Illinois fans hate Michigan?

they hate you

water is wet.

Yeah, I've met Illinois fans and most of them seem to consider us their biggest rival.  Yes, most of them said that we are a bigger rival than Missouri, Northwestern or Ohio State (they play OSU for some wooden turtle trophy called illibuck or something).

I can't remember when I first learned of this particular (and generally one-sided) rivalry, but it was a surprise to me, too.  Of note:

* Illinois doesn't have a natural rival in the Big Ten.  If you look at nearby schools, IU and Purdue have each other, Northwestern is in its own little world by a few measures, and Iowa is a more logical rival of Wisconsin and Minnesota, due partly to geography and partly to its student population (which is more rural than that of Illinois, where 60% or so come from Chicago or its burbs).

* Lots of Illinois grads find their way to Chicago after graduation, where they run into lots of Michigan types professionally.  (The same can be said for some other Big Ten schools, of course.)

* Appropriately or not, they consider Michigan a peer institution.  (I think this would make sense in engineering at least.)  For different reasons, they don't feel the same way about the other area schools.

* Sean Higgins (If you don't get that, talk to an Illinois grad over, say, 35.)

I never knew they hated Michigan until I went to Champaign-Urbana or whatever for games.  Everyone in the student section has a Muck Fichigan shirt..  F-bombs are dropped on UM fans frequently.  Not sure why-1989 Final Four?  Bo putting 70 on them in the early 80's?  I agree with ItakeHGH-if they can't beat you, they hate you.

I'm sure Michigan alums around the world would get a good chuckle at this one.

I wore my M hat into a lesson and he asked me to take it off or he would drown my son. He smiled, but I'm still not sure...

That whacking was hilarious.  Illini complained about running up the score.  Bo replied that all Michigan did in the 4th quarter was run it up the middle, and Illinois couldn't stop them. 

Yeah, I knew they hated us.  But how insulting is it that our fans don't even know Illinois considers Michigan its biggest rival?  Hate me or love me, but at least think about me.

I know from some Illinois acquaintances that the Muck Fichigan is really big down there.  I think it is partly a jealousy thing - but also an attempt to build them up by association.  Tried to tell them no one on this end really cares but they are adamant bout it.

They ALL hate us more than a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.

I am not kidding.  MSU, of course, goes without saying. 

And honest to God, if anybody thinks that Sparty has a one-game season (they don't, really, and this week is the perfect example), you need to spend some time in Columbus.  Really, the resurgent Buckeye program under Tressel should be growing up now.  But they can lose to Texas or USC or whichever big time program they manage to get a home-and-home with, and not be too overcome by it.  Losing to Michigan is the end of their world as they know it.

And trust me, Michigan week, when and if it comes, is THE biggest ticket of the year in Madison, Iowa City, Evanston... you name it.  They hate us like no other.  A win against Michigan is a lifetime acheivement for a lot of those kids.

Illinois is no different, and there is nothing surprising about that. 

I am from central illinois.  For some reason, Illinois fans decided to pick michigan.  Haters gonna hate, i guess

Illinois shoots their rivalry wad early by playing Missouri first game of the season, so they need someone else to get off on.  And Illibuck is just baffling. 

For my part, Illinois is basically the most anonymous Big Ten school there is.  If they packaged up Big Ten schools and put them on the shelf at Target, the one in the plain white box labeled "SCHOOL" in plain black Arial font would be Illinois.  I have opinions about everyone but them.

Where's EMU?

"There are a few teams where 100 points isn't enough, and Illinois is ten of those teams."

Ignore the quotes, I'm sure I butchered it.

Because there isn't. A rivalry has to be two ways.  It's not. They just hate us.

On that, I know what you mean. I knew it was a hostile crowd down there always, but I didn't get the "we are their most hated 'rival'" thing until my college roommate when to law school in Chicago...and knew a lot of Illinois classmates. So, being Chicago, anytime Michigan wasn't at home, and I wasn't going to a road game not around Chicago (i.e. not ND, Northwestern, etc), I'd head in to visit him, because, well, it's Chicago.  And they couldn't stand our team. It was also around the time they went 1-1-1 against us, and thought they were moving ahead of us. After which we proceeded to stomp them again for years.

But they do, really, really hate us, to a level I can only compare to OSU and MSU. I mean, as Section 1 said, they ALL hate us.  But not to that level. Domers dislike us, but there a bit of respect, and it's not bloodshot eye hatred.  Illinois acts like we stole their girlfriend, had the best sex of her life with her, and then sent them the videotape.

Per John U. Bacon's class, Bo respected OSU and MSU, but he HATED Illinois. He had an expression that went something like "There are some teams where 100 points are not enough, and Illinois is three of those teams." His hatred of them apparently stemmed from they way they treated Gary Moeller, firing him after only 3--admittedly poor--seasons (Bo thought it was ludicrous to fire a college coach until he was given 5 seasons). Illinois then turned around and hired Mike White to be their coach, who had a reputation for running a dirty program, had gotten caught cheating at Cal, and bolted for the NFL after he was caught cheating at Illinois.

As puzzling as their seething hatred for us may be, Bo certainly felt the same way about them.

Edit: As I was writing this a few folks posted parts of the story above. I'm paraphrasing as best as I can from what Bacon told us in his class.

and who cares, even a little. 

I mean I live in Pa and it's the same thing.  PSU fans really hate hate hate Michigan.  I have no idea why besides losing 9 straight, but come on that's it?  Jealously is taking over inferior schools.

I think its something in their water. Some other small Illinois school (IIT I believe, but don't quote me on that) didn't have any rivals so they decided to start a Facebook group hating on Michigan Tech. I once looked that page over and immediately thought of the stunning coorelations to Illinois and us.

has a football team?

I've said it many times on this site... 10 years in Chicago taught me, among other things, that Illinois fans are the biggest collection of fuckbags on the entire planet.    Just awful.

I remember in the late 80's, Bo's last couple of years, Illinois had a saying "Bo doesn't know diddley"about the time they had Jeff George. We stomped their asses in '88 and beat them at home in '89.  Turns out he did know diddley. I think Jeff George turned into a convict., gambling problem, or something.