As MDS pointed out earlier, Eric Gordon and his family may have had the last laugh in Indiana's double overtime victory over the Illini in Champaign on Thursday, but they had to suffer through quite a bit of abuse while doing it. Be it the constant boos Gordon heard everytime he touched the ball, the chants of 'Liar" and "Traitor" as he calmly sank his free throws, or the beads thrown at his family in the stands, Illini fans acted like fools. Complete and total fools.I'm an Illini fan, and just like all of them, I don't like Eric Gordon. I was just as upset when he reneged on his oral commitment for Indiana as anybody else. At the same time, I realize he's just a basketball player.
A 19-year old basketball player.
What I saw and heard from the Illini crowd last night embarrassed me as an Illinois fan. Though it wasn't just the fans whose antics I found a little disturbing. Chester Frazier's "chestbump" with Gordon before the game was out of line as well, and he should have been punished for it. Either by the refs or his own coaching staff.
The truth is that the Illini and their fans are going through a tough, and extremely frustrating season. They're 10-14 on the season, including a lovely conference record of 2-9, and things arent' going to get any better this season. Instead of placing the blame where it should be though, like on the players and coaching staff, the team and it's fans have redirected all their anger at Eric Gordon.
Somehow it's gotten in their head that he's the reason the team sucks this season. It's not the fact that Shaun Pruitt can't hit a single free throw, or that they're shooting 30% from behind the arc, in their minds it's because Eric Gordon went to Indiana.
And they should all be ashamed of themselves, I know I'm ashamed of them.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-08-2008 @ 2:20PM
ADMan said...
Thanks Tom for a reasonable perspective from an Illini Fan. Eric Gordon's Indy North Central high school classmates were on him every day to go to IU instead of UI, it is only natural that he is a Hoosier. Illinois basketball has bigger problems than losing EG, your crybaby coach is a good place to start.
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2-08-2008 @ 5:46PM
Jack said...
I really think Bruce Weber needs to get over it and go on. It's over, he is way to comsumed with the Gordon deal. He got Alex Legion from Kentucky, will the fans cry over that? weber has cried a river along with te fans over Gordon changing his mind. Is he really the coach they think he is Did they cry when Bill Self, Gene Bartow and the guy at UNLV left? Get a coach and g on.
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2-09-2008 @ 5:44AM
nunya said...
Illinois needs to learn from other Big Ten teams like Michigan with Manny Harris and Michigan State with Drew Neitzel that one person can't save an entire team when it more or less sucks. Even if Gordon had gone to Illinois, they weren't going to be like Indiana this year. I don't care about Indiana or Illinois, and I initially wanted Indiana to lose because I hope Wisconsin will win the Big Ten this season and go as far as they can...but that game was painful to watch...I had to root for Indiana in the end just because of how ridiculous Illinois acted with Gordon and his family. People are getting entirely too carried away with sports, what, with the drama around WVU/Michigan and now Illinois/Indiana. Somebody's gonna end up dead in a minute over this foolishness.
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2-09-2008 @ 11:05AM
Mike Adkins said...
Why wouldn't Eric Gordon go to Indiana? It is no disgrace to change your mind especially when the coaching staff changes at one of the schools that you are considering. I certainly hope one of the prize recruits of Illinois changes his mind in the near future based only on the way that the fans and players of Illinois treated Eric Gordon and his family at this game. I am not an Indiana fan, but I am now a fan of Eric Gordon because of the way he handled himself during this disgraceful treatment. I was extremely impressed with this young man and his father who took so much abuse about a decision that had to one of the most difficult for this family to make. It looks to me that they made the right decision.
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