INDIANAPOLIS —Zach Ferguson was in the frenzy that ensued in 2013, when theIllinois men’s basketball team stunned No. 1 Indiana on a last-second layupby Tyler Griffey. As a member of the Illini student section, the Orange Krush,Ferguson stormed the court in celebration.
Ferguson has remained a fan ever since, even though the Illini haven’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance since he left campus that year.
During this historic season, Ferguson would’ve sprung at any chance to see the Illini in action, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented he and all fans from getting the chance.
But, after the Big Ten Conference and Lucas Oil Stadium opted to allow limited attendance of 8,000 fans at the Big Ten Tournament this week, Ferguson received a text from his coworkers at Paris Family Dental on Tuesday that flipped his expectations upside down.
“It was asking me how my week was going, and I said it was going good,” Ferguson said. “They said, ‘Well, let’s make the end of your week even better.’ They surprised me with tickets. They know how big of a fan I am.”
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From Ferguson —to older fans and younger fans alike —we talked with some of the people making the trek to Indianapolis to finally get to see the No. 3-ranked Illini live and in person.
'It was a no-brainer'
Gail Johnson and her husband, Todd, have been Illinois season-ticket holders for roughly 24 years. The Johnsons have stood by many Illini teams through ups and downs, but it’s been mostly downs since the 2004-05 team made its run to the NCAA championship game.
When tickets went on sale last week, Gail didn’t hesitate: they were going.
“Now, it was a no-brainer,” Johnson said. “I got on StubHub right away. We have to be able to see this team in person.”
The whole Johnson family consists of alums, from Gail and Todd to their kids. Their daughter Marlena will also be in attendance in Indianapolis, and the family from Mahomet has already secured tickets for the whole tournament in the hopes that the Illini make it to Sunday’s final.
The Johnsons also hope to follow the Illini to the NCAAs.
“The culture and the character of the team, and to be able to see it and feel it… With Brad Underwood, 26 years until he became a head coach, and then now look,” Johnson said. “It’s like the underdog story of persistence and grit. He himself sets that tone of what the team is about as well.”
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'Exciting to talk about Illinois again'
A.J. Korabik never saw the Illini make an NCAA Tournament or a football bowl appearance during his time at the university, suffering through a periodfrom 2015 to 2019.
He graduated, and then the Illini got better. He now tunes into each gamefrom his home in Chicago.
Some of Korabik’s earliest memories included watching the Dee Brown/Deron Williams-led squad win the Big Ten and make its historic run in the NCAAsin 2005. Now, he’ll hope to create some more magical memories in Indy, where he’ll be in attendance at Lucas Oil with several friends from school.
“I’m very, very into every single game,” Korabik said. “All my friends, all of us, we get our energy from (it) honestly. They’re giving us meaning in life right now during this pandemic. It’s exciting to finally be able to talk about how good Illinois is again.”
'We waited 16 years to get a team this good'
Pat Mitchell has also done his fair share of waiting for the Illini to regain their former glory.
“What a bizarre situation we have that we waited 16 years to get a team this good,"Mitchell said,"and everyone who’s been waiting this long doesn’t have one single opportunity to see them play in-person."
He’ll be in attendance with his girlfriend on Saturday, and they and another couple are planning to head to Las Vegas for the first week of the NCAA tournament next week.
If the Illini make a deep run, he hopes to be able to snag tickets once again.
“Literally, I was thrilled because it was an opportunity I wasn’t expecting to get,” Mitchell said. “When it dropped, I was over the moon.”
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'I have to be there, some way, somehow'
Mark Coyne, a native of Metamora and the current president of Illini Pride —the student organization that works with the Orange Krush, Block ‘I’ and other student supporter groups —has been itching to see the Illini.
Normally, he’s making noise and helping organize students at athletic events, and now he’s finally got his chance to resume his role.
“When I found out there’s fans (allowed), I was like, ‘I have to be there some way, somehow,’” Coyne said.
Though Lucas Oil Stadium is a cavernous NFL venue, which seats 70,000, Coyne is overjoyed to be able to be in the building.
“I think I’ve got nosebleed seats,” Coyne said. “But just to be able to say I’m seeing a once-in-a-decade, a once-in-two-decades team.”
'It's coming full-circle'
Zain Bando, another current student, is attending the tournament on Friday and Saturday with his father, Matt.
The last time Illinois allowed fans, on March 8, 2020, Bando was in attendance along with a capacity crowd to see the Illini knock off Iowa in an intense matchup. Like many other diehards, didn’t hesitate when he got a chance to finally see his team again.
“I never would have imagined that Illinois would be this good in a major sport when I got here a few years ago,” Bando said. “So just being a part of the moment is going to be really cool. In the starting lineups, it’s going to feel like it’s coming full-circle.”
Gavin Good is the University of Illinois correspondent for Gannett Illinois. Contact him at gavinrg2@illinois.edu or at Twitter.com/itsallG_O_O_D.
