It was the morning of gameday and we were trying to find the parking lot in Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, we being myself and fellow Daily Illini football reporters.

We had left our hotel nearly an hour before, under the assumption we’d be all right and arrive to the stadium with time to spare. Nope. As the car got closer to the stadium, nearly every street was blocked by police. It was difficult enough trying to drive; throngs of Badgers fans were darting in the street and disobeying signals to walk. 

The scene on gameday in Madison puts Champaign and “Block” to shame.

Mind you, this was for a game against Big Ten bottom feeder Illinois and in what is considered a down year for the Badgers. If Madison was this rowdy given those circumstances, how crazy would it get facing Michigan State or Ohio State?

The excitement continued well into the night. I even saw a group on a trolley-like vehicle, only they were peddling to make it move. I, of course, added it to my weekend-long Snapchat story.

Now imagine the gameday scenes at Mississippi State, Florida State and Ole Miss, the top-three teams in the AP Top 25. Those would put Wisconsin to shame. 

Yet I am not surprised. It never feels like there’s a home football game when I make the walk from my Urbana residence to Memorial Stadium on gamedays, especially for 11 a.m. kickoffs. Everyone is still sleeping off those hangovers. 

I don’t pass rows of fans lining the sidewalks. I don’t pass store lots turned tailgate lots filled to the teeth, with police officers standing guard. Bars are not overflowing with patrons. There is no loud music or loud school pride chants. 

I don’t feel the excitement.

Look, Illinois football is in a bad place. I am not the first, nor the last, who will talk brash about them. But a continually bad football program runs the risk of further alienating students and fans from the football team. 

That fan attention has shifted toward basketball, and rightfully so. John Groce is as entertaining to listen to as it is to watch his up-and-coming team. Nationally ranked recruits are starting to commit. Renovations to State Farm Center will further enhance the experience of watching a winning team.

As for the fan experience at Memorial Stadium? Deadspin put it best on Nov. 30, 2013, “The Illinois Student Section is the Saddest-est.”

Block I should be given a parade for its efforts, but not everyone is in Block I. They’ll only show if a winning team is on the field. 

By no means am I suggesting there is some easy fix. I am well aware that this is all a cycle and depends if the football team is winning, because no one can get excited over a losing team.

Mike Thomas and the athletic department need to ensure Illinois will not be known as just a basketball school. Excitement over athletics should not have to wait until November to start and then have to wait until March to peak. Even Duke, long the king of “basketball only schools” has built a football program that generates excitement. 

It will take years to build a winning program, and I won’t be here when that happens. But when it does, I’ll just open up Snapchat to see the many 10 second snaps of students finally having fun during Illinois football games. 

Until then, I’ll continue my mile-and-a-half walk to Memorial Stadium through an empty Campus Town, most likely listening to CHVRCHES.

Erik is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @e_prada.