Homecoming 2026

We spent the weekend in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, home to my and my youngest daughter's alma mater, the University of Illinois. Funny thing - when my wife and I bought tickets for the football game, we didn't realize it was Homecoming weekend. That might explain why the only hotel accommodations we could secure were ... let's just say, suboptimal.

But we had a great time with our daughter, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's family. She graduated from the U of I in 2024 and opted to stay in town, where she's made a pretty great life for herself. And it doesn't hurt that her boyfriend's family has connections to one of the bigger sponsors of Illini sports. So we were able to tailgate in style before wedging ourselves into the bleachers in the west balcony of Memorial Stadium, where we saw our beloved Illini lose 24-17. You can't win them all. Or even most of them, apparently (Illinois is 2-3 on the season so far).

Nonetheless, I maintain that the best way to watch any sport is live, in person, no matter the outcome. To be honest, watching on TV is too stressful, at least if I have a stake in the outcome. But being in the stadium around other people – somehow, that keeps me in check. Whereas I might have some choice words for the officials, the opposing team, my team, if I'm sitting on my couch where I can yell at the TV with impunity, when I'm around other people I'm much better behaved. And I actually enjoy the social aspects of watching a game in person, even when, as we were on Saturday, I'm surrounded by fans of the other team.

Saturday's game was a good example of this. We sat among quite a few Purdue fans (though, to be honest, we sat among many more Illini fans), and they made no secret of where their loyalties lay. Nor should they have; they paid for their seats just like we did. In fact, some of the best times I've had at sports events have been in hostile territory (a fateful game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor comes to mind) or surrounded by the opposition (like that late September game at Wrigley, years ago, when the Cubs and Cardinals were fighting to stay out of cellar and we found ourselves in a sea of red). Because most people, I think, are pretty good natured in these situations. Some people, of course, have no filter, but most people behave well in public.

Even Michigan fans.

But I digress. If I have to watch my Illini lose, I'd much rather be there, enjoying the company of my wife and daughter (and her boyfriend!), taking in the spectacle of it all.

And then there's the ENORMOUS, potentially headache-inducing Jumbotron at Memorial Stadium, reputedly the largest in college football:

Now, that's a big scoreboard. And loud. Very loud.

So, in keeping with my tradition, I behaved myself despite the disappointing outcome, and we had a great time.

And as far as I can remember, I didn't cuss once.