IL at the UC

[NUChicago]

5,000 tickets sold, esitmated 3,000 butts in seats.....do we outdraw them tonight at WR?

 

[willycat]

5,000 tickets sold, esitmated 3,000 butts in seats.....do we outdraw them tonight at WR?

Only if CST brings three thousand fans. They will probably bring their usual "crowd" of 100.

 

[NJCat83588]

5,000 tickets sold, esitmated 3,000 butts in seats.....do we outdraw them tonight at WR?

Probably. There were 6,621 tickets sold for the game last night at W-R. Must be pretty close to the current number of season ticket holders, many of whom came disguised as purple seats.......

 

[Catreporter]

Groce had better start getting one or two of the premier recruits in this state or the Illini will become an afterthought in this pro town. They used to routinely draw big numbers for their United Center game every year after the big run in the NCAAs a decade ago. The glow has now worn off. Illini football has never drawn well for the times they have played at Soldier Field because of persistent mediocrity, while Notre Dame will sell out Soldier Field any time they appear. You have to be really good to get noticed here. That's why the Barnett miracle was so important for the NU brand in this town. He didn't just scrape into a bowl, but went to the Rose and became a national story reviving the interest locally and Walker and Fitz have both had enough success to keep interest up. We'll see if Collins can do the same for basketball.

 

[chitownUofI05]

We drew 14,000 last year and over 18,000 for our previous non-UIC opponent in 2013 (13,000 for the last UIC game). We sold it out vs. Gonzaga a few years ago.

I'd say it has a lot less to do with how big of a draw we are in our largest city and a lot more to do with Illini fans sending a loud and clear message to our administration. Our DIA is a mess, and they don't seem to care. I don't blame the fans. I missed that game for the first time since 1998.

Our fans are sick to their stomach, and they should be.