On each of Illinois’ last two gamedays, students descended upon Alma Mater in jubilant celebration.
Tonight, even after Illinois fell 71-62 to UConn, she welcomed the masses again. It wasn’t nearly the same, though. Instead of running over from the Illini Union, Green Street and Campustown, a few students straggled over out of curiosity.
While two dozen screaming fans clambered atop Alma Mater last weekend, jubilantly waving copies of The Daily Illini, a few climbed up for pictures. Some, after scaling the statue in the closing minutes of the second half, never climbed down at all.
“I’m just sad,” said Drew Kim, senior in LAS, from atop the statue. “I just had to take it all in.”
Kim, face painted orange and blue, was standing on Alma Mater well before the final buzzer sounded. In his final year at the University, he was hoping for a different result. Despite the loss, the senior still belted out “I-L-L” chants while freezing on the statue’s pedestal.
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He wasn’t alone.
Opposite him was Joe Gallagher, junior in Information Sciences. Like Kim, he refused to yield from his post. Gallagher felt connected to both the team and the meager crowd at Alma Mater by doing so.
“(I) love the Illini, they made it so far,” Gallagher said. “They’re feeling pain out there on the court, so I’m going to feel pain up here with my Alma and these guys up here.”
Onyinye Okeke, a graduate student studying public health, felt similarly, saying that being at Alma Mater with her peers is more of a bonding experience than a victory ritual.
“We don’t come out here just because we win,” Okeke said. “(We) come out here because we like this team.”
Still, emotions ran high at the corner of Green and Wright. Jocelyn Johnstone, junior in LAS, was at Alma Mater with a handmade poster in anticipation of a different result.
She said that loss left her just plain sad, but also recognized the rarity of Illinois’ run to the Final Four.
“I am so devastated,” Johnstone said. “I am so sad, but at least we went to the Final Four for the first time in forever.”
Despite the abrupt end to this season, fans are already looking forward to next year, when they could get a chance to return to Alma Mater under different circumstances.
Kim, a senior, won’t have that opportunity as a student. He’s still hopeful for what the team can accomplish, though.
“Illini ‘til I die,” Kim said.
@BrendanGallian
