[Oskee] Happy Anniversary Illini Nation

[gtillini95 at aol.com]

Thirty years ago today, Mike White was hired as our head coach.  

Lacking motivation one afternoon about a month ago, I plugged his name into a Google news search to see what popped up.  Although many of the stories required some sort of nominal payment to access, just enough of them were free and they shed some light on his career before coming to Illinois.    

What I found in the archives was pretty haunting, and probably says a lot about why his tenure here was so rocky.  When you're 8-years-old and walking around Zuppke Field for the very first time and folks are all geeked up about football and there's no Internet, it's rather easy to get behind the new coach and believe he can do no wrong.

And when you're 11-years-old and the goal posts are getting taken down after every home game and your guys have just beaten Ohio State and Michigan for the first time in your life, and there's still no Internet, you'll pretty much walk through a brick wall for the coach.

Even today, the Mike White years bring back a ton of good memories.  Unfortunately, now it's easier for me to see why he was a target for so many folks, including the NCAA.  Some of the stories discussing his years at Cal we're less than positive.

My wish for the new year is for all Illinois football fans to feel the passion and energy that flowed through Memorial Stadium the way it did back when the 80s belonged to the Illini!  I think the whole thing can be done in the right way, but it's going to take some faith on our part and some genuine creativity from the coaching staff.  

OWW!

Geoff 
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