Forget about the outcome. For anyone who experienced the NCAA Championship Game at Assembly Hall, it was a basketball experience of a lifetime. Throughout the entire game the crowd behaved as if the game was being played in Assembly Hall, not St. Louis.

The lines before the game extended from the Assembly Hall doors all the way to First Street.

“I’ve been here since 2:30 p.m.,” said Jason Johnson, senior in LAS, who had set up a tailgating camp that was reminiscent of the team’s home games. “The atmosphere inside the stadium’s going to be great, especially with all the orange.”

The stadium held 12,234 people, many of whom had to brave the long lines, including seasoned fans Connie Cooper and Pat Williams.

“We’ve been Illini fans for 30 or 40 years,” Cooper said.

“This is the best year we’ve ever seen, and even if they lose, it’s OK because they’ve done an awesome job and they’re just as good as if they win,” Williams said.

One of the few non-orange-wearing fans was Steve Krone, sophomore in business, who might have been the only North Carolina fan attending the game.

“It’s kind of scary, everyone’s been giving me dirty looks,” Krone said. “But you got to be true to your team, and if they lose, I’ll probably be laughed at, but I’ll also be happy because Illinois is my second favorite team.”

Once the doors were finally opened, a huge roar erupted from the crowd, and chants of “I-L-L I-N-I” began. The crowd was shown the last 10 minutes of the “Miracle of Rosemont,” which got the crowd charged up, and the energy level never came down.

Illini women’s head volleyball coach Don Hardin continued the fun by starting the wave and initiating chants such as “We’re No. 1.”

The crowd then intertwined boos and cheers when the Illinois and North Carolina starting lineups were announced. There were mixed emotions, though, when Michael Jordan was shown on the Jumbotron in a Tar Heel outfit.

All the tension and excitement boiled over when Deron Williams’ first jumper went in to give the Illini the 2-0 lead and the stadium erupted. What ensued was a back and forth classic where much of the crowd didn’t leave their feet. Every Illinois jumper was cheered raucously, but every North Carolina shot took the breath out of the fans. Every Illini foul was booed, and every Carolina foul cheered. Even commercials were booed, like when Duke University men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski showed up on the screen.

The fans weren’t even resting during the commercial break, as chants of “I-L-L I-N-I” reigned to bring the crowd back into the game. At 40-27, North Carolina had slowly pulled away at the end of the first half. The noise level became quieter, but people hadn’t lost faith yet.

“We definitely still have a chance,” said Bimel Thomas, freshman in LAS. “We came back from 15 points down in three minutes against Arizona, so this 13-point deficit is not that bad with the entire second half left. It’s kind of disappointing, but I’m sure we can come back.”

The furious Illini second-half rally ensued and the crowd went nuts. Chants of “defense” took over during every North Carolina possession, and the confidence in the Illini was alive again.

“It’s like the Arizona game all over again,” said Jay Patel, freshman in business.

At 47-42, 15 members of the crowd took off in a circle around the entire stadium, one with an Illini flag in hand, and whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

Every possession became life and death, as the chants of “defense” became deafening, trying to will the Illini into making a stop. No one could catch their breath even during the commercials, as the stadium display had started flashing messages for the crowd to make noise. All the chants and displays had turned it into a home game.

At 70-70, the Illini had just tied the game, and it was the loudest the stadium became during the entire game. Strangers turned to friends, high-fiving each other and looking at each other like they could not believe what just had happened before their eyes.

“It’s too close man, too close,” Thomas said. “It would be crazy if it went to overtime, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

At 72-70, the crowd exhaled in disappointment, and the nervousness was overwhelming with little more than a minute left in the game. Every missed 3-pointer was like a shot in the gut, but every second chance brought the air back in.

At 73-70, the crowd frantically willed Raymond Felton of Carolina to miss a free throw, and hope remained. But, when Luther Head turned the ball over, the crowd could do no more. Felton drained both free throws, making it 75-70, and the reality of an Illini loss began to sink in.

It was over.

Words could not describe the disappointment of the crowd as it became silent, but as they saw their Illini leaving the court, they didn’t boo or walk away. It was the season of a lifetime, which no loss could take away. The only thing that described the pride that this 2004-05 team had given the fans was chanted for one last time, “I-L-L I-N-I.”