(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The past few years have been great for Illini fans. Not that they have been all that impressive.
But if you are a fan of the orange and blue at least you have had something to cheer about for the past three or four years.
We are all used to getting excited about mediocrity. Remember the years with Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy? Not a great team but at least we had something to cheer about (the NFL draft).
Then there was the Rose Bowl. I know everyone had at least 15 reasons why a game with a final score of 49-17 really was a close game. Dropped balls! Untimely fumbles! Bad calls!
No one can get excited about things like this like a University of Illinois football fan can.
This year may be the year that U of I breaks through and proves to everyone that it's time to expect more!
If not this year, the good times may continue to be few and far between for the Illini.
Remember the talk about that recruit that could throw a football 80 yards in the air? He is a senior now. He has shown flashes of brilliance but has not quite lived up to his billing yet.
The Fighting Illini have what may be the best receiving corps in the country.
They have multiple impact players on defense.
In fact, Illinois football has probably never had this kind of talent in Champaign all at once. It's all because of superstar recruiter - Ron Zook!
At this point I refuse to sing the familiar chorus of "Ron Zook can't coach". I just don't know if that is true or not.
But can he finally turn the corner and take a team with only his recruits to higher ground? Or will the Illini again prove to its fan that any recent success is yet another aberration?
If you are a fan of the Illini, take heart. If nothing else, it will be a fun season to watch. The talent is there and we should give the Zooker the benefit of the doubt. At least for this season.
It has been great to get top talent in Champaign. And it is great to see a competitive team out there.
Bringing Illini football to respectability has earned Zook a special place in Illini history. It should even keep the calls for your resignation to a very dull roar for the foreseeable future. And justifiably so! But this has to be the year we see something special. Illini fans cannot come up with any more excuses.
Ron, if you are reading this, we have been waiting. You may stay as coach for years to come. But when it comes to the kind of success we crave it's now or never!
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