Northwestern-Illinois Rivalry Runs Deep

Last week I wrote about the budding rivalry NU has with the Iowa Hawkeyes. This week, the focus shifts to the only "trophy" game NU plays, the battle for the "Land of Lincoln" trophy with the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Being from Seattle, I didn't grow up hearing all about the Fighting Illini like some of my peers at Northwestern. So I spoke to a few friends to find out why THEY hate the Illinois Fighting Illini.

A friend of mine who graduated from NU last year grew up in Schaumburg, Illinois, and his hatred for the Fighting Illini admittedly comes from some jealousy.

"All my friends went to Illinois, and they all think it's the (greatest thing ever,) If you go to Illinois, your kids are expected to go there. Everyone thinks it's a great school."

He went on to say that he thinks it's a terrible school in a dumpy town with a bunch of morons, yet it gets all the publicity. 

Another friend of mine who grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, says that he's never despised the football team simply because the football team is almost never good, except for some random years.

He says his hatred is mainly directed towards the Illini's insufferable fans. He calls them the I-WHINE-i fans. He also says that his hatred towards Illinois' fans stems from them all being fair-weather fans who don't support the team unless they're winning...which in football is very rarely.

It's understandable that NU students from the state of Illinois would hate the Fighting Illini, but because Northwestern has students from all around the country, I decided to look elsewhere to find other reasons for NU's rivalry with the Illini.

A friend of mine who grew up in Texas rooting for the Longhorns knows a little bit about heated rivalries. He says he definitely feels hatred towards Illinois since arriving at NU three years ago.

"The state of Illinois is split: downstate and Chicago," he said. "The two schools couldn't be more different, and I'm about as happy to see the Illini lose as I am to see the Wildcats win."

Personally, I hate Iowa and Ohio State more than Illinois, but I totally understand the heated rivalry, and I really can't stand Ron Zook. In-state bragging rights are not as important to me, but I can't deny the recruiting impact another win over Ill-ANNOY (as my friend calls them) would have.

Plus, the fact that Northwestern is an underdog in this game is absolutely ridiculous, and I look forward to seeing NU knock the Illini out of bowl contention for the second consecutive year.