I’m feeling very prolific today…
Now I know this will ruffle the feathers of my good buddy the Hitman but I just feel like I have to comment on the silly nature of Illinoisans.
Today’s ESPN.com poll question of the day is:
“What is the most prestigious basketball coaching job in the Big Ten?”
The choices were:
Illinois;
Indiana;
Michigan;
Michigan State; and
Other
I selected Indiana because, to me, IU is one of the Meccas of college hoops. Sure, they’re no longer the powerhouse they were in the 1970’s and 1980’s but it’s still the Hoosier State and that means basketball more than anything.
A case could be made for Michigan or Michigan State, too, I suppose. But Illinois? Not at all. Before last year, I can’t remember the last time the U of I had a basketball team worth remembering. I’m not saying they didn’t have some good players pass through Champaign and I’m not saying that they’re a crappy program like Northwestern or Penn State but, please, let’s be real about this – the U of I doesn’t excel at any major athletics on a nearly consistent enough basis to lend itself to prestigious coaching positions.
Which brings me to my point. Out of the 59,731 who responded to the poll, 54% agreed with my pick of IU. Michigan State came in second with an 18%. On a state-by-state basis, respondents in 48 of the 50 states also went with Indiana. Michigan State won its home state 47%-24% over UM (with IU a close third at 23%). The only aberration is Illinois, which picked its own college a winner 39%-35% over IU.
Talk about dysmorphia and a total lack of self-awareness. What are Illinoisans smoking? In what universe is the U of I job THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS in the Big Ten? I’m not taking Michiganders to task despite my belief that the IU coaching job is the top job in the conference because a case could reasonably be made that the balance of power has shifted from Bloomington to Ann Arbor or East Lansing. The same cannot be said of the so-called Land of Lincoln (he was born in Kentucky, anyway…).
I’d be willing to chalk it all up to the sudden fair-weather fandom that has bitten the state of Illinois now that the Fighting Illini have actually made the tournament a couple of years in a row but it must really go deeper than that. There really must be something in the water out there in Illinois.
Now I know this will ruffle the feathers of my good buddy the Hitman but I just feel like I have to comment on the silly nature of Illinoisans.
Today’s ESPN.com poll question of the day is:
“What is the most prestigious basketball coaching job in the Big Ten?”
The choices were:
Illinois;
Indiana;
Michigan;
Michigan State; and
Other
I selected Indiana because, to me, IU is one of the Meccas of college hoops. Sure, they’re no longer the powerhouse they were in the 1970’s and 1980’s but it’s still the Hoosier State and that means basketball more than anything.
A case could be made for Michigan or Michigan State, too, I suppose. But Illinois? Not at all. Before last year, I can’t remember the last time the U of I had a basketball team worth remembering. I’m not saying they didn’t have some good players pass through Champaign and I’m not saying that they’re a crappy program like Northwestern or Penn State but, please, let’s be real about this – the U of I doesn’t excel at any major athletics on a nearly consistent enough basis to lend itself to prestigious coaching positions.
Which brings me to my point. Out of the 59,731 who responded to the poll, 54% agreed with my pick of IU. Michigan State came in second with an 18%. On a state-by-state basis, respondents in 48 of the 50 states also went with Indiana. Michigan State won its home state 47%-24% over UM (with IU a close third at 23%). The only aberration is Illinois, which picked its own college a winner 39%-35% over IU.
Talk about dysmorphia and a total lack of self-awareness. What are Illinoisans smoking? In what universe is the U of I job THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS in the Big Ten? I’m not taking Michiganders to task despite my belief that the IU coaching job is the top job in the conference because a case could reasonably be made that the balance of power has shifted from Bloomington to Ann Arbor or East Lansing. The same cannot be said of the so-called Land of Lincoln (he was born in Kentucky, anyway…).
I’d be willing to chalk it all up to the sudden fair-weather fandom that has bitten the state of Illinois now that the Fighting Illini have actually made the tournament a couple of years in a row but it must really go deeper than that. There really must be something in the water out there in Illinois.
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