands, but everything else is fair game.

Rather than the niceties of a handshake or a pound, Illini guard Chester Frazier rammed his shoulder into Gordon during the pregrame introductions, setting the tone for the evening, and letting Gordon and IU know right off the bat that this was going to be a battle. There were tens of thousands of Illinois fans in the stands, most clad in the school colors, all chanting in unison (Cheater Cheater Cheater! and Fuck You Gordon!) and booing everytime Gordon touched the ball. This is what a rabid fan base can do, and this is the benefit of having home court advantage. It's supposed to provide an edge for the home team, and be and intimidating place for the opponent. It's not supposed to be a homecoming, and it's not supposed to be a cakewalk for the visitor. They are the enemy, and a pumped up fan base should be free to razz a visiting team and top prospect who decommitted from their program, only to sign with a conference rival.

If you want a nice, quiet, and respectable sporting event, where you can take your 4 year old or wife or your corporate client (none of whom will be interested in the game anyway), I suggest looking into a Bulls or Lakers game, where you'll be bored and probably be able to fall asleep due to lack of noise and energy in the stands. But if you want to feel the energy of a game, and what it means to actually root for a team, you could always just grow a pair and attend a Illinois or Duke college basketball game.