Illini win is something to talk about

   CHAMPAIGN  Thank the Lord, the Fighting Illini have given the people something to talk about, finally, besides the Bill and Monica show.

   The Illini defeated the Blue Raiders 48 to 20 Saturday in Memorial Stadium, ending a memorable and harrowing 18-game drought. There was joy in Mudville, as fans swarmed the goal posts, shimmying for positions of glory.

   Even earlier, Illinois fans who had forgotten the meaning of complacency began to leave in the third quarter, with Illinois starting to run up the score.

   "Fantastic," said Cathie Perkins of Champaign.

   "Even if Middle Tennessee wasn''t so great. I''ll take anything I can get. But I don''t need to wait to see Ron Turner get carried off the field"

   Fans weren''t so frenzied until the last moments that UI officials were concerned there was any danger of a goal post getting torn down.

   With 10 minutes to go, UI police officer Tove Ghent said she couldn''t say if the victory made fans any more excitable, compared to their usual depressed torpor.

   "I wouldn''t know, because this is the first time they''ve won since I joined the force," she said.

   Even gate worker Shayonna McGee, a Parkland student, was a little bit thrown off by the atmosphere.

   "It''s strange to see them winning," said McGee, in her second season at the gate.

   It was a more innocent era the last time Illinois won.

   On Oct. 5, 1996, it was still safe  indeed, quite boring  for kids to read lengthy government documents on the Internet. Marv Albert was a sound bite, not a tooth bite. Ron Turner had no reason to believe he''d spend seasons in purgatory. And if the globe was warming, Al Gore had not yet worried us.

   Caleb Shields of Rantoul had not been born. As his mom Lori took a breather from Saturday''s game to put him to sleep, there was a new sense of peace outside Memorial Stadium, where black moths basked in summer breezes.

   Caleb''s grandmother, Pat Shields, also of Rantoul, said the victory helped give her reason to live.

   "I want to live long enough to see another Rose Bowl," joked Shields, who was not all that old after all. "The last Rose Bowl was a highlight of my life."

   Pete Chambers of Champaign saw new hope for games to come.

   "They can win, as long as they keep it on the ground," he said. "Just don''t let Hoekstra throw."

   At the concession stands, Illini fans weren''t voting with their stomachs. Victory did not mean hot dogs all around.

   "It doesn''t seem to make any difference in how much they eat, if the team is winning, or if it''s losing," Rob Withers of Champaign said. "Win or lose, you got to eat."

   But he said that when the day''s receipts were added up, a triumph might translate into revenues. "The fans stay a lot longer when we''re winning," Withers explained.

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